RICHARD EDEN: As the royal expert who revealed Harry has quit Britain, I know what the Queen would have done – and what Charles must now do…

Queen Elizabeth was a wise woman. And when she had to take decisive action, she did.

That’s why she decided that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should not combine their royal duties with seeking their fortune abroad.

And why she ignored Prince Harry’s attempts to convince her otherwise.

In his best-selling memoir, Spare, Harry tries to convince readers that his grandmother was lured by devious courtiers into cracking down on him and Meghan.

However, in my opinion, Her Majesty knew exactly what she was doing and why.

Now King Charles must take a leaf out of his mother’s book – and be decisive when it comes to his youngest son and his role as councilor of state.

As things stand, California-based Prince Harry could still be called upon to replace his father in some circumstances as he remains State Counselor – which is certainly intolerable now.

In today’s Daily Mail, I reveal in my social diary Eden Confidential that Harry has updated his details in this country to make it crystal clear that he no longer lives in Britain.

Documents published by Companies House for ‘Prince Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex’ reveal that his ‘new country/state of habitual residence’ is now the United States of America. It was previously registered as Great Britain.

It marks a sharp turnaround for Harry, who declared shortly after announcing his decision to step back from royal duties in 2020: ‘The UK is my home and a place I love. That will never change.’

What could have brought about this unforeseen change is growing pressure on US President Joe Biden to release Harry’s visa details.

Conservative think tank Heritage Foundation has urged the Department of Homeland Security to open its file on Harry under US freedom of information laws.

After admitting to using cocaine in his memoirs, the prince faced questions about how to move to the US, where admitting to drug use can block a visa application.

Now campaigners have seized on comments from the US ambassador in London that he would not be deported as long as Biden, a Democrat, was president.

The Heritage Foundation, which has gone to court to demand the release of the files, submitted the ambassador’s comments as part of its case.

With this in mind, Harry’s new application to Companies House – for his eco-travel company Travalyst – is a ‘fact on the ground’, a declaration that he is in California to stay.

Yet this raises other questions for the prince, and serious ones.

If America is truly his home, how can he remain a state counselor, one of seven members of the royal family who can stand in for the monarch when he is abroad or unwell?

By law, state advisers are required to have a British residence, but Harry does not have a home here after King Charles asked the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to leave Frogmore Cottage, a gift from the late Queen.

Harry, pictured with his wife Meghan, said shortly after announcing his decision to step back from royal duties in 2020: ‘The UK is my home and a place I love. That will never change’

Until 2022, the State Advisors were Queen Camilla, William, Harry, Prince Andrew and his eldest daughter Princess Beatrice.

However, many found this situation inappropriate as neither Harry, Duke of York, nor Beatrice are royals.

Later that year, the king asked Parliament to add his sister, Princess Anne, and youngest brother, Prince Edward, to the list.

It was reported that the King decided not to remove Harry and Andrew because he did not want to escalate tensions in the family and believed it was unlikely that either would ever be needed to replace him.

However, it would be wrong to think that the role is just an honorary title.

Courtiers were particularly keen to ensure William returned to Britain after his solo trip to New York last year, before the King and Queen left for their state visit to France on the same day.

Continuity is important.

The situation has since become even more urgent due to the king’s cancer treatment.

Now the king must take decisive action and dismiss Harry as state advisor.

How on earth can someone who has officially left Britain replace our country’s head of state?

Even the prospect of such an intolerable situation endangers the monarchy.

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