King Charles III’s aim of a “slimmed-down” monarchy came in for scrutiny on Friday, as questions were asked about who will stand in for him while he goes into hospital.
The 75-year-old British head of state will undergo prostate surgery next week, forcing him to cancel public engagements.
At the same time, his daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales, 42, is recuperating in hospital after abdominal surgery.
Her Kensington Palace office said she is facing up to two weeks’ convalescence as an in-patient, then several months’ recuperation at home.
Her husband, heir to the throne Prince William, 41, has postponed some engagements, and was seen leaving the private London clinic Thursday.
The situation leaves three out of four of the royal family’s most senior members out of action.
That has led to focus on the functions of the counsellors of state — members of the royal family who can officially carry out duties in the absence of the monarch due to overseas travel or illness.
Typically they have been the four most senior adults over the age of 21 in the line of succession.
But legislation passed by parliament in late 2022 now restricts those who can act as substitute to “working members of the royal family”.
That effectively sidelines Charles’s younger brother Prince Andrew and the king’s younger son, Prince Harry, even though both remain counsellors of state.
In the legislation, Charles added his sister Princess Anne and other brother Prince Edward to the members of the royal family who can act for him.
