A british line of succession is a list with the names of people who are considered members of the British throne according to the criteria established in two laws: the Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement. Successors to the British throne cannot be Catholics, but they can marry Catholics and must ensure the preservation of the Anglican Church.
As of 2015, a change in the succession rules put an end to male preference. The British line of succession was modified in September 2022, with the death of Elizabeth II and the coronation of Charles III. Currently, the first in the line of succession is Prince William, the eldest son of the English king.
See too:Elizabeth I — monarch marked by her fight against Catholicism
British line of succession today
On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away, after 70 years of reign. With that, his eldest son, known as Charles of Wales, was crowned King of Wales. UK. Thus, he came to be known as Charles III of the United Kingdom. This happened because he was, until then, the first in the line of succession.
From the death of Elizabeth II and the coronation of Charles III, the British line of succession (first names only) became the following:
Prince William, eldest son of King Charles III
Prince George, eldest son of William
Princess Charlotte, daughter of William
Prince Louis, son of William
Prince Harry, second son of King Charles III
Archie Mountbatten-Windson, Harry's eldest son
Lilibet Mountbatten-Windson, daughter of Harry
Prince Andrew, son of Elizabeth II
Princess Beatrice, eldest daughter of Andrew
Siena Mapelli Mozzi, eldest daughter of Beatrice
Princess Eugenie, daughter of Andrew
August Brooksbank, Eugenie's eldest son
Know more:Princess Diana — famous ex-wife of King Charles who died in a tragic accident
What is the British line of succession?
O United Kingdom is a monarchy parliamentary constitutional constitution and, as such, has a line of succession which determines who are the people who can assume the British throne and what their order in that line of succession. The legitimacy of this line of succession is guaranteed by two important documents in English history.
These documents are the Bill of Rights, 1689, and the Act of Settlement, 1701. The former is known to have established constitutional monarchy in the United Kingdom, placing limits on the power of monarchs, mainly in relation to Parliament, in addition to establishing rules for the succession of the throne.
The Act of Settlement was established as a way of ensure that the British throne would be occupied by a succession of Protestant monarchs. This act was established because monarchs Mary II, William of Orange and Anne I, the last English monarchs, had failed to establish heirs to the British throne.
Thus, it was chosen that the British line of succession would be the heirs of Sofia of Hanover, granddaughter of James I and niece of Charles I. This act also determined that all those who were Catholics would be eliminated from the line of succession, guaranteeing only Protestants as heirs to the throne.
In addition to not being Catholic, the monarchs of the British throne must swear to respect and guarantee the preservation of the Church of England, as the Anglican Church in that country is known.
From 2013, some changes took place in the rules of succession to the British throne. These modifications became known as the Crown Act and put an end to male preference over female succession, in the case of children of the same father. In addition, the heirs in the line of succession will be able to marry people of catholic faith without this affecting their position in the succession.
Before these modifications, male children were preferred over female children, even though they were more younger than themselves, and heirs in the line of succession who married Catholic people were disqualified from the line of succession. succession. These modifications took effect in March 2015.
Another important rule of the British line of succession is the fact that the first six in that line of succession can only marry with the monarch's consent. If they marry without royal consent, they are disqualified. In addition, the first four in the line of succession over 21 years of age are established as State Councillors.
image credit
[1] Frederic Legrand – COMEO It is Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/linha-de-sucessao-britanica.htm