Ever since Prince Andrew stepped back from public life in 2019, there have been calls for him to be removed as one of these Counsellors – with a similar argument also made for Prince Harry, following Megxit. Yet so far, the Queen has not announced any changes to her Counsellors of State.
Several replacements for Andrew and Harry have been posited by royal experts. Last year, it was suggested that the Duchess of Cornwall and Princess Beatrice would be possible contenders, with the Duchess set to be a Counsellor of State upon her husband’s accession to throne anyway, and Beatrice being next in line. Meanwhile others have suggested that the Queen’s other children, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, might also be considered, or even the Duchess of Cambridge.
Princess Beatrice
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Dr Craig Prescott, an academic and expert in UK constitutional law, told The Times: ‘They could draft in Princess Anne or Prince Edward and specifically make them counsellors of state. There is a precedent for that, of a fashion, with the Queen Mother. In 1953 she was specifically made an extra counsellor. They may look to add the Duchess of Cambridge.’
There are also growing calls for the prince to be stripped of his Dukedom of York, led by local MPs. They are also set to vote to remove his honourary freedom of the city, something which was granted in 1987 when he married Sarah, Duchess of York. Lib Dem Darryl Smalley, the city’s cabinet member for culture, leisure and communities, said: ‘I hope councillors across all parties will support the motion to remove Prince Andrew’s honorary freedom of the city of York. Buckingham Palace and the government must then act to remove his Duke of York title. We will be reaching out to MPs to raise our concerns and discuss any possible ways of ending Prince Andrew’s connection to York’.
