However, under law, the succession in the United Kingdom is not automatic. The Act of Settlement of (1701) specifies that the throne passes to the Heir of the Body (i.e., natural and not adopted children) of Electress Sophia of Hanover, provided that they are not Catholic and did not marry a Catholic. The latter two provisions have never been invoked to prevent someone from succeeding to the throne, and there is doubt regarding their validity under treaties which the United Kingdom has signed regarding religious discrimination.
In addition, it specifies that it is for Parliament to determine who should succeed to the throne, not the monarch.
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2 Footnote 3 External links 4 See also |
Current Monarch: Elizabeth II
Line of Succession
Anyone who is a Roman Catholic or who marries one is excluded from the throne. For the earlier part of the list (through Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia) they have been noted below as "skipped", but after that all descendants of Electress Sophia have been listed.
for even further down the line look here http://www.geocities.com/albersseecup2001/royal/qvd.htm - not a very well laid out page.
Due to the propensity of British monarchs to marry their cousins and second cousins, it is often the case that the consorts of monarchs are also in the line of succession.
HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is also in the Line of Succession as a great-great grandson of Queen Victoria through his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg. He is currently positioned at around 560th.
HM Queen Mary, consort of George V was also on the line of succession despite the fact she was a Queen consort. She was the great grandaughter of George III through her mother. As such she could have succeeded the throne as Queen regnant. This would be unlikely given her low position during her lifetime.
1 Under 1917 Letters Patent all children and grandchildren of a sovereign are automatically styled His/Her Royal Highness. It was announced that the daughter of HRH the Earl of Wessex would be known simply as Lady Louise Windsor. In the absence of a new letter patent she remains, however HRH Princess Louise of Wessex, even though known in practice as Lady Louise Windsor. It is unclear if Buckingham Palace will be issuing a new letter patent on the issue.
Footnote
External links
See also