The Succession to the Crown Act 1707 (6 Ann c 41) is an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

of the Parliament of Great Britain. It is still partly in force in Great Britain. The Act was passed at a time when Parliament was anxious to ensure the succession of a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

on the death of Queen Anne. It replaced the

Regency Act 1705 The Regency Act 1705 (4 Ann. c.8) was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of England. The Act was passed at a time when Parliament was anxious to ensure that a Protestant succeeded to the throne on the death of Queen Anne. The Act was concei ...

. The Act required

privy counsellors The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

and other officers, in the event of Anne's death, to proclaim as her successor the next Protestant in the line of succession to the throne, and made it

high 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 ...

for any of them to fail to do so. If the next monarch was overseas at the time of the succession, the government would be run until he or she returned by between seven and fourteen "Lords Justices." Seven of the Lords Justices were named in the Act, and the next monarch could appoint seven more, who would be named in writing, three copies of which were to be sent to the Privy Council in England. The Act made it treason for any unauthorised person to open these, or to neglect to deliver them to the Privy Council. The Lords Justices were to have the power to give

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 ...

to bills, except that they would be guilty of treason if they amended the Act of Uniformity 1662 or the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Act 1707. The Act also provided that if Parliament was sitting at the time of the monarch's death, then it would be able to sit for a further six months unless dissolved by a new legitimate monarch. Previously the death of the monarch automatically dissolved Parliament. If the monarch were to die and Parliament was not at that time sitting, then it would immediately convene. These clauses remain in force today (without the six-month time limit on Parliament's continued existence, which was repealed in 1878). The Act also made it treason maliciously, advisedly and directly by writing or printing to maintain and affirm that any person has a right to the Crown otherwise than according to the

Act of Settlement The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, bec ...

and Acts of Union, or that the Crown and Parliament cannot pass statutes for the limitation of the succession to the Crown. It was praemunire to say so in speech. These provisions were extended to Scotland by the

Treason Act 1708 The Treason Act 1708 (7 Ann c 21) is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which harmonised the law of high treason between the former kingdoms of England and Scotland following their union as Great Britain in 1707. This Act is partly st ...

, and were repealed in 1967 (however see the Treason Act 1702 which makes similar provision). Anne died on 1 August 1714 and was succeeded as a result of the Act of Settlement 1701 by the Elector of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, George Louis, as King George I, who arrived in Great Britain on 18 September 1714. Sections 1 to 3 were repealed by the

Criminal Law Act 1967 The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made some major changes to English criminal law, as part of wider liberal reforms by the Labour government elected in 1966. Most of it is still in force. Territ ...

. The whole Act was formally repealed in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

by the Statute Law Revision Act 2007. This Act is not to be confused with ''6 Ann. c.14'', which is entitled "An act for the better security of Her Majesty's person and government" but which is not about treason.

References

External links

Text of the Demise of the Crown Act 1727
which clarified the 1707 Act, as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from the

UK Statute Law Database legislation.gov.uk, formerly known as the UK Statute Law Database, is the official web-accessible database of the statute law of the United Kingdom, hosted by The National Archives. It contains all primary legislation in force since 1267 and a ...

. *List of repeals in the Republic of Ireland from th
Irish Statute Book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Succession to the Crown Act 1707 Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1707 Succession to the British crown Treason in the United Kingdom Protestantism in the United Kingdom Anti-Catholicism in the United Kingdom Succession acts

See also

References

External links