Pressure Mounts on Royal Family to Relieve Roles of Princes Andrew and Harry

The Royal Family is facing mounting pressure to relieve the roles of Prince Andrew and Prince Harry, especially since Harry moved to California and Andrew was embroiled in a civil lawsuit in the US, which he disputed but later settled.

Now, the royal duties of princes are suddenly being discussed in Parliament for the first time as Lords question whether the Duke should be allowed to perform royal duties for Britain's new monarch, King Charles III.

House of Lords, Pearse, questioned whether Charles's brother Andrew and son Harry should continue to serve as councillors of state who can represent the King while they are not now employed as royals.

According to constitutional experts, this is the first time the issue of the Dukes of York and Sussex's standing as councillors has been brought up in Parliament.

Labour peer Vice Count Stansgate raised the issue in the House of Lords, asking if the government planned to amend the Regency Act.

He questioned whether ministers should discuss a sensible amendment with the King, adding, otherwise, are the government happy to continue with the situation where the councils of state and Regency powers may be exercised by the Duke of York or the Duke of Sussex, one of whom has left public life and the other of whom has left the country.

According to reports, the King wants the law changed so that all of his advisers are working royals, but this would necessitate a change in the law.

Only the next four people in line to the throne and the spouse of the Sovereign, who are over 21, are permitted to serve as councillors of state, according to the 1937 Regency Act.

The Queen Consort Prince William, Prince Harry, the Duke of York and his eldest daughter Beatrice are the current councillors.

The Queens are the children Princess Anne and Prince Edward, who are respectively 16th and 13th in line to the throne, are not included because none of the last three are working members of the royal family.

Due to the fact that Andrew and Harry are the senior working royals, royal experts have urged them to take their places.

In response to Vice-Count Stansgate, the Lord Privy Seal indicated he was unable to comment on any private discussions that had taken place between ministers and the King or the royal household.

He stated that any modifications to the Regency Act would be made in close consultation with the royal household and suggested that the upcoming change in monarchy would be a useful opportunity for a review.

The Government will always consider what arrangements are needed to ensure resilience in our constitutional arrangements and in the past, we have seen that the point of a session has proved a useful opportunity to consider the arrangements in place.

The majority of the King's official tasks can be performed by Councillors of State, including attending Privy Council sessions, executing standard paperwork, and accepting the credentials of new ambassadors to the UK.