Why not promote Beatrice and Eugenie to front-line royals, asks RICHARD EDEN? They’ve never put a foot wrong! But it’s time to STRIP troubled Prince Andrew and Prince Harry from the line of succession – for the good of the Monarchy…
- ‘Charles needs to distance himself from his younger brother ‘
- Princes Andrew Harry are Counsellors of State – an ‘unbelievable’ situation
Prince Andrew and Prince Harry should be removed from the line of succession, says Richard Eden.
They should also be stripped of their roles as counsellors of state – senior royals who can step in if the Monarch is seriously unwell.
But writing in the latest edition of his Palace Confidential newsletter, Eden says that King Charles could sugar the pill by giving more prominent roles to Andrew’s daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie – who have never put a foot wrong.
‘It’s been a difficult week for the Royal Family, with allegations of Prince Andrew’s seedy past casting a shadow over his brother’s reign,’ writes Eden, ‘just as it did the final years of their mother’s.
Prince Andrew and elder brother Charles seem deep in discussion as they attend a Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012
The Prince of Wales and his younger son pictured at a celebration of Charles’s 70th Birthday at Buckingham Palace, staged just after the 2018 wedding of Harry and Meghan
Prince Andrew and Prince Harry attend the Committal Service for Queen Elizabeth II at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on September 19, 2022. Neither wore military uniforms
King Charles and Queen Camilla lead the way to Easter Sunday Mattins at St George’s Chapel, Windsor last year. Princess Anne and Prince Andrew follow just behind
‘The revelations from court papers released in America may be largely known already but they nevertheless starkly highlight the Duke of York’s ill-advised friendships with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and jailed child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
‘For the good of the Monarchy, King Charles needs to distance himself from his brother.
‘Unbelievably, Andrew remains a counsellor of state, just like his nephew Prince Harry.
‘This means that either of them could, in theory at least, be required to stand in for the King and carry out important duties in his absence.
‘The fact that this is even a possibility brings the Monarchy into disrepute.
The King should immediately ask Parliament to approve the removal of Andrew and Harry as counsellors of state.
‘They should also lose their places – eighth and fifth respectively – in the order of succession.
Andrew’s daughters, Princess Eugenie, left, and Princess Beatrice could be given more prominent roles, says Richard Eden
Princess Beatrice and Prince Andrew seem in good spirits at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel in 2018
Prince Andrew and Prince Harry at the committal service of Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor, 2022
‘Andrew is a notoriously proud man, and there is one olive branch that he could be offered by the King that would help ease the blow of his humiliation.
‘His daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, could be given more prominent roles in the Royal Family.
‘They have a great sense of duty, and have never put a foot wrong, so I’m sure they would be happy to carry out more royal duties for the King.
‘Andrew could take pride that the next generation was taking on his cherished former role as a working royal.’
- To read more of Richard’s expert Royal commentary, click here
