Prince Harry will 'never' step in for King Charles due to subtle rule change

In 2020, and made the unprecedented decision to step back from royal duties and move to the United States. In doing so, they

Although Harry retains his place in the line of succession, his decision to live abroad and the formal arrangements that followed effectively disqualified him from taking on the responsibilities reserved for senior royals. In times of need, the sovereign can call on their Counsellors of State to step up to help manage the monarchy. The Counsellors of State can act on the monarch's behalf through the Letters Patent in the event of temporary incapacity or absence from the UK.

Both Prince Harry and Prince Andrew are technically Counsellors of State, but have stepped back from their royal duties, so they won't be tapped for the royal responsibility any more.

The Counsellor of State position typically belongs to the sovereign's spouse, followed by the first four people in the line of succession over the age of 21. Queen Camilla, Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, and Princess Beatrice were the Counsellors of State before Princess Anne and Prince Edward were added.

In the second reading of the Counsellors of State Bill 2022-23 in the House of Lords on November 21, 2022, Lord True said that the Royal Household confirmed that, in practice, only "working members of the Royal Family will be called on to act as." The bill became law in December 2022.

The BBC reported that the bill was "fast-tracked" through Parliament to resolve the potential for an "awkward constitutional problem" as King Charles' reign began shortly after Harry and Andrew both stepped back from their working royal roles.

Because Harry and Andrew were no longer working royals, Parliament felt it was best to expand the cohort to include two more people who could be called upon to stand in for King Charles.

which could include the state opening of Parliament, signing documents, receiving ambassadors or attending Privy Council meetings, if the monarch is temporarily ill or abroad.

King Charles became more reliant on Princess Anne and Prince Edward after

Dr Craig Prescott, a constitutional law lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, told The : "The point of adding this statement that only working royals would called on to act as counsellors of state was a way of dealing with the situation in the simplest way possible.

"It might have been viewed as malice against Harry otherwise, so in many respects, it was the most elegant way to do it."