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Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, gender, legitimacy and religion. Under
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...
, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701 restrict succession to the throne to the legitimate Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover who are in " communion with the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
". Spouses of
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
were disqualified from 1689 until the law was amended in 2015. Protestant descendants of those excluded for being Roman Catholics are eligible.Bogdanor (1995), p. 55.
King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
is the sovereign; his
heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
is his elder son, William, Prince of Wales. William's eldest child,
Prince George Prince George may refer to: People British princes * George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (1449-1478), middle brother of Edward IV and Richard III. * Prince George Augustus, later George II of Great Britain (1683–1760) * Prince George Will ...
, is second in line, followed by George's younger sister, Princess Charlotte, before her younger brother, Prince Louis. Fifth in line is Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of the King; sixth is Harry's elder child, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Under the Perth Agreement, which came into effect in 2015, only the first six in line of succession require the sovereign's consent before they marry; without such consent, they and their children would be disqualified from succession. The first four individuals in the line of succession who are over 21, and the sovereign's consort, may be appointed counsellors of state. Counsellors of state perform some of the sovereign's duties in the United Kingdom while the sovereign is out of the country or temporarily incapacitated. Otherwise, individuals in the line of succession need not have specific legal or official roles. The United Kingdom is one of the Commonwealth realms, which are sovereign states that share the same person as monarch and the same order of succession. In 2011, the prime ministers of the then-16 realms agreed unanimously to amend the rules of succession. Male-preference primogeniture was abandoned, meaning that males born after 28 October 2011 no longer precede females in line, and the ban on marriages to Catholics was lifted. The monarch still needs to be in communion with the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
. After the necessary legislation had been enacted in accordance with each realm's constitution, the changes took effect on 26 March 2015.


