LONDON: British King Charles III on Thursday was reportedly planning to extend the pool of royals allowed to act for him in his absence, effectively sidelining non-working royals Prince Harry and the Duke of York.

Charles is expected to amend the “Regency Act” to add his brother Edward, the Earl of Wessex, and his sister Anne, the Princess Royal, The Daily Telegraph and the BBC reported, quoting sources.

The Telegraph reported the amendments could go before parliament “within weeks”, quoting “royal insiders” as saying it was a “logical step”. Buckingham Palace has not commented officially.

Currently the list of royals who can temporarily take over on the 73-year-old monarch’s behalf if he is away or ill only includes Charles’s wife Camilla, heir to the throne Prince William, Harry, Andrew and his daughter Beatrice, who is not even a working royal.

A longer list would allow the Palace to bypass Harry, who has quit as a working royal and lives in the US, and Andrew, who has retired from public life over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of sex with a minor, without directly excluding them.

Daily Express royal reporter Richard Palmer tweeted that amendments “to create more stand-ins for the King is now a priority, sources have confirmed”. He said this would mean “the King never has to ask non-working royals such as Harry, Andrew or Beatrice to stand in for him”.

The role includes signing documents and receiving ambassadors, the BBC said.

The regency issue was raised in the House of Lords Monday, with Labour peer Stephen Benn questioning the current situation where Andrew and Harry can exercise these powers.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2022