What is the current order of succession in the British Royal Family? A rundown of the members of the royal family in the line of succession, including Prince William, Prince Henry, and their children.

September 8, 2022 will be an unforgettable day for the United Kingdom.

On that day, Queen Elizabeth II, who had indeed been the Queen of the United Kingdom for 70 years, died, and Prince Charles ascended the throne as King.

Many of you may have seen the Queen’s state funeral on TV, which was loved by people not only in the U.K. but around the world.

So, we are wondering about the order of succession to the British throne. Besides Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son, the new King Charles III, how many other royals are likely to be crowned King of the United Kingdom?

Let us review here the order of succession of the King of England.

What is the current order of succession in the British royal family?

What is the current order of succession in the British royal family? To find out, let us first explain the “Succession to the Throne Act of 1701 “.

The Succession to the Throne Act of 1701 is the law that lays down the rules for the order of succession to the British throne. Although there have been partial revisions, the basic framework has not changed.

The requirements for the holder of the throne, as stipulated by the law, are first of all to be of the Stewart lineage, and secondly to be a Christian Protestant.

The latter phrase, “must be Protestant,” may be unfamiliar and difficult for us to understand.

Shortly before this law was passed, it was a time of religious revolution. The Catholic and Protestant factions fought fiercely, and it was the Protestants who ultimately took control of the political scene.

England became a Protestant country, and Catholics were excluded from the right to the throne.

For Japanese citizens, whose constitution enshrines freedom of religion, the ” Catholic ban ” may seem unreasonable. However, this rule remains unchanged to this day.

The lineage of the current British royal family is known as the Hanoverian (English pronunciation: Hanover) family because of their ancestry to Elector Princess Zophie of Hanover.

Zophie was the grandson of the Stuart king James I. She lived in Germany as the Elector’s wife of Hanover. Originally, she was not high in the line of succession to the throne.

However, since the king at that time had no sons and many of the surviving royal family members were Catholics, Zoffie, who was not a direct descendant of the king, ended up as the first in line to the throne.

Eventually, his son Georg Ludwig ascended the throne as King George I, beginning the Hanoverian dynasty. The current king, Charles III, is the 12th king from the Hanoverian family.

In summary, the order of succession to the throne is the descendants of the Elector Princess Zofie of Hanover who are not Catholic, starting with the first child of the current king and working down to the next generation.

Gender does not affect the order of succession. Regardless of whether you are male or female, your age determines your rank. This will be discussed in more detail later.

All the royal members of the throne at a glance!

According to the Succession Act of 1701, anyone who was a descendant of Elector Princess Sophie of Hanover and was also a Protestant was entitled to the throne.

Even fairly distant relatives will have the right of succession to the throne, and it is said that there are currently nearly 500 people who actually hold the right of succession to the throne.

From this vast number of people, here is a list of royal family members who are worth noting.

As you know, the current top of the line of succession to the throne is the two sons of the current King Charles and their children. Prince William and Prince Henry will be discussed in more detail in a later section, but who will follow them? Let’s take a look at the 8th place and below.

The eighth in line of succession to the throne is Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Prince Andreu is the second son of Queen Elizabeth, i.e., brother of King Charles, whose children and grandchildren occupy the 9th through 12th places in the line of succession, respectively.

Thirteenth in the line of succession is Edward, Earl of Wessex, Queen Elizabeth’s third son. They have one son and one daughter, ranking 14th and 15th in the line of succession, respectively.

In 16th place is Princess Anne, eldest daughter of Queen Elizabeth. Princess Anne has two children and five grandchildren, and the family is ranked 23rd in the line of succession to the throne.

Here ends the lineage of all of Queen Elizabeth’s children. The line of succession to the throne now moves to the line of Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth’s sister.

Princess Margaret’s direct children and grandchildren determine up to 29th place, and where we go from 30th place onward, we move to Queen Elizabeth’s cousin. Prince Richard, son of Prince Henry, brother of Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, is that person.