Current line of succession

No official, complete version of the line of succession is maintained. The exact number, in remoter collateral lines, of the people who would be eligible is uncertain. In 2001, American genealogist William Addams Reitwiesner compiled a list of 4,973 living descendants of the Electress Sophia in order of succession without omitting
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. When updated in January 2011, the list included 5,753. The annotated list below covers the first part of this line of succession, being limited to descendants of the sons of George V, Charles III's great-grandfather. The order of the first twenty-three numbered in the list, all descendants of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, is given on the official website of the British monarchy; other list numbers and exclusions are explained by annotations and footnotes
below Below may refer to: *Earth * Ground (disambiguation) * Soil * Floor * Bottom (disambiguation) * Less than *Temperatures below freezing * Hell or underworld People with the surname * Ernst von Below (1863–1955), German World War I general * Fr ...
. People named in italics are unnumbered either because they are deceased or because sources report them to be excluded from the succession. * ''
King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...
(1865–1936)'' ** '' King Edward VIII (1894–1972)'' ** ''
King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...
(1895–1952)'' *** ''
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
(1926–2022)'' ****
King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
(b. 1948) ***** (1) William, Prince of Wales (b. 1982) ****** (2)
Prince George of Wales Prince George of Wales (George Alexander Louis; born 22 July 2013) is a member of the British royal family. He is the eldest child of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. George is the eldest grandchild of King Char ...
(b. 2013) ****** (3) Princess Charlotte of Wales (b. 2015) ****** (4) Prince Louis of Wales (b. 2018) ***** (5) Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (b. 1984) ****** (6) Archie Mountbatten-Windsor (b. 2019) ****** (7) Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor (b. 2021) **** (8) Prince Andrew, Duke of York (b. 1960) ***** (9) Princess Beatrice (b. 1988) ******(10) Sienna Mapelli Mozzi (b. 2021) ***** (11) Princess Eugenie (b. 1990) ****** (12) August Brooksbank (b. 2021) **** (13) Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar (b. 1964) ***** (14) James Mountbatten-Windsor, Viscount Severn (b. 2007) ***** (15) Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (b. 2003) **** (16)
Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of Kin ...
(b. 1950) ***** (17) Peter Phillips (b. 1977) ****** (18) Savannah Phillips (b. 2010) ****** (19) Isla Phillips (b. 2012) ***** (20) Zara Tindall (née Phillips; b. 1981) ****** (21) Mia Tindall (b. 2014) ****** (22) Lena Tindall (b. 2018) ****** (23) Lucas Tindall (b. 2021) *** '' Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (1930–2002)'' **** (24) David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon (b. 1961) ***** (25) Charles Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley (b. 1999) ***** (26) Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones (b. 2002) **** (27)
Lady Sarah Chatto Lady Sarah Frances Elizabeth Chatto (née Armstrong-Jones; born 1 May 1964) is the only daughter of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon. She and her brother, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon, are the o ...
(née Armstrong-Jones; b. 1964) ***** (28) Samuel Chatto (b. 1996) ***** (29) Arthur Chatto (b. 1999) ** '' Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900–1974)'' *** '' Prince William of Gloucester (1941–1972)'' *** (30) Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1944) **** (31)
Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster The title of Earl of Ulster has been created six times in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since 1928, the title has been held by the Duke of Gloucester and is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's elde ...
(b. 1974) ***** (32) Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden (b. 2007) ***** (33) Lady Cosima Windsor (b. 2010) **** (34) Lady Davina Windsor (b. 1977) ***** (35) Senna Lewis (b. 2010) ***** (36) Tāne Lewis (b. 2012) **** (37) Lady Rose Gilman (née Windsor; b. 1980) ***** (38) Lyla Gilman (b. 2010) ***** (39) Rufus Gilman (b. 2012) ** '' Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902–1942)'' *** (40)
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, (Edward George Nicholas Paul Patrick; born 9 October 1935) is a member of the British royal family. Queen Elizabeth II and Edward were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke ...
(b. 1935) **** (41) George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews (b. 1962) ***** '' Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick'' (b. 1988) ***** '' Lady Marina Windsor'' (b. 1992) ***** (42) Lady Amelia Windsor (b. 1995) **** '' Lord Nicholas Windsor'' (b. 1970) ***** (43) Albert Windsor (b. 2007) ***** (44) Leopold Windsor (b. 2009) ***** (45) Louis Windsor (b. 2014) **** (46) Lady Helen Taylor (née Windsor; b. 1964) ***** (47) Columbus Taylor (b. 1994) ***** (48) Cassius Taylor (b. 1996) ***** (49) Eloise Taylor (b. 2003) ***** (50) Estella Taylor (b. 2004) *** (51) Prince Michael of Kent (b. 1942) **** (52) Lord Frederick Windsor (b. 1979) ***** (53) Maud Windsor (b. 2013) ***** (54) Isabella Windsor (b. 2016) **** (55)
Lady Gabriella Kingston Lady Gabriella Marina Alexandra Ophelia Kingston (''née'' Windsor; born 23 April 1981) is an English socialite and Freelancer, freelance writer. She is the daughter of Prince Michael of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. She is 55th in ...
(née Windsor; b. 1981) *** (56) Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy (b. 1936) **** (57) James Ogilvy (b. 1964) ***** (58) Alexander Ogilvy (b. 1996) ***** (59) Flora Vesterberg (née Ogilvy; b. 1994) **** (60) Marina Ogilvy (b. 1966) ***** (61) Christian Mowatt (b. 1993) ***** (62) Zenouska Mowatt (b. 1990)


