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King Charles May Remove ‘Stand-In Status’ From Andrew And Harry In Royal Shake-Up

Prince Harry and Prince Andrew.
Credit: Alamy

King Charles is reportedly considering rewriting an 85-year-old law which would remove Prince Andrew and Prince Harry’s ‘stand-in status’.

The 73-year-old is allegedly planning to amend the Regency Act 1937 to prevent non-working royals from being counsellors of state, according to The Telegraph.

The position currently goes to the sovereign’s spouse and the next four people in the line of succession who are over the age of 21.

Watch King Charles meet with the Commonwealth leaders in the clip below…

They will be authorised to carry out numerous tasks, including signing routine documents and attending Privy Council meetings.

The counsellors of state role is applied when a monarch temporarily cannot fulfil their official duties due to absence abroad or illness.

When this happens, two or more counsellors are appointed by the Letters Patent.

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Currently, this means it would be Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew and Princess Beatrice.

If King Charles goes through with amending the law, this means the Duke of Sussex, Duke of York and his daughter will all lose their roles as official stand-ins.

The Telegraph reports that Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, would be placed in the position instead.

It is not common that counsellors of state are needed, however, King Charles filled in for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the State Opening of Parliament, alongside Prince William, back in May.

Prince Andrew has been in the stand-in role since turning 21 back in 1981.

But he was forced to step back from his royal duties due to his connections with Jeffrey Epstein and later stripped of his titles.

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Prince Harry on the other hand decided to ‘quit’ being a senior royal. He and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved to the US and have now settled down in Los Angeles.

As stated on the Royal Family website, the counsellors of state position was introduced back in 1937 under the Regency Act.

Prior to this, it was only drafted and brought in when necessary.

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Written by Aimee Walker

Aimee is a senior content editor at IGV who specialises in finding the best original stories, trending topics and entertainment news. She graduated from Birmingham City University with a degree in Media and Communications.