The line of succession continues down to their children and grandchildren, but at such a distance, they can be said to be very distant relatives. From the perspective of the current king, he is the grandson of his mother’s cousin, and at this distance, the possibility of succeeding to the throne is quite low.

The line of succession to the throne then continues to Queen Elizabeth’s cousins and their descendants, but only up to the 62nd position, from which point they leave the royal family and move on to ordinary citizens.

Interestingly, the term “royal family” does not only refer to the British royal family.

In European countries where many political marriages took place, royal descendants also remain in foreign royal families here and there.

For example, the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, is the holder of the British throne because his great-great-great grandmother was Queen Victoria I of England back in the day.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, a cousin of Carl XVI Gustaf, also has the same claim to the throne.

In addition to these two Nordic countries, the current king of another Nordic country, Norway, King Harald V, is also connected to the British royal family through another family line and is also the heir to the throne.

What a surprise, all three Nordic kings are heirs to the British throne.

It is not only in Scandinavia. On the continent, the Greek royal family, descended from Victoria I , and the Dutch royal family, descended from George II, are similarly in line for the throne.

It is interesting to note that while being the king (or queen) of one country, you also have the right to succeed to the throne of another country.

Both countries are so far back in the line of succession to the throne that it goes back to “ancestors” and is quite low, so the possibility of having two kings is almost impossible. Nevertheless, it is also fun to imagine “King of Sweden and King of Great Britain.

No. 1 Prince William

The current number one in the line of succession to the throne is Prince William. He is the eldest son of then Prince Charles and former Princess Diana, and is highly popular among the people and is expected to be the future king.

In Japanese, he is often referred to as the Crown Prince, but since the United Kingdom is a kingdom, the correct term is the Crown Prince.

career

True to his image of seriousness and calm, Prince William’s career is solid.

He attended public elementary school, then Eton, a prominent public school, before attending St. Andrews University.

He excelled in college and also enlisted in the army as part of the British royal family’s learning.

He was also in the military when he married Princess Catherine and wore the uniform of the Irish Kingsguard Regiment to the wedding.

Married to Catherine, Princess of Wales

In 2011, Prince William will marry Princess Catherine.

The two met as students and have been dating ever since. The fact that 10 years passed before they married shows that their relationship was a serious one.

The royal wedding, the first in the U.K. for a long time, was broadcast live around the world, and many people congratulated the couple.

They have three children.

Prince William and Princess Catherine now have three children.

They are the eldest son , Prince George, the eldest daughter, Princess Charlotte, and the second son, Prince Louis, two sons and one daughter, all three of whom are heirs to the throne.

Prince William’s children also have the right of succession.

As noted above, Prince William’s three children are the second, third, and fourth holders of the throne, respectively.

Since his father William is the firstborn, his child is certain to become the future Crown Prince.

No. 2 Prince George

Prince George, the eldest son of Prince William, was born in 2013. He is second in line of succession to the throne after his father, following the system of the first-born son inheriting the family.

If Prince William ascends to the throne in the future, he will move up in the line of succession to the throne and become the first in line. He will be called the Crown Prince, as was the case with his father.

No. 3 Princess Charlotte

The next third place is held by Princess Charlotte, the family’s second and only daughter.

Princess Charlotte was born in 2015.

Under the old law, boys are higher in the line of succession to the throne, regardless of age, but Princess Charlotte has this rank under the 2013 Succession to the Throne Act.

She is the top in the line of succession to the throne among female royalty.

No. 4 Prince Louis

Prince Louis, the youngest son of the family at this time, was born in 2018. He is fourth in line to the throne, behind his sister, Princess Charlotte.

The mischievous Prince Louis is also very popular in family photos published by the Royal Family.

No. 5 Prince Henry

Prince Henry, the second son of the current King Charles, is the fifth in line of succession to the throne.

Few members of the British royal family have made as much headlines in recent years as Prince Henry.

