Prince Andrew and Prince Harry are both 'likely' to receive the Queen's Platinum Jubilee commemorative medal next month, royal sources told MailOnline today after it had been claimed the duo would be snubbed.
The medals will be awarded on February 6 to mark the Queen's 70 years on the throne and while the list of recipients has not yet been finalised, all members of the Royal Family are expected to be given one.
This would include non-working royals such as Andrew and Harry and his wife Meghan Markle - as well as the likes of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Peter Phillips and Zara and Mike Tindall, who all carry out no official duties.
A royal source told MailOnline this afternoon: '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 claimed Andrew and Harry would both not get one because they have lost their honorary military titles. The medal will be given to serving members of the Armed Forces, police, fire, emergency and prison services - and the only veterans to receive it will be recipients of the George Cross or Victoria Cross.
It was thought that members of the Royal Family holding honorary military titles would also be in the list of those eligible for the medal - meaning Harry and Andrew would be treated like all other veterans and not receive it. But this now appears to be irrelevant because all members of the Royal Family will be given a medal anyway.
Meanwhile Buckingham Palace officials are considering how to remove the role of Counsellors of State from the Duke of York and the Duke of Sussex - a potentially significant position that the pair still possess.
The duo, who are ninth and sixth in line to the throne respectively, have already been stripped of their royal patronages and military titles by the Queen - and both asked not to use the handle His Royal Highness.
Palace sources confirmed they are still two of the four Counsellors of State, who would be called upon to take the place of the Queen if she were unable to carry out her duties because of illness or absence abroad.
Prince Andrew next to Harry and Meghan on the Buckingham Palace balcony in June 2019. Also pictured (front) are the Queen (left), James, Viscount Severn and Isla Philips (both right)
Princes Andrew and Harry also will not be eligible for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee medal, according to the Daily Telegraph
They would be authorised to carry out most of the official duties of the monarch, including signing important documents, attending Privy Council meetings and receiving the credentials of new ambassadors to the UK. The other two Counsellors of State are Prince Charles, who is heir to the throne, and William, who is second in line.
A 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.'
A Buckingham Palace spokesman declined to comment, but sources suggested that Andrew, 61, and Harry, 37, could not be stripped of their roles without an Act of Parliament having to be passed first.
By law, the counsellors of state are the monarch's spouse and the next four people in the line of succession who are over the age of 21. If Andrew and Harry were removed they could be replaced by Princess Anne and Camilla.
'There could be events later this year which make such a change necessary,' the source said in an apparent reference to the outcome of Andrew's court case in the US and the publication of Harry's forthcoming memoirs.
The position of Counsellor of State was provided for in 1937 under the Regency Act. Prior to 1937, Regency Acts were drafted and passed only in necessity - with nine separate Acts to cover various eventualities since 1728.
Shortly after George VI came to the throne in 1936, a new Regency Act was passed which provided a rule for all future reigns. It was then that the new office of Counsellor of State was created to cover short-term absences.
Both Andrew and Harry have been stripped of their royal patronages and military titles amid the former's ongoing court battle and the latter's decision to quit 'The Firm' and move to North America with Meghan.
Last Thursday, the Queen removed Andrew's honorary military roles and he gave up his use of the HRH style.
Andrew is thought to still be at his 31-room Royal Lodge home and allegedly hosted around a dozen family friends on Friday including Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank before a shoot at Windsor Great Park.
The Queen's move last week was a humiliation for Andrew and came one day after the lawsuit against him took a big step forward when a judge threw out his motion to dismiss the sexual assault case and ruled it can go to trial.
Prince Andrew and Prince Harry are pictured at Prince Philip's funeral at Windsor Castle on April 17 last year
Andrew, who was born an HRH, will not use it any official capacity, and was also stripped of his remaining royal patronages in a decision which represented the Duke of York's complete removal from official royal life.
The dramatic move was also seen as an attempt to distance the monarchy from Andrew, who was once second in line to the throne as the spare to the heir, in the year of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
It comes as Andrew was accused of a 'tone-deaf' defence in his legal battle with Virginia Giuffre - who used to be known as Virginia Roberts - after his lawyers suggested she may have 'false memories' of her encounters with him.
Meanwhile an security expert said yesterday that Harry should learn from his aunt Princess Anne, who gets police security only when on royal duties, an expert said yesterday.
