Royal Succession Bills and Acts are pieces of (proposed) legislation to determine the legal line of succession to the

Monarchy of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Baili ...

. A Succession to the Crown Bill is a proposed piece of legislation in the

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 ...

, presented as a

Private Members Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

or Government Bill, in either the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

, which aims to alter the laws of succession to the UK Monarchy.

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

is a

corporation sole A corporation sole is a legal entity consisting of a single ("sole") incorporated office, occupied by a single ("sole") natural person.

that represents the legal embodiment of

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

, or

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

governance. It evolved as a separation of the literal crown and property of the

nation state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may i ...

from the person and personal property of the monarch. In this context it should not be confused with any physical crown. A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

. A bill is not law until passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the

, Privy Council and monarch by

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 oth ...

. Once a bill is enacted into law it is called an " act" or " statute".

Background to succession laws

Numerous Bills and Acts of succession were used to determine heirs and potential heirs to the throne, during the reign of the incumbent monarch, and especially before, during and after the changeovers between the

Tudors The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and its ...

, Stuarts,

Hanoverians The House of Hanover (german: Haus Hannover), whose members are known as Hanoverians, is a European royal house of German origin that ruled Hanover, Great Britain, and Ireland at various times during the 17th to 20th centuries. The house orig ...

, and

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present- ...

to the present Windsors, all of which necessitated changes and amendments to prior succession legislation to accommodate circumstances of the day. Historically and presently, legislation to amend laws of succession generally argue for amendments to several historic acts, adjudged relevant to succession issues of the day. The Bill of Rights 1688 and the

Coronation Oath Act 1688 The Coronation Oath Act 1688 (1 Will & Mary c 6) is an Act of the Parliament of England. It was passed in 1689 (New Style; 1688 Old Style). The preamble noted that "by the Law and Ancient Usage of this Realm" the monarchs of England had taken a ...

, the Act of Settlement 1700, the

Union with Scotland Act 1706 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Act of Parliament, Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put ...

, the Sophia Naturalization Act 1705 and Princess Sophia's Precedence Act 1711, the

Royal Marriages Act 1772 The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (12 Geo 3 c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribed the conditions under which members of the British royal family could contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages t ...

, the

Union with Ireland Act 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

Accession Declaration Act 1910 The Accession Declaration Act 1910 is an Act which was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to alter the declaration that the Sovereign is required to make at their accession to the throne as first required by the Bill of Rights of 1 ...

and the

Regency Act 1937 The Regency Acts are Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed at various times, to provide a regent in the event of the reigning monarch being incapacitated or a minor (under the age of 18). Prior to 1937, Regency Acts were passed only ...

. The 1937 Regency Act came into legislative existence as a consequence of the abdication of King Edward VIII, as such passing succession to his brother Albert Duke of York (King George VI) in 1937, who was succeeded by his daughter Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.

Legislative procedures of bills

Pre-legislative scrutiny: Joint committee of both houses review bill and vote on amendments that government can accept or reject. Reports are influential in later stages as rejected committee recommendations are revived to be voted on. Number-1 (dark green)

First Reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming, ...

: No vote occurs. Bill is presented, printed, and in private members' bills, a Second Reading date is set. Number-2 (dark green)

Second Reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

: A debate on the general principles of the bill is followed by a vote. Committee Stage: A committee considers each clause of the bill, and may make amendments. Report Stage: An opportunity to amend the bill. The House consider clauses to which amendments have been tabled. Number-3 (dark green)

Third Reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming, ...

: A debate on final text as amended. In the Lords, further amendments may be tabled at this stage. Passage: The bill is then sent to the other House which may amend it. NYCS-bull-trans-1

First Reading: ''Same procedures'' NYCS-bull-trans-2

Second Reading: ''Same procedures'' Committee Stage: ''Same procedures'' Report Stage: ''Same procedures'' NYCS-bull-trans-3

Third Reading: ''Same procedures'' Passage: The bill is then returned to the original House. Pre-legislative Scrutiny to consider all amendments. The bill is then processed for

, if accepted, the bill becomes an Act.

