Queen could strip Prince Harry of key role because he does not live in the UK

Prince Harry should not be eligible to stand in for the Queen as a Counsellor of State because he no longer resides in the country, a new parliamentary briefing paper reveals.

But Prince Andrew could still stand in for his mother should she become incapacitated, despite having to step down from public duties and relinquish his HRH title because of the Epstein scandal.

This week the House of Commons Library quietly published for the first time guidance on what arrangements can be put in place if a monarch is unable to perform their royal functions.

It follows intense public debate about the roles of Dukes of Sussex and York as ‘stand-ins’ for the sovereign now they have both quit as working royals, particularly in light of the 95-year-old Queen’s recent ill-health.

She tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, but was well enough to hold her weekly telephone audience with Boris Johnson last night.

The parliamentary briefing paper will increase pressure on Buckingham Palace to take legal steps to resolve the matter once and for all.

The paper says Andrew is still eligible as a Counsellor of State despite the Epstein scandal

There have been calls to appoint the next two senior royals in line to the throne – Prince Edward and Princess Anne – in their place.

A Government source said: ‘There’s been a lot of noise about Harry and Andrew and their roles as Counsellors of State and it was felt important MPs had all the facts. It has nothing to do with Her Majesty being ill.’

The Regency Acts of 1937 and 1953 were designed to deal with four potential scenarios – a monarch succeeding to the throne before the age of 18, a monarch becoming permanently or temporarily incapacitated, and the monarch’s absence from the UK.

In the case of temporary incapacity or absence from the UK, the Queen can appoint Counsellors of State to ensure the continuation of ‘public business’.

Duties include granting royal assent to acts of parliament, approving public appointments and ministers of the crown and the fixing of the Great Seal of the Realm – a symbol of royal authority – to royal proclamations or Letter Patent.

According to the 1937 legislation, all Counsellors have to be members of the Royal Family.

There have been calls to appoint the next two senior royals in line to the throne – Prince Edward and Princess Anne (both stood behind the Queen) – in place of Harry and Andrew

They consist of the husband or wife of the monarch and the next four in line of succession.

Following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh last May, the current Counsellors of State are the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of York.

Crucially, however, the newly-published guidance says: ‘Under the 1937 Act, a Counsellor of State must be domiciled in “some part” of the UK.’

It adds: ‘The Regency Act 1943 added the discretionary provision that if it “appears to the Sovereign” that any eligible Counsellor will be “absent from the United Kingdom or intends to be so absent during the whole or any part of the period of such delegation”, then Letters Patent [a legal tool available to the monarch] “may make provision” for excepting that person.’

Harry remains sixth in line to the throne but hasn’t lived in the UK since late 2019.

However, there is no provision under the Act to exclude a member of the family who is no longer a working royal, so long as they remain in the line of succession, so Andrew, who is ninth, could be called on to stand in.

Both the Queen and the Prince of Wales tested positive for Covid earlier this month. If both had been unable to undertake their constitutional duties, they would have fallen to William and Harry.

Counsellors of state have often carried out royal functions during the Queen’s reign. In 1974 the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, declared a state of emergency and dissolved parliament when the Queen was on an official visit to the Pacific with her husband.

Buckingham Palace said last night that there was ‘no change’ to the current Counsellors. An aide said suggested there were ‘no plans’ to change them.

Sources speculated the royal household may be concerned about the reaction from ‘across the pond’ if changes are made. ‘They could just be reluctant to poke the bear,’ they said.

■A national ballot for 10,000 members of the public to win free tickets to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations has been launched by the BBC. It is hosting a Platinum Party at the Palace on June 4.

There are 5,000 pairs of free tickets available from today at 7am at www.bbc.co.uk/platinumjubileeconcert.