History


England

In 1485, Henry Tudor, a female-line descendant of a legitimated branch of the royal house of Lancaster, the House of Beaufort, assumed the English crown as Henry VII, after defeating Richard III, who was killed at the
battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 A ...
when leading a charge against Henry's standard. Richard was the last king of the
House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...
, and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. Henry declared himself king retroactively from 21 August 1485, the day before his victory over Richard at Bosworth Field, and caused Richard's '' Titulus Regius'' to be repealed and expunged from the Rolls of Parliament. After Henry's coronation in London in October that year, his first parliament, summoned to meet at Westminster in November, enacted that "the inheritance of the crown should be, rest, remain and abide in the most royal person of the then sovereign lord, King Henry VII, and the heirs of his body lawfully coming." Henry VII was followed by his son,
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...
. Though his father descended from the Lancastrians, Henry VIII could also claim the throne through the Yorkist line, as his mother Elizabeth was the sister and heiress of Edward V. In 1542, Henry also assumed the title King of Ireland; this would pass down with the monarchs of England, and later Great Britain, until the
Acts of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ire ...
merged the separate crowns into that of the United Kingdom. Henry VIII's numerous marriages led to several complications over succession. Henry VIII was first married to
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
, by whom he had a daughter named Mary. His second marriage, to
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key f ...
, resulted in a daughter named Elizabeth. Henry VIII had a son,
Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
, by his third wife, Jane Seymour. An Act of Parliament passed in 1533 declared Mary illegitimate; another passed in 1536 did the same for Elizabeth. Though the two remained illegitimate, an Act of Parliament passed in 1544 allowed reinserting them, providing further "that the King should and might give, will, limit, assign, appoint or dispose the said imperial Crown and the other premises … by
letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, t ...
or last will in writing." Mary and Elizabeth, under Henry VIII's will, were to be followed by the granddaughters of the King's deceased sister Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk (he, however, excluded Mary’s still living daughters, Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk and Eleanor Clifford, Countess of Cumberland). This will also excluded from the succession the descendants of Henry's eldest sister
Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and successfully fought to extend her regency. Ma ...
, who were the rulers of
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
. When Henry VIII died in 1547, the young Edward succeeded him, becoming Edward VI. Edward VI was the first Protestant Sovereign to succeed to the throne of England. He attempted to divert the course of succession in his will to prevent his Catholic half-sister, Mary, from inheriting the throne. He excluded Mary and Elizabeth, settling on the Duchess of Suffolk's daughter, Lady Jane Grey. Jane was also originally excluded on the premise that no woman could reign over England. Nonetheless, the will, which originally referred to Jane's heirs-male, was amended to refer to Jane ''and'' her heirs-male. Upon Edward VI's death in 1553, Jane was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland. She was not universally recognised and after nine days she was overthrown by the popular Mary. As Henry VIII's will had been approved by an act of Parliament in 1544, Edward's contravening will was unlawful and ignored. Mary was succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth, who broke with the precedents of many of her predecessors, and refused to name an heir. Whilst previous monarchs (including Henry VIII) had specifically been granted authority to settle uncertain successions in their wills, the Treasons Act 1571 asserted that Parliament had the right to settle disputes, and made it treason to deny Parliamentary authority. Wary of threats from other possible heirs, Parliament further passed the Act of Association 1584, which provided that any individual involved in attempts to murder the Sovereign would be disqualified from succeeding. (The Act was repealed in 1863.)


Scotland

The House of Stewart (later Stuart) had ruled in Scotland since 1371. It followed strict rules of primogeniture.


After the union of the crowns


Stuarts

Elizabeth I of England and Ireland was succeeded by King
James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until h ...
, her first cousin twice removed, even though his succession violated Henry VIII's will, under which Lady Anne Stanley, heiress of Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk, was supposed to succeed. James asserted that hereditary right was superior to statutory provision and, as King of Scotland, was powerful enough to deter any rival. He reigned as James I of England and Ireland, thus effecting the
Union of the Crowns The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dipl ...
, although England and Scotland remained separate sovereign states until 1707. His succession was rapidly ratified by Parliament. James's eldest surviving son and successor, Charles I, was overthrown and beheaded in 1649 and the monarchy was abolished. A few years later, it was replaced by the Protectorate under
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
, a de facto monarch with the title of Lord Protector rather than King. Cromwell had the right to name his successor, which he exercised on his deathbed by choosing his son,
Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...
. Richard was ineffective and was quickly forced from office. Shortly afterwards, the monarchy was restored, with Charles I's son Charles II as King. James II and VII, a Roman Catholic, followed his brother Charles II, despite efforts in the late 1670s to exclude him in favour of Charles's illegitimate Protestant son, the Duke of Monmouth. James was deposed when his Protestant opponents forced him to flee from England in 1688. Parliament then deemed that James had, by fleeing the realms, abdicated the thrones and offered the Crowns not to the King's infant son James but to his Protestant daughter Mary and to her husband William, who as James's nephew was the first person in the succession not descended from him. The two became joint Sovereigns (a unique circumstance in British history) as William III of England and Ireland (and II of Scotland) and Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland. William had insisted on this unique provision as a condition of his military leadership against James. The English Bill of Rights and the Scottish Claim of Right Act, both passed in 1689, determined succession to the English, Scottish and Irish Thrones. First in the line were the descendants of Mary II. Next came Mary's sister Princess Anne and her descendants. Finally, the descendants of William by any future marriage were added to the line of succession. Only Protestants were allowed to succeed; those who married Roman Catholics were excluded. After Mary II died in 1694, her husband continued to reign alone until his own death in 1702. The line of succession provided for by the Bill of Rights was almost at an end; William and Mary had no children and Princess Anne's children had died. Parliament passed the Act of Settlement 1701. The Act maintained the provision of the Bill of Rights whereby William would be succeeded by Princess Anne and her descendants, and thereafter by his own descendants from future marriages. The Act declared that they would be followed by James I & VI's granddaughter
Sophia Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek. It may refer to: *Sophia (wisdom) *Sophia (Gnosticism) *Sophia (given name) Places *Niulakita or Sophia, an island of Tuvalu *Sophia, Georgetown, a ward of Georgetown, Guyana *Sophia, North Carolina, an unincorpor ...
, Electress Dowager of Hanover (the daughter of James's daughter Elizabeth Stuart), and her heirs. As under the Bill of Rights, non-Protestants and those who married Roman Catholics were excluded. Because Sophia was a foreign citizen, Parliament passed the
Sophia Naturalization Act 1705 The Act for the Naturalization of the Most Excellent Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, and the Issue of her Body was an Act of the Parliament of England (4 & 5 Ann. c. 16.) in 1705. It followed the Act of Settlement 170 ...
to make her and her descendants English and therefore eligible for the throne. Upon William's death, Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland. Because the Parliament of England settled on Sophia as Anne's heir-presumptive without consulting Scottish leaders, the Estates of Scotland retaliated by passing the Scottish
Act of Security The Act of Security 1704 (also referred to as the Act for the Security of the Kingdom) was a response by the Parliament of Scotland to the Parliament of England's Act of Settlement 1701. Queen Anne's last surviving child, William, Duke of Glou ...
. The Act provided that, upon the death of Anne, the Estates would meet to select an heir to the throne of Scotland, who could not be the same person as the English Sovereign unless numerous political and economic conditions were met. Anne originally withheld the
Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
, but was forced to grant it when the estates refused to raise taxes and sought to withdraw troops from the queen's army. England's Parliament responded by passing the Alien Act 1705, which threatened to cripple Scotland's economy by cutting off trade with them. Thus, Scotland had little choice but to unite with England to form the
Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, w ...
in 1707; the crown of the new nation (along with the crown of Ireland) was subject to the rules laid down by the English Act of Settlement.


