Counsellor of State

File:Queen’s Speech - 52064110244.jpg

As Counsellors of State, Charles, Prince of Wales, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, opened Parliament in May 2022 on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.

Counsellors of State are senior members of the British royal family to whom the monarch can delegate royal functions through letters patent under the Great Seal, to prevent delay or difficulty in the dispatch of public business in the case of their illness (except total incapacity) or of their intended or actual absence from the United Kingdom.<ref name=":1">Regency Act 1937, s 6(1).</ref><ref name="ukpc">Template:Cite news</ref>

Counsellors of state may carry out "such of the royal functions as may be specified in the Letters Patent".<ref name=":1" /> In practice, this means most of the monarch's official duties, such as attending Privy Council meetings, signing routine documents and receiving the credentials of new ambassadors to the Court of St James's.<ref name="royal.uk3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, by law, counsellors of state cannot grant ranks, titles or peerages.<ref name=":1" /> They also, by the terms of the letters patent, cannot deal with a number of core constitutional functions, such as Commonwealth matters, the dissolution of Parliament (except on the monarch's express instruction) and the appointment of prime ministers.<ref name="royal.uk3"/> A rare example occurred on 7 February 1974 of the Proclamation of the Dissolution of Parliament being promulgated by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret as counsellors of state, on the express instructions of Queen Elizabeth II.<ref>London Gazette no. 46205, 8 February 1974, pp. 1851–1852</ref>

Royal functions are to be exercised jointly by the counsellors of state or by such number of them as is specified in the letters patent under the Great Seal and subject to any other conditions within.<ref>Regency Act 1937, s 6.</ref> However, there is a legal presumption that counsellors of state should act jointly and, as such, at least two are needed to act, with the absence of one possibly risking a legal challenge.<ref name=":02">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Counsellors of state are always the monarch's spouse and the next four people in the line of succession who meet the following specifications: they must be British subjects of full age (21 years, or 18 years for the heir apparent or presumptive) who are domiciled in the United Kingdom and not disqualified from becoming monarch.<ref>Regency Act 1937, s 6(2) and 3(2).</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During a regency, the next four eligible people in the line of succession after the regent (and the regent's spouse) may be counsellors.<ref>Section 6(4).</ref> A monarch may also request that Parliament add specific people to their counsellors of state. This was done by Queen Elizabeth II leading to section 3 of the Regency Act 1953 and by King Charles III leading to the Counsellors of State Act 2022.<ref name=skyn/>

History

The first counsellors of state were appointed by George V under the royal prerogative in 1911 when he traveled to India for the Delhi Durbar, and they continued to be appointed under the prerogative for the rest of his reign. At first, senior politicians such as the Prime Minister and the Lord Chancellor could serve as counsellors of state, but later counsellors of state were drawn exclusively from the ranks of the Royal Family. The Regency Act 1937 (1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6. c. 16) ultimately placed the appointment of counsellors of state on a statutory footing and codified the practice of only entrusting the role to senior members of the Royal Family.

Since the passage of the Regency Act 1937, the only persons to have been counsellors of state while not a queen consort, prince, or princess were George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood; Alastair Windsor, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (although Windsor had been a prince between 1914 and 1917 and never served in practice during his short tenure); and Maud Carnegie, Countess of Southesk (who was entitled to the style of princess but did not use it).Template:Citation needed Prior to that, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord President of the Council, the prime minister, and the Archbishop of Canterbury had been appointed to the position by George V.Template:Citation needed

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother lost her eligibility to be a counsellor of state in 1952 upon the death of her husband, King George VI. Section 3 of the Regency Act 1953, however, restored her position. The provision was specific to her, rather than applying to dowager consorts generally, and became spent upon her death in 2002.

In September 2022, The Daily Telegraph reported that King Charles III wanted the law to be amended to allow only working members of the royal family to serve as counsellors of state. This would take away the eligibility of family members that do not carry out official functions, while creating a possibility for spouses to senior ranking members and those with a lower position in the line of succession to be called upon and fulfil the role.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Questions were raised in the House of Lords in October 2022 by Lord Stansgate about the "suitability" of having the Duke of York and Duke of Sussex as counsellors of state when the former had "left public life" and the latter had "left the country". It was subsequently reported that, instead of removing them from the list of counsellors of state, it was being proposed that the pool of counsellors be expanded in order to create a more flexible list of available royals to stand in for the King if needed.<ref name="BBC-Amendment">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 14 November 2022, the King sent a message to both Houses of Parliament, formally asking for a change in the law that would allow Princess Anne and Prince Edward to be added to the list of counsellors of state.<ref name="BBC-Nov14">Template:Cite news</ref> The next day, a bill to that end was introduced in Parliament and it received royal assent on 6 December, coming into force on 7 December as the Counsellors of State Act 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

