Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, has been given an important new role following the death of her grandmother Queen Elizabeth. Before the Queen died, Charles, William, Prince Harry and Prince Andrew were Counsellors of State, which meant they could step in if the monarch was unable to perform her duties "due to illness or absence abroad".
By law, Counsellors of State are the top four people in the line of succession who are over the age of 21 as well as the monarch's spouse.
Now Charles is King, it now means the Counsellors of State are William, Harry, Andrew, Camilla and the next person in line over the age of 21, which is Beatrice.
According the the Royal Family website : "Counsellors of State are authorised to carry out most of the official duties of the Sovereign, for example, attending Privy Council meetings, signing routine documents and receiving the credentials of new ambassadors to the United Kingdom."
However, they cannot be delegated Commonwealth matters, create peers, appoint a Prime Minister or dissolve Parliament - unless it is the monarch's express instruction.
In effect Counsellors of State are people who can step in and deputise for The King if needed. It is unlikely Prince Harry or Prince Andrew would ever take on these roles as they have both stepped back from formal Royal duties.
Princess Beatrice is now ninth in line to the throne.