In contrast to his older brother, Prince William, he is cheerful and impulsive, surprising the public with his unprecedented behavior , including his sudden departure from the royal family.

career

Like his older brother, he graduated from Eton, but his grades were not as good as his brother’s.

He then did community service and other activities before enrolling at Sandhurst Military Academy. After graduation, he enlisted in the Army and participated in actual combat, which became a hot topic.

Subsequently, he left the royal family as well as his national responsibilities and ceased his activities in the United Kingdom, including military affairs.

Married to Meghan

Princess Meghan, who stunned the nation with her unusual background as a former actress and her beauty, married Prince Henry in 2018.

Although there was some opposition to welcoming Meghan into the royal family because she was three years older than Prince Henry and had a history of divorce, the couple overcame the opposition and tied the knot.

She has excellent taste and her outfits are the talk of the town wherever she goes. She also seems to be fulfilling her duty as a fashion leader in the UK.

They have two children.

Prince and Princess Henry have one son and one daughter. Their parents immigrated to the U.S., so their children grew up in the U.S. as well.

Although they are not shown to the media at the behest of their parents, we can learn of their disappearance through the British Royal Family.

Prince Henry’s children also have the right of succession.

Prince Henry and his wife retired from public service in 2020 and left the royal family. However, after their departure, the order of succession to the throne will remain unchanged, and their two children will have the right to inherit the throne.

No. 6 Eldest son Arch-.

Prince Henry and Meghan’s first child was born in 2019. That is their first son, Archie.

He will be sixth in line to the throne, after his father, Prince Henry.

No. 7 Eldest daughter Lilibet

Their daughter Lilibet, born in 2021, holds the title of Princess and seventh in line to the throne, despite her young age.

The quirky name comes from her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, who could not pronounce her own name properly when she was a child.

Women have the right to the throne in the British royal family.

The United Kingdom has the image of being the land of queens. In fact, it has produced a queen many times in its history.

There are many constitutional monarchies, but no other country has crowned so many queens.

Even in such an England, the basis of inheritance was the firstborn son inheritance system, in which boys took precedence over girls in inheriting the family.

Under this system, in which gender is more important than age, if the oldest child is a girl and has a male sibling, the younger brother will take over the house, skipping the older sister.

However, the ” Succession to the Throne Act of 2013 ” overturned that provision.

As already mentioned, the order of succession to the British throne is regulated by the Succession to the Throne Act of 1701, which has been amended by the Succession to the Throne Act of 2013.

Under this law, succession to the throne passes in order to the lineal children of the current king, with no consideration given to gender. This means that a sister comes above her brother in the order of succession to the throne if she is older.

It can be said that women have the same right to the throne as men in the British Royal Family. This is the major amendment to the Succession to the Throne Act of 2013.

The Succession to the Throne Act of 2013 has another significant feature. It allows marriage to Catholics, which had previously been prohibited.

The 1701 Succession to the Throne Act required that both husband and wife holders of the throne be Protestant.

Marrying a Catholic partner meant, in other words, losing the right to the throne.

This rule was also repealed by the 2013 Succession to the Throne Act.

Marriage to Catholics is now free, and royalty who lost their right to the throne in the past due to this rule are now able to reassume the right to the throne.

However, the rule remains that the heir to the throne must himself be a Protestant.

Learn more about the world’s royal families!

The order of succession to the British throne explained.

Inheritance has always been a difficult issue. In addition, when it comes to the transfer of royal power, there must have been considerable conflict because it is a matter of national importance.

Nevertheless, the British royal family has upheld the Succession to the Throne Act of 1701 to the present day.

Perhaps it is because of the tradition of the British royal family that this has been preserved.

There are other royal families in Europe with long traditions besides the British. Europe is not alone. There are also royal families with long histories in Asia, Africa, and Middle Eastern countries.

Of course, our country’s imperial family is also steeped in long history and tradition.

To learn more about these royal families around the world, please visit our website. This site provides detailed information about royal families around the world. Please take this opportunity to take a look.

Learn more about the world’s royal families and enrich your daily life.