List of current counsellors of state

As of 7 December 2022, those eligible to be appointed counsellors of state to King Charles III are:<ref name="skyn">Template:Cite news</ref>

Counsellor	Since	Relation to Monarch	Succession order	Change
File:Queen Camilla in Aotearoa 2019.jpg Queen Camilla	8 September 2022	Spouse	N/A	Accession to the throne of Charles III
File:Prince of Wales in Normandy 2024.jpg William, Prince of Wales	21 June 2003	Son and heir apparent	First	Reached the age of 21
File:Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex 2020 cropped 02.jpg Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex	15 September 2005	Son	Fifth
File:The Duke of York headshot.jpg Prince Andrew, Duke of York	19 February 1981	Brother	Eighth
File:Web Summit 2018 - Forum - Day 2, November 7 DSC 4716 (45765938231) (cropped).jpg Princess Beatrice	8 September 2022	Niece	Ninth	Accession to the throne of Charles III
File:Prince Edward 2022.jpg Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh	7 December 2022	Brother	Fifteenth	Counsellors of State Act 2022
File:Princess Anne Wellington 2023.jpg Anne, Princess Royal		Sister	Eighteenth

Of these seven, Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, and Princess Beatrice do not perform royal duties. If Prince Harry ceases to be domiciled in the United Kingdom, he shall become ineligible to be a counsellor of state.<ref name=":02" />

Prince Andrew remains eligible to serve in this role, though he has withdrawn from most royal activities; this provoked by a backlash due to the allegations of sexual abuse made against him.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In practice, only members of the royal family that perform public duties on behalf of the monarch would be appointed as counsellors of state, thus eliminating the possibility of Harry, Andrew or Beatrice serving in this role.<ref name="royal.uk3"/>

Should any of the above, other than the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh or the Princess Royal, become ineligible or unable to serve, the next person eligible would be Princess Eugenie. Prince George is to automatically become a counsellor of state on his 21st birthday on 22 July 2034, and would replace Princess Beatrice (or his 18th birthday should he be the heir apparent at that time, and would replace Princess Eugenie).

List of former counsellors of state

{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} The following is a list of all the people who have been eligible to be a counsellor of state, listed in chronological order. A † indicates Counsellors who died whilst eligible:

