'Potential Problems' Averted: Prince Andrew and Prince Harry Will Not Be Called as Stand-in's for King Charles
King Charles III will not be represented by Prince Harry and Prince Andrew during his recuperation next week from prostate surgery. This has led veteran royal expert and former press spokesman for the late Queen Elizabeth II, Dickie Arbiter, to share: "They’ve taken the most sensible option."
"Only Parliament can remove them as counselors of state and they’ve got their hands full so the [royal] household have said only working royals can stand in for the king which is a neat and sensible solution to a potential problem," he added. "Let’s not forget this is the first time Charles has been in hospital since he broke his arm in 1990 so he has had a wonderful run of health. He’s pretty fit and should bounce back quickly."
A counselor of state is a senior royal that can officially act on the monarch's behalf when the Sovereign is out of the country or incapacitated. Those selected are traditionally the king or reigning queen's spouse, which is currently Queen Camilla, and the first four in the line of succession to the throne, granted they are over 21 and maintain residence in the United Kingdom. Prince William, Harry, Prince Andrew and Princess Beatrice are the current monarchy members meeting the criteria. The King instructed his government to add Prince Edward and Princess Anne in 2022.
Charles III cannot remove his son or the disgraced Andrew from the list, since it is Parliament's responsibility to do so. Rather than requesting the government to do this, he decided to simply add Edward and Anne to the counselors slate in case the Queen or Prince of Wales were unable to represent him. The assumption is that their addition means Harry or Andrew will never need to be used.
The news comes as the Montecito royals have yet to comment on the medical issues surrounding both the King and Catherine, Princess of Wales, who had abdominal surgery on Tuesday, January 16.
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Once William and Kate's children come of age, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, will eventually replace Harry, Andrew and Beatrice on the list. Although Harry is not and likely never will be needed to act as Britain's temporary head of state, the Duke is coming under fire from royal analysts for his lack of response to Charles III and the Princess of Wales' predicaments.
Wouldn't it have been good for Prince Harry to have supported his brother and his family instead of allowing very unkind and cruel things to be said about Kate in both his books Spare and in books which appear to have been written with his approval, if not cooperation?" royal journalist Michael Cole told an outlet.
The New York Post reported on Arbiter's comments.