It’s all change on the Windsor estate as the keys to royal residences change hands. The Duke of York is reported to be on his way out of Royal Lodge while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed that they have been asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage. And that move could have wider implications for, once they leave, Prince Harry has no official residence in the UK.
The Regency Act of 1937 has attracted a lot of attention in recent years as it lays out what happens if a monarch is unable to rule, either temporarily or permanently. Now, as Prince Harry leaves his Windsor home, new questions are being raised about whether his move could change his ability to act on behalf of a monarch.
Right now, the Duke of Sussex has two potential roles in ruling for a monarch who is unable to exercise their role, either temporarily or permanently. He is still on the list of those who can be called on to act as Counsellors of State, the people who can step in, for a brief period, for a monarch until they are in a position to resume their role fully again. He is also first in line to be regent should either William or one of his children require someone to rule in their place. However, where he calls home could have a bearing on that.
The Regency Act outlines situations in which someone is barred from acting on behalf of the monarch. And it states that ”A person shall be disqualified from becoming or being Regent, if he is not a British subject of full age and domiciled in some part of the United Kingdom…”
It’s those last few words which are in the constitutional spotlight again now. ”Domiciled” isn’t an easy term to define but when Harry leaves Frogmore, it raises the question of whether he would still be eligible to exercise either role. For the Act also says ”any person disqualified under this Act from being Regent shall be disqualified from being a Counsellor of State.”
Domiciled can be taken to mean ”living or residing in a country”. The Duke of Sussex’s main home is in California but he had Frogmore Cottage as his main UK base. The question that now arises is whether, not having a permanent UK address means that the Duke of Sussex is no longer domiciled in the UK.
And that is where things get very grey. For the general definition of domicile is a place that a person calls home. They don’t have to live there all the time. It can mean the place in which they were born or the place where they consider their ”roots” to be. For tax purposes, domicile is the place you consider your permanent home over the course of your life. However, a British citizen can set up a permanent home outside the UK, live in the UK for a short while and be considered non-domiciled for tax purposes. It is a complicated area.
The situation around Counsellors of State is an easier one to resolve for there is very little chance Prince Harry will ever be asked to exercise that function. The Regency Act stipulates that the Monarch’s spouse and the first four adults in the line of succession can act as Counsellors of State. Two must work together, no one is allowed to exercise the role individually.
The first four adults are currently The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of York and Princess Beatrice. Queen Camilla can also act as a Counsellor of State. Soon after his accession, King Charles asked Parliament to add his sister, the Princess Royal, and his youngest brother, the Earl of Wessex, to the list. That was agreed. It is highly unlikely that anyone other than Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Anne or Prince Edward would be asked to exercise the role.
A full regency remains another matter. If King Charles requires a regent, that role would currently fall to Prince William as it is the next adult of full age in the succession who is called upon first. That means that should William or any of his children need a regent, Prince Harry would be asked to take up the position. That is where the debate about being domiciled again comes in. If, in the next nine years before Prince George reaches the age of 18, a regent is needed, would the Duke of Sussex be asked to take on the role?
After Harry on the list of regents is Prince Andrew followed by Princess Beatrice and then Princess Eugenie. All of them would take precedence over Queen Camilla and The Princess of Wales as well as The Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex should a regent be needed by either Prince William or his children. In the early years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, a minor alteration was made to the Act to allow the Duke of Edinburgh to act as regent for any of his children, otherwise the role would have fallen to Princess Margaret. The change was revoked when Prince Edward reached full age.
Given how speedily the changes for Counsellors of State were made, it remains to be seen if a similar alteration could happen in the months ahead around the exercise of a full regency. Given that the situation of a regent for William or one of his children would most likely only arise in extreme circumstances, it is understandable that it isn’t a major topic of conversation. No one ever wants to contemplate sadness.
However, as the moving lorries circle the Windsor estate this spring, it is a reminder that in royal terms, even family matters can have wider implications.
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