A bold move is reportedly being considered by King Charles III, as he may break royal tradition to give the Princess of Wales an "unprecedented" royal role.
Palace sources have claimed that Kate, alongside Prince Edward and Princess Anne, could be brought into act as Counsellors of State, reports the Daily Record. This news comes after the King already broke tradition to expand his advisor pool to five - and also gave them authority to assist if he is abroad, or unwell.
Before the Queen passed away, the Counsellors of State positions were held by the then-Prince Charles, Andrew, William and Harry. They were chosen as as they were the next four in line to the throne and were over 18.
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Prince Phillip also held this position until he retired in 2017. Currently, if the Monarch is absent, state business, such as approvals for most appointments and legislation, can be conducted by two Counsellors of State.
And now, well-placed sources in the palace have suggested that there may be three additions to the current list of five. The current five are the Queen Consort, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of York and Princess Beatrice.
A palace source said: "No one will be excluded. The pool of Counsellors of State will be expanded, this is for purely practical reasons. As the King and Queen Consort are likely to be away, as could the Prince and Princess of Wales, it is only right this is attended to."
The source added a formal process would be necessary which would be completed before the King's first overseas trip at the beginning of next year.
Dr Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert at Bangor University, stated that the changes would be the "simplest way of dealing with the problem" and that adding Kate to the list would be "unprecedented".
He added: "It makes perfect sense. It deals with the present problem in that there are not enough working royals to act as Counsellors of State. This is the simplest way of dealing with the problem.
"In that the legislation could specifically make Prince Edward and Princess Anne Counsellors of State, adding to those who are already there. Adding the Princess of Wales is unprecedented, but this also makes sense.
"As two counsellors of State need to act together, it follows that the Prince and Princess of Wales could act together. Overall, this is the simplest way of solving the problem, and the legislation should pass through Parliament without too much difficulty."
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