Hanoverians and Windsors

Anne was predeceased by Sophia, Electress Dowager of Hanover, and was therefore succeeded by the latter's son, who became George I in 1714. Attempts were made in the risings of 1715 and 1745 to restore Stuart claimants to the Throne, supported by those who recognised the Jacobite succession. The House of Hanover nonetheless remained undeposed, and the Crown descended in accordance with the appointed rules. In 1801, following the
Acts of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ire ...
, the separate crowns of Great Britain and Ireland were merged and became the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Gre ...
. Between 1811 and 1820, when
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
was deemed unfit to rule, the Prince of Wales (later George IV) acted as his
regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...
. Some years later, the
Regency Act 1830 The Regency Act 1830 (1 Will.4 c.2) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed to cater for the event that King William IV died while the next person in line to the throne was not yet aged 18. It provided for a regency until the ne ...
made provision for a change in the line of succession had a child been born to William IV after his death, but this event did not come about. On the death of William IV in 1837, his 18-year-old niece Victoria succeeded to the throne. After a 63-year reign, often known as the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edward ...
, she was succeeded in 1901 by her eldest son
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
. On his death, his second son acceded to the throne as
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...
(Edward's first son Prince Albert Victor died during an influenza pandemic in 1892). Edward VIII was proclaimed King on the death of his father, George V, in January 1936, Edward opened Parliament in November, but abdicated in December 1936, and was never crowned. Edward had desired to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorcee, but the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
, of which the British Sovereign is Supreme Governor, would not authorize the marriage of divorcees. Consequently, Parliament passed His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, by which Edward VIII ceased to be Sovereign "immediately upon" his royal assent as King being signified in Parliament on 11 December. The Act provided that he and his descendants, if any, were not to have any "right, title or interest in or to the succession to the Throne". Edward died childless in 1972. Edward's abdication was "a demise of the Crown" (in the words of the Act), and the
Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs. ...
, his brother who was then next in the line, immediately succeeded to the throne and to its "rights, privileges, and dignities", taking the
regnal name A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...
George VI. He in turn was succeeded in 1952 by his elder daughter, Elizabeth II. By that time, the monarch of the United Kingdom no longer reigned in the greater part of Ireland (which had become a republic in 1949), but was the monarch of a number of independent sovereign states (Commonwealth realms). She was then succeeded in 2022 by her eldest son, Charles III.


