Princess Beatrice Tipped to Replace Prince Harry as Counsellor of State

Prince Harry is reportedly set to lose his position as Counsellor of State after stepping down from his role as a working royal, leaving the palace to consider Princess Beatrice as his replacement.

According to reports, the royal family is currently facing a constitutional headache due to the absence of Prince Harry as a working royal, as he can no longer carry out his duty as Counsellor of State.

Under the current royal constitution, four members of the family are entitled to be Counsellors of State, meaning that they can carry out engagements on behalf of the Queen if she is unwell.

However, as Prince Harry is no longer living in the UK, this position could be reassigned to Princess Beatrice, who is next in line to the throne after her father, Prince Andrew.

Vernon Bogdana, a professor of government at King's College London and the author of Monarchy and the Constitution, said, “a Counsellor not domiciled in the UK cannot act, so that excludes Harry.

The next in line and over the required age of 21 would be Princess Beatrice.”

It is worth noting that most of the functions of the Head of State can be devolved, and it is not constitutionally necessary for the Queen to attend the State Opening of Parliament.

A source contacted Buckingham Palace, but they declined to comment on the matter.

The current Counsellors are Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Andrew, and Prince Harry, chosen because they are the four next in line to the throne and at least over the age of 18.

However, as well as Prince Harry, Prince Andrew's position is also in doubt after he stepped away from public duties in 2019 following s**ual abuse allegations made against him in the US.

According to the Mail Online, the palace is also considering elevating Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, into the group of elite top royals.

In recent years, she has taken on a greater role within the royal family, and has massively increased her popularity with the British public since marrying Prince Charles in 2005.

A source close to the palace told the Mail Online, “this is a constitutional headache.

With an ageing monarch, there are talks about what will happen if the Queen is unable to work for some reason.

You can't have Andrew and Harry do it, and Charles and William are extremely busy.”

Councillors of State have previously played a crucial role in the running of the monarchy.

In 1974, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret stepped in to approve the dissolvement of Ted Heath's government, whilst the Queen and Prince Philip were away on tour in New Zealand.

Princess Beatrice is currently 10th in the line of succession, and whilst she is not classed as a working royal and does not receive an allowance from the Sovereign Grant, she still maintains a relationship with a number of charities and has accompanied the Queen to official engagements.

She is the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at software company Affinitie and resides in St James's Palace with her husband Edoardo Moppelli Mozzi and their baby daughter, Sienna Elizabeth.

Many royal fans have not been able to stop talking about Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey ever since it aired back on March 7th.

The pair discussed what life behind palace walls had been like for them and stunned fans when they spoke about how other members of the family treated them.

However, some of what the Sussexes said in their conversation with Lady O has been debunked, including a claim Meghan made about the reason the royals did not provide security for her and Harry's young son Archie.