George VI (11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952)
Counsellor	Period	Relation to Monarch	Change
File:Queen Elizabeth Bowes Lyon in Coronation Robes by Sir Gerald Kelly (cropped).jpg Queen Elizabeth	19 March 1937 – 6 February 1952	Spouse	Passage of the Regency Act 1937
File:Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.jpg Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester	19 March 1937 – 10 June 1974†	Brother
File:Prince George, Duke of Kent.jpg Prince George, Duke of Kent	19 March 1937 – 25 August 1942†	Brother
File:Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood.jpg Mary, Princess Royal	19 March 1937 – 25 December 1957	Sister
File:Alexandra Fife.jpg Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife	19 March 1937 – 21 April 1944	Cousin
File:Alastair Arthur, Earl of MacDuff.png Alastair Windsor, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Template:Small	25 August 1942 – 26 April 1943†	First cousin once removed	Replaced Prince George, Duke of Kent upon his death
File:Princess Maud of Fife as an adult.jpg Maud Carnegie, Countess of Southesk	26 April 1943 – 7 February 1944	Cousin	Replaced Alastair Windsor, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn upon his death
George Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles (Earl of Harewood from 1947)	7 February 1944 – 21 August 1951	Nephew	Replaced Maud Carnegie, Countess of Southesk upon reaching the age of 21
File:Elizabeth II of UK 1943.jpg Princess Elizabeth (Duchess of Edinburgh from 1947)	21 April 1944 – 6 February 1952	Daughter (Heir-presumptive)	Replaced Princess Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Fife upon reaching the age of 18
File:Prinses Margaret , Lord Snowdon en Prins Bernhard in de Hoovercraft, Prinses Mar, Bestanddeelnr 917-7816 (cropped).jpg Princess Margaret	21 August 1951 – 10 March 1985	Daughter	Replaced George Lascelles, Earl of Harewood upon reaching the age of 21
Elizabeth II (6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022)
Counsellor	Period	Relation to Monarch	Change
File:HRH Prince Philip 3 Allan Warren.jpg Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh	6 February 1952 – 9 April 2021†	Spouse	Accession to the throne of Elizabeth II
File:Princess Margaret.jpg Princess Margaret (Countess of Snowdon from 1961)	21 August 1951 – 10 March 1985	Sister	Already eligible
File:Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester.jpg Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester	19 March 1937 – 10 June 1974†	Uncle
File:Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood.jpg Mary, Princess Royal	19 March 1937 – 25 December 1957	Aunt
George Lascelles, Earl of Harewood	6 February 1952 – 9 October 1956	Cousin	Accession to the throne of Elizabeth II
File:Queen Elizabeth Bowes Lyon in Coronation Robes by Sir Gerald Kelly (cropped).jpg Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother	19 November 1953<ref name="ebl">Queen Elizabeth lost her position as counsellor of state when she was widowed. However, the Regency Act 1953 re-appointed her as a counsellor of state.</ref> – 30 March 2002†	Mother	Passage of the Regency Act 1953
File:HRH The Duke of Kent 5 Allan Warrenjpg.jpg Prince Edward, Duke of Kent	9 October 1956 – 26 August 1965	Cousin	Replaced George Lascelles, Earl of Harewood upon reaching the age of 21
File:PrincessAlexandraofKent.jpg Princess Alexandra of Kent	25 December 1957 – 18 December 1962	Cousin	Replaced Mary, Princess Royal upon reaching the age of 21
File:Prince William of Gloucester visiting Tywyn 2 (1549704) (cropped).jpg Prince William of Gloucester	18 December 1962 – 15 August 1971	Cousin	Replaced Princess Alexandra of Kent upon reaching the age of 21
File:HRH The Duke of Gloucester Allan Warren.jpg Prince Richard of Gloucester	26 August 1965 – 14 November 1966	Cousin	Replaced Prince Edward, Duke of Kent upon reaching the age of 21
File:World Leaders' Summit Opening Ceremony (51648056699) (cropped).jpg Charles, Prince of Wales	14 November 1966 – 8 September 2022	Son and Heir-apparent	Replaced Prince Richard of Gloucester upon reaching the age of 18
File:Princess Anne October 2015.jpg Princess Anne (Princess Royal from 1987)	15 August 1971 – 21 June 2003<ref name="eb2">The Princess Royal lost her position as counsellor of state when Prince William reached the age of 21. However, the Counsellors of State Act 2022 re-appointed her as a counsellor of state to Charles III.</ref>	Daughter	Replaced Prince William of Gloucester upon reaching the age of 21
File:HRH The Duke of Gloucester Allan Warren.jpg Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester	10 June 1974 – 19 February 1981	Cousin	Replaced Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester upon his death
File:The Duke of York in Belfast (cropped).jpg Prince Andrew (Duke of York from 1986)	19 February 1981 – 8 September 2022<ref name="eb4">Continued as a Counsellor of State to Charles III upon his accession</ref>	Son	Replaced Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester upon reaching the age of 21
File:Prince Edward February 2015.jpg Prince Edward (Earl of Wessex from 1999)	10 March 1985 – 15 September 2005<ref name="eb3">Prince Edward lost his position as counsellor of state when Prince Harry reached the age of 21. However, the Counsellors of State Act 2022 re-appointed him as a counsellor of state to Charles III.</ref>	Son	Replaced Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon upon reaching the age of 21
File:Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.jpg Prince William (Duke of Cambridge from 2011)	21 June 2003 – 8 September 2022<ref name="eb4"></ref>	Grandson	Replaced Anne, Princess Royal upon reaching the age of 21
File:Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex 2020 cropped 02.jpg Prince Harry (Duke of Sussex from 2018)	15 September 2005 – 8 September 2022<ref name="eb4"></ref>	Grandson	Replaced Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex upon reaching the age of 21

Timeline

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1. lines marking succession of a new monarch

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1. lines separating branches of the family
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from:11/12/1936 till:{{#time:d/m/Y}} atpos:389 width:0.1

1. descendents of Elizabeth II
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3. descendents of George VI

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1. descendents of Edward VII

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bar:Maud                text:"Princess Maud"

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bar:Edward          from:10/03/1985 till:15/09/2005 color:succession
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bar:HenryGlos       from:19/03/1937 till:10/06/1974 color:succession
bar:WilliamGlos     from:18/12/1962 till:15/08/1971 color:succession
bar:RichardGlos     from:26/08/1965 till:14/11/1966 color:succession
bar:RichardGlos     from:10/06/1974 till:19/02/1981 color:succession
bar:GeorgeKent      from:19/03/1937 till:25/08/1942 color:succession
bar:EdwardKent      from:09/10/1956 till:26/08/1965 color:succession
bar:AlexandraKent   from:25/12/1957 till:18/12/1962 color:succession
bar:Mary            from:19/03/1937 till:25/12/1957 color:succession
bar:GeorgeLascelles from:07/02/1944 till:21/08/1951 color:succession
bar:GeorgeLascelles from:06/02/1952 till:09/10/1956 color:succession
bar:Alexandra       from:19/03/1937 till:21/04/1944 color:succession
bar:AlastairWindsor from:25/08/1942 till:26/04/1943 color:succession
bar:Maud            from:26/04/1943 till:07/02/1944 color:succession

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Bibliography

• Velde, François R. (2004). Regency Acts 1937 to 1953. Retrieved 2005.

External links

• Counsellors of State – The Royal Family's website
• Template:UK-LEG