Line of succession to the British throne

      For the main explanatory article, and members of European dynasties in remoter lines of succession, see Succession to the British throne.
      Not to be confused with Order of precedence in the United Kingdom.
      Electress Sophia of Hanover (1630–1714)

      The line of succession to the British throne is the ordered sequence of all those people eligible to succeed to the throne of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth realms.[n 1] The Act of Settlement 1701 bestowed succession on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her descendants while excluding Roman Catholics.[1][2] The British government does not publish an official list of all those in line to succeed, but the work of genealogical authors and amateur researchers suggests that there are several thousand people potentially in line.[3] At a summit in Perth, Western Australia in 2011, the heads of government of all 16 Commonwealth realms agreed to take steps to adopt absolute primogeniture, end the exclusion of people married to Roman Catholics, and make other changes in the succession rules.[4]

      The line of succession is also used to select the Counsellors of State (and a regent if the need arises) under the provisions of the Regency Act 1937.[5]

      For earlier versions of the line of succession, see History of the British line of succession.

      Eligibility

      The right of succession is regulated by the Act of Settlement 1701, the Royal Marriages Act 1772 and common law.[6] The succession is ordered by male-preference cognatic primogeniture. An individual is in the line of succession if all of the following requirements are met:

      At the time of accession to the throne, any heir must enter into communion with the Church of England.[7]

      ↑Jump back a section

      Line of succession

      The list below is limited to the present Queen's direct descendants (numbered 1 to 14) and others in the nearest collateral lines, namely, the other eligible descendants of the sons of George V (numbered 15 to 48). Persons shown who are not in line to the throne are in italics.

      No official, complete, version of the line of succession is currently maintained. Any person's actual position in the line of succession may change as a result of events including births, deaths or marriages of others. For example, any child born in wedlock to the Duke of Cambridge (listed as second in line) would precede all those now listed after the Duke.

      Charles, Prince of Wales, the heir apparent

      Notes and sources:

      XC Excluded as Roman Catholics. This exclusion will not be affected by the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.
      MC These people were excluded through marriage to a Roman Catholic. This exclusion is repealed under s. 2(2) of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, restoring them to the line of succession once it comes into effect.
      B listed by the official website of the British Monarchy, "Succession"
      D listed on Debrett's website (as of 27 September 2012): "The Line of Succession to the British Throne"
      W listed by Whitaker's Almanack 2011, London: A. C. Black, ISBN 978-1-4081-2848-0, p. 25
      D88 Listed by Debretts (1988).[10]
      1952 Succession as published on the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952[11]

      The line of succession continues with the eligible descendants of Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, only daughter of George V, followed by the other eligible descendants of Edward VII and earlier British monarchs, back to George I (the line is limited to Sophia of Hanover's descendants, of whom all alive today are also George I's descendants). The last person in line (which runs into thousands) was reported in 2011 to be Karin Vogel (born 1973) from Rostock, Germany.[3][7]

      ↑Jump back a section

      See also

      ↑Jump back a section

      Notes

      1. ^ Governments of the Commonwealth realms have acknowledged that a change in the line of succession in respect of any one of the realms is made in accordance with the constitutional law of that realm: see Perth Agreement.
      2. ^ The Legitimacy Act 1926, 10 (1) says, "Nothing in this Act shall affect the Succession to any dignity or title of honour or render any person capable of succeeding to or transmitting a right to succeed to any such dignity or title." The Legitimacy Act 1959, 6 (4) says, "It is hereby declared that nothing in this Act affects the Succession to the Throne."
      3. ^ a b c d When the provisions of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 commence, the pairs of siblings Tāne & Senna Lewis and Rufus & Lyla Gilman will switch places in the line of succession. Since Tāne and Rufus were born after 28 October 2011 (the date of the Perth Agreement), they shall lose their male preference over Senna and Lyla respectively under s. 1 of the Act.
      4. ^ Albert and Leopold Windsor are listed on The Official Website of the British Monarchy and in the 2012 edition of Whitaker's Almanack as following Estella Taylor (b 2004), not following Lady Amelia Windsor. As they were baptised as Catholics, they are not listed in Debrett's or editions of Whitaker's earlier than 2012.
      5. ^ Lady Helen Taylor is listed on The Official Website of the British Monarchy, Debrett's and Whitaker's as following Lady Amelia Windsor, not following Leopold Windsor.
      ↑Jump back a section

      References

      1. ^ van Caenegem, R.C. An historical introduction to western constitutional law. Cambridge University Press, 1995 ISBN 0-521-47693-3 p. 117
      2. ^ "Act Of Settlement British Monarchy Site". Retrieved 5 February 2012. 
      3. ^ a b Sonne, Paul (27 April 2011). "Last in the Line of Succession, Ms. Vogel is Glad She Isn't Queen", The Wall Street Journal, retrieved 14 June 2011.
      4. ^ "Girls equal in British throne succession", BBC, 28 October 2011.
      5. ^ The Official Web Site of the British Monarchy, "Counsellors of State"
      6. ^ Bogdanor, Vernon (1995). The Monarchy and the Constitution. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-829334-8 p. 42
      7. ^ a b c d William Addams Reitwiesner, "Persons eligible to succeed to the British Throne as of 1 Jan 2001"
      8. ^ Edmunds, Susan (9 September 2012). "Kiwi royal named for king of forest". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 September 2012. 
      9. ^ [1]
      10. ^ Williamson, David; Ellis, Patricia, eds. (1988). Debrett's Distinguished People of Today. Debrett's Peerage. p. 61. ISBN 0 905649 99 0. "First 25 in succession as listed - Viscount [David] Lascelles being the 25th" 
      11. ^ "Line of succession to the throne". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 February 1952. Retrieved 24 June 2012. 
      ↑Jump back a section

      External links
      Monarchies
      Presidencies
      ↑Jump back a section
      Last modified on 20 June 2013, at 08:38