Prince Andrew and Prince Harry will ‘likely’ be awarded a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee medal despite not being working royals and not holding any military titles.
Her Majesty will give the commemorative medals to people from the Armed Forces, police, fire, emergency and prison services as she celebrates her 70 years of reign on February 6.
But she will also reportedly give a medal to members of the royal family even if they do not carry out any official duties, such as Meghan Markle.
A royal source quoted by the MailOnline said: ‘The list of recipients hasn’t been finalised as yet but, in common with previous jubilees, it is likely that wider members of the Royal Family would receive the medal.
‘In previous jubilees the medals have been widely distributed throughout the working and non working members of the Royal Family. They are funded privately and are commemorative.’
It comes after the Daily Telegraph reported that Andrew and Harry would be unlikely to be considered for the medal as they have both been stripped of their military titles.
For a veteran to receive the award, they typically have to already possess a George Cross or Victoria Cross.
And as both Andrew and William have been stripped of their honourary military titles, it was believed they would be considered ineligible. But now, it looks as if they will qualify simply for being members of the Royal Family.
The Duke of York was ‘left in tears’ after the Queen stripped him of his military titles and royal patronages last Thursday, it’s claimed.
It came after Buckingham Palace said in a statement Andrew will face sex abuse allegations, which he vehemently denies, as a ‘private citizen’.
Prince Harry, on the other hand, was handed the same punishment for quitting as a working royal and moving to California with Meghan Markle and their son in 2020.
Although both men are no longer allowed to use the title ‘His Royal Highness’, they are still Counsellors of State – meaning they are in a line of people who could be called to act on behalf of the Queen if she was away or ill.
They are one of just four people who have the right to do this – the other two being Prince Charles and Prince William who are first and second in line to the throne.
But the Palace is now looking at whether Andrew and Harry should be stripped of this right, according to sources quoted by the Daily Mail.
The royal source said: ‘It is a genuine problem that the Palace is looking to address. Can you imagine the Duke of York having to sign official documents, for example, because the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge were both abroad, and the Queen became ill? It’s not an exaggeration to say it could put the monarchy in jeopardy.’
But taking this role away from Andrew and Harry would reportedly be quite difficult as it would require a special Act of Parliament, it is believed.
The same source suggested the measure would be looked at more seriously depending on the outcome of Andrew’s case later on this year.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment to the Daily Mail. Metro.co.uk has contacted the Palace for comment.
It comes as the Duke of Sussex took legal action against the Home Office’s previous decision not to allow him to personally pay for police protection when he and his family visit the UK.
Lawyers said Harry feels his family is unsafe without British police security and he is ‘unable to return to his home’.
Harry wants to pay for British police to protect him, rather than the taxpayer footing the bill, as he believes the private security team he has in the US does not have enough jurisdiction or access to UK intelligence to protect his family properly.
But government officials are said to be concerned that this could open the door to any wealthy individual using The Met’s security team as their private police force.
Since then, ex-royal police officer Dai Davies has come out saying Harry cannot ‘pick and choose’ when the police should be protecting him.
He reminded Harry that his aunt, Princess Anne, does not get full-time protection from the police either – despite nearly being kidnapped in 1974.
Mr Davies said: ‘Should there be a risk when he comes, clearly the Metropolitan Police would be duty bound. It has been reviewed in the same way as other royal security has been done.’
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew is reportedly still reeling from the ‘shell-shock’ of having his titles and patronages stripped with the ‘agreement and approval of the Queen’.
It came after a New York judge threw out the Duke’s request to have Virginia’s Giuffre’s civil case dismissed and instead ordered Andrew to face trial.
The Duke of York was said to be ‘utterly devastated’ by the Queen’s decision but has accepted it was the ‘right thing to do.’
Ms Giuffre’s lawyers have revealed who they plan to call as witnesses and Andrew’s daughter, Prince Beatrice, and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, were not on the list.
This is despite Andrew using Beatrice as his alibi when he told the BBC the pair were at a Pizza Express in Woking on one of the days in 2001 Ms Giuffre says she was forced to have sex with him.
Andrew’s case could take place in Autumn this year.
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