Acts of Settlement 1701 and 1705
The Act of Settlement and the Bill of Rights 1689 include provisions that still discriminate against Roman Catholics. The Bill of Rights requires a new monarch to swear a coronation oath to maintain the Protestant religion and stipulates that:
- "... it hath been found by experience that it is inconsistent with the safety and welfare of this Protestant Kingdom to be governed by a Papist Prince".
The Act of Settlement (1701) went further, limiting the succession to the heirs of the body of Sophia of Hanover, provided that they do not "professe the Popish religion", "marry a Papist", "be reconciled to or ... hold Communion with the See or Church of Rome".
The law therefore allows a Catholic heir to choose to convert his/her religion to obtain the throne. Ever since the Papacy recognized the Hanoverian dynasty in January 1766, none of the immediate royal heirs has been a Catholic, and thereby disallowed by the Act. Many more distantly related potential Catholic heirs are listed on the line of succession to the British throne.
Read more about this topic: Catholic Emancipation
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