Commonwealth realms

By the terms of the
Statute of Westminster 1931 The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown. Passed on 11 December 1931, the statute increased the sovereignty of t ...
, each of the Commonwealth realms has the same person as monarch and, to maintain that arrangement, they have agreed to continue the same line of succession; some realms do so through domestic succession laws, while others stipulate whoever is monarch of the United Kingdom will also be monarch of that realm. In February 1952, on her accession, Elizabeth II was proclaimed as sovereign separately throughout her realms. In October 2011, the heads of government of all 16 realms agreed unanimously at a meeting held in
Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
, Western Australia, to proposed changes to the royal succession laws that would see the order of succession for people born after 28 October 2011 governed by absolute primogeniture—wherein succession passes to an individual's children according to birth order, regardless of sex—instead of male-preference primogeniture. They also agreed to lift a ban on those who marry Roman Catholics. The ban on Catholics themselves was retained to ensure that the monarch would be in communion with the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
. The changes came into effect across the Commonwealth realms on 26 March 2015, after legislation was made according to each realm's constitution. Following the changes coming into effect, the positions of the first 27 in line remained unchanged, including Princess Anne and her children and grandchildren, until the birth of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge on 2 May 2015. The first to be affected by the changes, on the day they came into effect on 26 March of that year, were the children of Lady Davina Windsor—her son Tāne Mahuta Lewis (born 2012) and her daughter Senna Kowhai Lewis (born 2010)—who were reversed in the order of succession, becoming 29th and 28th in line respectively (now 36th and 35th )."What do the new royal succession changes mean?"
Royal Central. 26 March 2015.;


Current rules

The Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement (restated by the Acts of Union) still govern succession to the throne. They were amended in the United Kingdom by the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, which was passed mainly "to make succession to the Crown not depend on gender" and "to make provision about Royal Marriages" (according to its long title), thereby implementing the Perth Agreement in the UK and in those realms that, by their laws, have as their monarch automatically whoever is monarch of the UK. Other realms passed their own legislation. Anyone ineligible to succeed is treated as if they were dead. That person's descendants are not also disqualified, unless they are personally ineligible.


Marriages

The Act of Settlement 1701 provides that Protestant " heirs of the body" (that is, legitimate descendants) of
Sophia, Electress of Hanover Sophia of Hanover (born Princess Sophia of the Palatinate; 14 October 1630 – 8 June 1714) was the Electress of Hanover by marriage to Elector Ernest Augustus and later the heiress presumptive to the thrones of England and Scotland (later Grea ...
, are eligible to succeed to the throne, unless otherwise disqualified. The meaning of ''heir of the body'' is determined by the common law rules of male preference primogeniture (the "male-preference" criterion is no longer applicable, in respect of succession to the throne, to persons born after 28 October 2011), whereby older children and their descendants inherit before younger children, and a male child takes precedence over a female sibling. Children born out of wedlock and adopted children are not eligible to succeed. Illegitimate children whose parents subsequently marry are legitimated, but remain ineligible to inherit. The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (repealed by the Succession to the Crown Act 2013) further required descendants of George II to obtain the consent of the reigning monarch to marry. (The requirement did not apply to descendants of princesses who married into foreign families, as well as, from 1936, any descendants of Edward VIII, of whom there are none.) The Act provided, however, that if a dynast older than twenty-five years notified the Privy Council of his or her intention to marry without the consent of the Sovereign, then he or she may have lawfully done so after one year, unless both houses of Parliament expressly disapproved of the marriage. A marriage that contravened the Royal Marriages Act was void, and the resulting offspring illegitimate and thus ineligible to succeed, though the succession of the dynast who failed to obtain consent was not itself affected. This also had the consequence that marriage to a Roman Catholic without permission was void, so that the dynast was not disqualified from succeeding on account of being married to a Roman Catholic. Thus when the future George IV attempted to marry the Roman Catholic Maria Fitzherbert in 1785 without obtaining permission from
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
he did not disqualify himself from inheriting the throne in due course. A marriage voided by the 1772 act prior to its repeal remains void "for all purposes relating to the succession to the Crown" under the 2013 act."Succession to the Crown Act 2013"
UK Parliament. Section 3.
The constitutional crisis arising from Edward VIII's decision to marry a divorcee in 1936 led to His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, which provided that Edward VIII and his descendants would have no claim to the throne. The Act is no longer applicable, because Edward died in 1972 without issue. Under the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act, the first six persons in line to the throne must obtain the sovereign's approval before marrying. Marriage without the Sovereign's consent disqualifies the person and the person's descendants from the marriage from succeeding to the Crown, but the marriage is still legally valid.


