Prince Andrew may be the King’s brother, but he will never be able to step in for the monarch on the royal stage for one reason. The Duke of York, 65, has not been a working royal since becoming involved in a number of scandals, with one scandal seeing him accused of sexual abuse by Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Andrew’s ex-friend Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew has always denied the claims, however the scandal tarnished his image, and resulted in him stepping back from royal life, with his royal titles also taken from him. This means that Andrew no longer has a role to play in the monarchy, with this unlikely to change for one key reason.
This is because although the King still has a relationship with his brother, there was a subtle rule change in 2022 that means only working royals can stand in for the monarchy as Counsellors of State.
While Prince Andrew is technically still a Counsellor of State on paper, alongside Prince Harry, who is also not a working royal since quitting in 2020, he can no longer take on the role that Counsellors of State have, which is to act on the monarch’s behalf if the King develops an incapacity or is absent from the UK.
Among the duties Counsellors of State can carry out includes the state opening of Parliament, signing documents, receiving ambassadors or attending Privy Council meetings.
Andrew’s inability to now take on this role if needed came about after it was confirmed in a reading of the Counsellors of State Bill 2022-23 in the House of Lords on November 21, 2022, that the Royal Household confirmed that, in practice, only “working members of the Royal Family will be called on to act as Counsellors of State.”
The bill became law in December 2022, meaning that Andrew and Harry would not be able to represent the monarch if the situation required it.
This is unlikely to be a problem for the royals, as the Counsellor of State position typically belongs to the sovereign’s spouse, which in this case is Queen Camilla.
This then tends to be followed by the first four people in the line of succession over the age of 21.
The King’s other siblings Princess Anne, 74, and Prince Edward, 61, are also able to step in for the monarch as King Charles wrote to the House of Lords requesting a new bill be passed.