Prince Harry is pictured wearing his medals while smiling with the Duke of York on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 2014
The Duke of Sussex, who now carries out no royal engagements, has threatened legal action unless he gets Met Police security, which he would pay for, when he is back in the UK from California.
Yesterday ex-royal protection chief Dai Davies said Princess Anne 'doesn't get full time protection now and yet in 1974 she was nearly kidnapped – her protection officer was actually shot'.
The ex-chief superintendent added: 'Her security is now adapted according to risk. There just isn't a large pool of officers to pick and choose from.'
Of Harry and wife Meghan he said: 'They both have such egos that they expect the treatment.
'The fact is, many senior royals are losing their protection. They're not going to take officers away from other royals or other duties to protect him.'
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip ride in a carriage opposite Prince Andrew and Prince Harry at Royal Ascot in June 2016
Royal insiders say there is no backing for the prince's demands at Buckingham Palace.
Harry is now seeking a judicial review of the decision to strip him of his UK police protection team, claiming it is 'too dangerous' to visit without Scotland Yard bodyguards.
Lawyers acting for Harry have written a 'pre-action protocol' letter to the Home Office, threatening to go to the High Court if his family are not provided with security while they are in Britain.
A government spokesman said the UK's security system was 'rigorous and proportionate' and that it was long-standing policy not to provide detailed information about such arrangements
It is also unprecedented for the judiciary to get involved in matters of royal protection, which are signed off by an independent committee and the Home Secretary.
Prince Charles 'invites Harry and Meghan to stay with him in UK in the hope of meeting Lilibet for the first time', sources claim - but Sussexes' refusal to return without Met Police protection puts reunion in doubt
Prince Charles has invited Prince Harry and his family to stay with him in the UK in the hope of meeting Lilibet for the first time, it emerged tonight.
The Prince of Wales is yet to see his granddaughter face-to-face, after she was born in California in June last year.
The offer, which would be the first time the family have fully come together since Harry and Meghan decided to quit as working royals, was made just before Christmas, according to the Mirror.
However, his son's refusal to return without a substantial level of security from the Met Police is said to have put the reunion in doubt.
In recent months, the family have communicated via a series of 'good natured' calls, sources told the paper.
The first picture of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter Lilibet was released in a Christmas card last month
The Prince of Wales (centre), during his visit to Haddo Country Park, Ellon, Aberdeenshire last week
One said: 'The Prince of Wales has been saddened that he hasn't had the opportunity to spend time with his grandchildren, which he really does miss.
'He is a fantastic grandfather and loves playing the role immensely and it's certainly fair to say he feels there is something missing from his life without the ability to get to know Harry's children.
'This is something he is hoping to remedy which is why he made the gesture for Harry, Meghan and the children to stay with him if they wanted to, whenever they may come home for a period of time.'
It comes as a former head of royal protection warned today that Prince Harry 'cannot pick and choose' when he wants to visit the UK and receive protection.
The Duke of Sussex should not be expecting bodyguards supplied to him when he decides to return home, Dai Davies said.
The ex-Met Police officer pointed out Princess Anne was nearly kidnapped and her protection officer was shot - but she does not get full time protection.
His comments came as sources suggested the Queen will not help her grandson in his demand for security personnel when he comes to Britain.
The insiders claimed the Monarch has no intentions of 'caving into his demands' for protection from the Met and Home Office.
Prince Harry faced outrage yesterday over his threat of legal action against Her Majesty's Government.
He is seeking a judicial review of the decision to strip him of his UK police protection team, claiming it is too dangerous to visit without Scotland Yard bodyguards.
Last night there was anger at the unprecedented legal threat against the government as sources hit back saying: 'Scotland Yard is not available for hire'.
Mr Davies, who was Operational Unit Commander for the Royals from 1995, told GMB: 'He chose to go to America, that's his prerogative.
'And it's our prerogative to ensure when we look at any aspect of protection, any member of the Royal Family that we actually look and assess it through various security agencies. That's the crux.
'And it's been decided in this level, one they won't supply him with protection because the risk at this stage is deemed low. However should there be a risk when he comes then clearly the Metropolitan Police would be duty bound.'
Prince Andrew's ex Lady Victoria Hervey says her 'very private' friend Ghislaine Maxwell was 'a victim' of Jeffrey Epstein - and is now
