King Charles asked the British parliament on Monday to make some changes in the law to permit his additional two siblings to perform his duties in his absence, widening the group that includes his disgraced brother Prince Andrew.
Charles, who turned 74 on Monday, requested that his younger brother Prince Edward and sister Princess Anne be included in the list of Counsellors of State in a statement read on his behalf in the House of Lords, the upper chamber of parliament.
The Counsellors, who can act on behalf of the king in his absence to carry out his tasks except for his key roles which include appointing a new prime minister, are chosen from his spouse and the four adults next in line to the throne.
This means that the counsellors include Charles’s wife Camilla, his eldest son and heir Prince William, the king’s younger son Prince Harry, younger brother Prince Andrew, and Andrew’s eldest daughter Princess Beatrice.
This has drawn criticism as neither Andrew nor Harry performs official royal functions anymore.
Most of the royal titles were taken off from Andrew and he was relieved from his royal duties after a scandal exposed his friendship with the late U.S. financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and later Andrew settled a US lawsuit that made a case of sexual abuse against him.
While Harry quit his royal duties in 2020 and shifted to California with his wife Meghan.
The king’s statement further read, “To ensure the continued efficiency of public business when I’m unavailable, such as while I’m undertaking official duties overseas, I confirm that I would be most content should parliament see fit for the number of people who may be called upon to act as Counsellors of State … to be increased to include my sister and brother.”
Parliament must revise the Regency Act’s provisions in order for the amendment to take effect.
King Charles III takes up new role on his 74th birthday
Meanwhile, the king celebrated his 74th birthday on Monday and replaced his late father as the Ranger of Great Windsor Park, a position that is over four centuries old, on the occasion.
Charles became the oldest monarch in British history after succeeding the late queen to the throne in September. He celebrated his first birthday as king privately and without any public engagements.
The official announcement of the king’s new role as Ranger came from Buckingham Palace. The job was initiated in the royal family in 1559 when Queen Elizabeth I appointed Henry Neville. The palace also released a fresh photograph of Charles leaning on an old oak tree in Windsor park.
Charle’s father Prince Philip held the title from 1952, the same time when Elizabeth II became the queen, succeeding her father George VI in the job.
