Daniela Elser: Prince Andrew in huge position of power if Queen fell ill

Opinion

OPINION:

Something incredible happened this week: a story came out about a member of the house of Windsor, one truly shocking and quite horrible, and it was not about Prince Andrew.

On Wednesday, news broke about a new documentary that will air claims the Queen's uncle the Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII) had helped the Nazis invade France.

Andrew might have done some particularly rubbish things over the last few decades – befriending autocrats, meeting with Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and staying in the home of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – but he has not, as far as we know, been encouraging any foreign powers to launch military action against the UK.

The Duke of York stayed at the home of convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Photo / Getty Images

But it says everything you need to know about how low of a position Andrew occupies in terms of his public standing that it takes another HRH committing what looks like treason for the 62-year-old to come off looking better.

The Duke of York is not only publicly reviled but also now persona non grata in every smart drawing room, boardroom and backroom between here and Tashkent.

Prince Andrew is now regarded persona non grata after the last two years. Photo / Getty Images

And yet … prepare yourself … this week, if anything had happened to the 95-year-old Queen, he would have been in charge temporarily.

See, under the rules laid down by King George VI in 1936, the four most senior members of the line of succession who are over the age of 21 years old hold the positions of Counsellors of State. (The monarch's spouse is also a Counsellor.)

They are there to essentially act as understudies for the monarch if she is overseas or temporarily incapacitated and can carry out most of her duties including signing routine documents and attending Privy Council meetings.

(They cannot do things like appoint a new prime minister and or create peers and can only dissolve parliament at the request of the Queen.)

Given that Prince George and Princess Charlotte, third and fourth in line to the throne, are still in short pants, the current holders of these roles are Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Andrew and Prince Harry.

You see the problem, right?

Of the four men who hold these roles, one huffily quit royal duties and the other was forced out thanks to the worst scandal that has rocked the palace in a century.

This is even though Harry (who is still legally domiciled in the UK given he and wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have held onto the lease of their Windsor home Frogmore Cottage) has only spent about ten days out of the last 724-odd days on British soil.

Over the last 724 days, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spent only ten days in Britain. Photo / Screengrab

And Andrew is, of course, about as useful as a paperweight, only less decorative.

Normally, the fact that two of the four Counsellors are now certified royal black sheep wouldn't really matter, but that situation changed entirely this week, with both Prince William and Prince Charles having left the country.

William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge have been flitting about the Caribbean on a 'Please don't leave the Commonwealth' gladhanding charm campaign, which has only moderately done the trick.

(On Thursday, the Jamaican Prime Minister told the Duke the country planned to move towards independence.)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are currently in the Caribbean to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Photo / Getty Images

At the same time, his father Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall flew to Northern Ireland where there was not a single rum drink on offer, but they too were met by thousands of cheering fans.

(At their first stop, Cookstown, an hour away from Belfast, 3000 people filled the streets to see the future king and queen.)

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall are currently in Northern Ireland. Photo / Getty Images

All of this was, of course, happening while back in the UK the bad news continues about the Queen's declining health.

This week it was revealed she had a wheelchair-friendly lift installed at one of her favourite Scottish homes and plans were being put in place to chopper her from Windsor to London to ensure she could attend the service for thanksgiving for Prince Philip next week because the 50 minute drive would prove too demanding.

Her Majesty has reportedly had a wheelchair-friendly lift installed at one of her favourite Scottish homes because of her declining health. Photo / Getty Images

While every indication is that her woes are entirely related to her mobility, the last six months have been dominated by growing concerns for the 95-year-old.

She spent three months last year only undertaking light duties, was hospitalised for an unspecified reason, missed Remembrance Day due to a sprained back, had to pull out of the Cop26 climate conference and most recently was not up to attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.

One is not exactly tickety-boo, right now.

So it is against this backdrop, when – for the first time ever – Her Majesty's wellbeing is a genuine issue, the UK and the Commonwealth found itself in the truly mind boggling position where, for 96-hours this week, if anything had happened to Her Majesty it would have been Andrew – ANDREW – who would step into her shoes.

If anything happens to The Queen for 96 hours this week, Prince Andrew will have to step into her shoes. Photo / Getty Images

Just let that sink in for a minute.

Realistically, if Her Majesty had sneezed twice, aides would probably have had Charles back on a plane and speeding back to London at Mach 3.

The worry here is not what damage Andrew could have done had he been required to even briefly deputise for his mother – the powers of a Counsellor of State are bureaucratic more than anything – but the symbolism of the whole thing.

That there is even the remotest of remote possibilities he could be allowed to deputise for the Queen after the sordid events of the last couple of years simply defies belief.

The bewildering thing here is the Counsellor of State title is not another grand appellation that got lost behind the sofa cushions, and when Andrew was stripped of his remaining titles and patronages earlier this year, no one remembered to take it away from him.

In the wake of the Duke of York settling the civil sex abuse case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre (he has always denied her assault claims) for a reported $A21.5 million, the palace confirmed he would remain in his Counsellor role.

(So too did The Mirror report that the former naval officer was so miserable after his plummet from grace that he was being allowed to keep his honorary title as Vice-Admiral to help buoy his spirits.)

Prince Andrew settled a civil case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre for a reported $23.1 million. Photo / Getty Images

All of this is despite public opinion being so firmly against him, it's astonishing. In polling done last month by the very conservative and monarchist Times, 92 per cent of readers said they thought Andrew should be dumped from his Counsellor role.

This situation is symptomatic of the much more serious and malignant issue that Buckingham Palace has never dealt with, which is that they, even now, are not willing to do what must be done when it comes to Andrew.

At every juncture, their lily white hands have had to be forced to take action against him.

Remember: He only stepped back from official duties, days after the Newsnight interview, when the global tide of horror and anger grew too big to ignore in 2019.

This year, Buckingham Palace only defrocked him and took away his remaining titles after a New York judge confirmed his civil sex abuse case would go to trial. Even in February, when it was revealed he had agreed to settle with Ms Giuffre, it looked suspiciously like the step had only been taken because it was the Queen's Platinum Jubilee year.

When the Duke of York agreed to settle with Ms Giuffre in February, it looked suspiciously like he had only agreed to do so because of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this year. Photo / Getty Images

At no stage has the palace or the Queen taken a stand and made Andrew truly pay for his deplorable judgment in befriending Epstein or the fact he spent days under his roof. At no stage has the Queen truly made her son feel the consequences of his actions.

All the royal house has done since this horrible chapter began, time and again, is the very minimum to assuage public acrimony.

That's just not good enough.

The dearth of leadership and moral backbone the palace has shown is to the monarchy's ongoing discredit.

Charles, Camilla, William and Kate are currently spun out around the globe trying to keep the Commonwealth glued together but there is one simple, powerful step the palace could take which would be universally applauded and go a long way to reinvigorating trust in the monarchy: get rid of Andrew in every official capacity.

There is one simple step that will re-establish the trust in the monarchy - get rid of the Duke of York altogether. Photo / Getty Images

No more Vice-Admiral titles to cheer him up. No more getting to be a Counsellor-of-State. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

More than 60-years after most parents realise how important it is to set boundaries for their children, it is time for Her Majesty to put her subjects first and tell her over-inflated son, "no".

And maybe, if she's lucky, William and Kate will bring her back one of those nice rum punch drinks with an umbrella in it.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and a writer with more than 15 years working with a number of Australia's leading media titles.