Modern bills and acts of succession

Elizabeth II

The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 is a piece of legislation in the United Kingdom which altered the laws of succession to the British throne. It was published on 13 December 2012 and received

on 25 April 2013. Known as the Perth Agreement, on 28 October 2011, at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Western Australia, heads of government of 16 Commonwealth realms, which share Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, announced that they would introduce legislation to end the primacy of male children over female in the succession to the Crown. The Succession to the Crown Bill gave effect in the United Kingdom to the agreement between heads of government. The argument for changing the law on succession could be stated simply: The law as it stood was considered to discriminate against women and

Catholic 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 ...

s. The Government has said that it opposes discrimination in all forms, including against Catholics. However, numerous attempts to alter the succession to remove such clauses through Private Member's bills had not been successful, and the Government thus brought forward its own legislation on the matter. Consequently, to change the law, the government sought and received consent of the fifteen Commonwealth countries that have the Queen as their

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

, under the preamble to the Statute of Westminster 1931. Amending old legislation fundamental to the British constitution raised further questions about the nature of the established church and the Union between

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Private Members' bills :Government bill

Historical bills and acts of succession

Henry VIII

The First, Second and Third Succession Acts were created to determine successors of Henry VIII, in consequence of his several wives. These circumstances evoked more legislation. In response to his

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

; that Henry's ''imperial crown'' had been diminished by "the unreasonable and uncharitable usurpations and exactions" of the Pope, the

Act of Supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the En ...

in 1534 declared that the King was "the only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England" and the

Treasons Act 1534 The Treasons Act 1534 ( 26 Hen. 8. c. 13) was an Act of the Parliament of England passed in 1534, during the reign of King Henry VIII. Background This Act was passed after the Act of Supremacy 1534, which made the king the " Only Head of the Ch ...

made it high treason,

punishable by death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, to refuse to acknowledge the King as such.

William and Mary

Historical precedence of prior succession acts usually determines later succession issues. There are several events in the history of royal successions showing why succession acts were necessary at the time of their creation. The Bill of Rights 1688 came about as a consequence of the circumstances after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, and the successions of William III and Mary II, who became regents in return for accepting this Bill of Rights, and a new

, from the Convention Parliament. The Bill of Rights limited royal power and established the supremacy of Parliament. This rights bill also established the frequency of parliaments, freedom of speech in parliament, debates or proceedings not to be questioned out of parliament. This Bill also especially established that; "without parliamentary consent the king could not"; suspend or create laws, raise taxes by prerogative, or raise a standing army in peace time. The Oath Act reiterated precedent that "By the Law and Ancient Usage of this Realm" monarchs of England took a solemn

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

oath to maintain the statute laws and customs of the country and of its inhabitants. This established a new coronation oath to be taken by future monarchs. This oath was different from the traditional coronation oath which recognized laws as being the grant of the King, whereas the Act's new oath sought the King to rule according to the law agreed in parliament.

Edward VIII

Bundesarchiv Bild 102-13538, Edward Herzog von Windsor

His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 (1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6 c. 3) is the Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that recognised and ratified the abdication of King Edward VIII and passed succession to his broth ...

(1 Edw. 8 & 1 Geo. 6 c. 3), was the Act of the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

that recognized and ratified the abdication of

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

from the throne of the United Kingdom and the

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...

s of the British Commonwealth, and passed succession to his brother Prince Albert, Duke of York (who became King George VI). The Act also excluded any possible future descendants of Edward from the line of succession. Edward VIII

abdicated Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

in order to marry his lover,

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused a ...

, after facing opposition from the governments of the United Kingdom and the British dominions. Although Edward VIII had signed a declaration of abdication the previous day (10 December 1936), he was still King until he gave

to this Act, which occurred on 11 December. The Act was passed through the Houses of Parliament in one day, with no amendments.

References

External links

Text of the Bill of Rights

The Parliamentary Archives
��Holds the original of this historic record {{Succession to the British throne Proposed laws of the United Kingdom British monarchy Constitutional laws of the United Kingdom Succession to the British crown Constitution of Canada Constitutional laws of England Constitution of the United Kingdom Succession to the Canadian Crown Acts of the Parliament of England Acts of the Parliament of England still in force 1689 in law 1689 in England Political charters History of human rights Glorious Revolution William III of England Mary II of England 1936 in British law United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1936 1936 in international relations Abdication of Edward VIII