King Charles cancer diagnosis: Seven royals that can stand in for monarch

While King Charles receives treatment after a shock cancer diagnosis, how he carries out his raft of formal duties will have to change. See how and which royals can step in for him with his public-facing duties.

King Charles’ powers in Australia are largely ceremonial but in England the Head of State has a raft of formal duties that require his sign off including “assenting” laws.

Buckingham Palace said the King will continue with state business and official paperwork while he is being treated for cancer but how this works will have to change.

His weekly meeting with the prime minister Rishi Sunak each Wednesday is expected to go ahead but it may happen remotely if medics advise the King to reduce in-person contact.

He will also continue to receive the “red box” to review important documents, delivered to his home.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Picture: AFP

The King is also expected to remain available for meetings of the Privy Council, which usually meets once a month and is the oldest form of legislative assembly still functioning in the UK, responsible for a number of executive duties.

At each meeting the Council obtains the King’s formal approval of orders which have already been discussed and approved by ministers.

He also approves proclamations through the Council, formal notices covering issues such as the summoning of a new parliament, coinage and the dates of certain bank holidays.

The King’s role in general elections will be a focus, as Mr Sunak has hinted he will send the country to the polls in the second half of the year.

The monarch dissolves parliament before a general election.

The day after the vote, it is his duty to invite the leader of the party that won the most seats in the House of Commons to become Prime Minister and to form a government - one of the few remaining personal prerogatives of the sovereign.

It was one of Queen Elizabeth’s last duties, just two days before she died, when she appointed Liz Truss Prime Minister at Balmoral Castle.

It was the first time the Queen, who had mobility issues, carried out the key duty at her Scottish retreat rather than at Buckingham Palace.

Another one of the King’s official parliamentary roles is assenting to Bills passed by parliament on the advice of ministers.

Legislation must receive his sign-off to become law. Royal Assent has not been refused since 1707.

It is also a long-established convention that the monarch is asked for consent to debate Bills which would affect the prerogative or interests of the Crown.

WHO WILL FILL IN FOR KING CHARLES

QUEEN CAMILLA

The Queen of Consort will continue her public duties and engagements without her husband Charles, however, she could be called upon to fulfil important state roles.

PRINCE WILLIAM

As the first in line to the throne, Prince William is generally regarded as the second in command and will most likely have added responsibilities while his father recovers.

The Prince of Wales, who had taken time off to look after his three children while Princess Catherine had surgery, is due to preside over an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace and a charity dinner on Wednesday.

Prince William, Prince of Wales. Picture: AFP

PRINCE HARRY

The Duke of Sussex lives with his family in the United States and has stepped back from being a “working royal”. By law, Counsellors of State are required to have a UK domicile, but Harry has no address in the UK and lost his Frogmore House in Windsor last year.

PRINCESS ANNE AND PRINCE EDWARD

Princess Anne and The Duke of Edinburgh may be called to stand in for the King, after they were re-added as extra Counsellors of State in 2022. Both had previously been Counsellors of State before they were overtaken in the order of succession.

Princess Anne, 73, the second child and only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Picture: Getty Images

Prince Andrew, Duke of York (right) and Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh. Picture: Getty Images

PRINCE ANDREW

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, withdrew from royal duties after his association with US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public at the late Queen Elizabeth’s insistence.

PRINCESS BEATRICE

The Princess Beatrice is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

Although she holds a HRH title, Beatrice pursues her own career away from the Royal Family and doesn’t serve the Crown in an official capacity.