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Prince Andrew has retained a key constitutional role as a “counselor of state,” one of four people able to step in and act for King Charles if he is incapacitated, despite his ejection from the ranks of working royals.
While it is considered a possibility that Charles may seek to change the 1937 Regency Act, which states that the first four adults in the line of succession to the throne are automatically entitled to the role, given that two of those people—Andrew and Harry—are no longer part of the institutional side of the family, no such change has happened yet.
A palace source told The Daily Beast: “It’s just the constitution,” and brushed off questions about what may happen in the future, emphasizing that the king wants the focus to be on mourning his mother over the next few days.