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Line of succession to the British throne

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

Template:Three other uses

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. The line is identical in all other 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]

In the 2011 Perth Agreement, the heads of government of all 16 Commonwealth realms agreed to take the appropriate steps in their respective countries to adopt absolute primogeniture, end the exclusion of people married to Roman Catholics, and limit the requirement for those in line to seek the permission of the monarch to marry.[4] The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 in Britain and other acts in some other Commonwealth realms have been passed, but the provisions for altering the succession have not yet come into force in any country.

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

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 the two following requirements are met:

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

Line of succession

The list below of persons in line of succession to the present Queen is limited to the Queen's descendants (numbered 1 to 15) and others in the nearest collateral lines, namely, the other eligible descendants of the sons of George V (numbered 16 to 50). 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 such as births and deaths.

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 9 August 2013): "The Line of Succession to the British Throne"
W listed by Whitaker's Almanack 2013, London: Bloomsbury, ISBN 978-1-4081-7207-0, p. 21
D88 Listed by Debretts (1988).[9]
1952 Succession as published on the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952[10]

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]

See also

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.
  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 The governments of the Commonwealth realms have agreed changes to the line of succession that would see Tane Lewis and Rufus Gilman switch places with their elder sisters Senna and Lyla respectively. Since Tane and Rufus were born after 28 October 2011 (the date of the agreement), they would lose their male preference under the changes.
  4. ^ Albert and Leopold Windsor are listed on The Official Website of the British Monarchy and in the 2013 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.

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. ^ Prince and Princess Michael of Kent welcome first grandchild
  9. ^ Williamson, David; Ellis, Patricia, eds. (1988). Debrett's Distinguished People of Today. Debrett's Peerage. p. 61. ISBN 0905649990. First 25 in succession as listed - Viscount [David] Lascelles being the 25th
  10. ^ "Line of succession to the throne". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 February 1952. Retrieved 24 June 2012.

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