Religion

Rules relating to eligibility established by the Bill of Rights are retained under the Act of Settlement and the Acts of Union 1707. Under Article II of the
Treaty of Union The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty which led to the creation of the new state of Great Britain, stating that the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland were to be "United i ...
between England and Scotland (which was given legal force by the acts of the English and Scottish parliaments), the succession to the throne is limited to "the Heirs of lectress Sophia's/nowiki> body being
Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
." The Act of Settlement also states that "whosoever shall hereafter come to the Possession of this Crown shall join in Communion with the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
". The definition of being "in Communion with the Church of England" has been interpreted broadly; for instance, King George I was
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
. The Bill of Rights specifically excludes Roman Catholics from being sovereign, to the extent that they "shall be excluded and be for ever uncapeable to inherit possesse or enjoy the Crowne", thus ignoring any potential conversion from Roman Catholicism to Protestantism. As such, a Roman Catholic is viewed as "naturally dead" for the purposes of succession. The Act of Settlement further provided that anyone who married a Roman Catholic was ineligible to succeed. The Act did not require that the spouse be Anglican; it only barred those who married Roman Catholics. The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 removed the ban on individuals who marry Roman Catholics, though not on Roman Catholics themselves, because the monarch is Supreme Governor of the Church of England.


Treason

Under the Treason Act 1702 and the Treason (Ireland) Act 1703, it is
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
to "endeavour to deprive or hinder any person who shall be the next in succession to the crown ... from succeeding ... to the imperial crown of this realm". Since the
Crime and Disorder Act 1998 The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c.37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was published on 2 December 1997 and received Royal Assent in July 1998. Its key areas were the introduction of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, Sex ...
, the maximum penalty has been life imprisonment.


Accession

In the Commonwealth realms, upon the death of a sovereign, the heir apparent or heir presumptive succeeds to the throne immediately, with no need for confirmation or further ceremony. Nevertheless, the Accession Council meets and decides upon the making of the accession proclamation, which by custom has for centuries been ceremonially proclaimed in public places, in London,
York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...
,
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and other cities. The anniversary is observed throughout the sovereign's reign as Accession Day, including royal gun salutes in the United Kingdom. Formerly, a new sovereign proclaimed his or her own accession. But on the death of Elizabeth I an Accession Council met to proclaim the accession of James I to the throne of England. James was then in Scotland and reigning as King James VI of Scotland. This precedent has been followed since. Now, the Accession Council normally meets in
St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Alt ...
. Proclamations since James I's have usually been made in the name of the
Lords Spiritual The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who serve in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. 26 out of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not counting retired archbi ...
and Temporal, the Privy Council, the Lord Mayor,
Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members th ...
and citizens of the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
and "other principal Gentlemen of quality", though there have been variations in some proclamations. The proclamation of accession of Elizabeth II was the first to make mention of representatives of members of the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...
. Upon his or her accession, a new sovereign is required by law to make and subscribe several oaths. The Bill of Rights of 1689 first required the sovereign to make a public declaration of non-belief in Roman Catholicism. This declaration, known as the Accession Declaration, is required to be taken either at the first meeting of parliament of his or her reign (i.e. during the State Opening of Parliament) or at his or her coronation, whichever occurs first. The wording of the declaration was changed in 1910 as the previous wording was deemed to be overly anti-Catholic. Rather than denouncing Roman Catholicism, the sovereign now declares him or herself to be a Protestant and that he or she will "uphold and maintain" the Protestant succession. In addition to the Accession Declaration, the new sovereign is required by the Acts of Union 1707 to make an oath to "maintain and preserve" the Church of Scotland. This oath is normally made at the sovereign's first meeting of the Privy Council following his or her accession. According to the Regency Act 1937, should the sovereign be under the age of 18, such oaths and declarations required to be taken by the sovereign shall be made upon attainment of that age.Regency Act 1937, section 1(2) After a period of mourning, the new sovereign is usually consecrated and crowned in
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. Normally, the Archbishop of Canterbury officiates, though the sovereign may designate any other bishop of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
. A coronation is not necessary for a sovereign to reign; for example, Edward VIII was never crowned, yet during his short reign was the undoubted king.


See also


Explanatory notes


References


Citations


General and cited sources

*Blackstone, William (1765)
"Chapter 3: Of The King, and His Title"
. ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', Vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press. *Bogdanor, Vernon (1995). ''The Monarchy and the Constitution.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. . *Bryant, A. (1975). ''A Thousand Years of British Monarchy.'' London: Collins. *


External links


Text
of the Bill of Rights 1689
Text
of the Act of Settlement 1701
Full text
of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.
"Royal Family tree and line of succession"
at the BBC website, 29 June 2018. Biographies of the Queen's descendants in order of their place in the line of succession.
British line of succession
on any date back to 1820. {{DEFAULTSORT:Succession To The British Throne British monarchy British royal family British royalty Constitution of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...