If a modification to the Regency Act is approved, Princess Anne and Prince Edward will become Counselors of State.
The King has personally requested that his siblings, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, be added to the list of individuals who can stand in for him in official capacities.
In a declaration signed by the King and read to the House of Lords, he states that he would be “very pleased” if his sister and brother were appointed as Counsellors of State.
Currently, there are five Counselors of State, including Prince Andrew and Prince Harry, neither of whom perform official royal duties.
The King adds the amendments “guarantee the continuous effectiveness of government operations when I am unavailable. Such as when I am performing official obligations abroad.”
Counselors can perform constitutional tasks if the monarch is ill or out of the country on business.
For Princess Anne and Prince Edward to become Counselors of State, the Regency Act would need to be amended through legislation.
According to the Act, Counsellors of State are the monarch’s spouse and the four next in line to the throne who are at least 21 years old.
Currently, they are Camilla, the Queen Consort, William, the Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, and his daughter, Princess Beatrice.
‘Significant move’
This is an important action of the King.
Some may view this as an additional slight against Prince Andrew, for whom Counsellor of State is one of the few remaining obligations he retains after being deprived of his royal roles.
On the other hand, the King is making this modification in preparation for his abroad travels next year.
Viscount Stansgate, a Labour peer, argued recently in the House of Lords against having Prince Andrew and Prince Harry as Counsellors since one had “gone public life” and the other had “left the country.”
On the King’s 74th birthday, which was also his first as monarch, it was announced that he would assume the duty of The Ranger of Windsor Great Park, a position formerly held by his father, Prince Philip.
There are no formal celebrations scheduled for the King’s birthday, but throughout London, military gun salutes and renditions of “Happy Birthday” were heard.
