Succession To The British Throne

Succession to the British throne is governed both by common law and statute. Under common law the crown is inherited by male-preference cognatic primogeniture. In other words, succession passes first to an individual's sons, in order of birth, and subsequently to daughters, again in order of birth. Succession is also governed by the Act of Union 1800, which restates the provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Bill of Rights 1689. These laws restrict the succession to legitimate descendants of Sophia, Electress of Hanover and debar those who are Roman Catholics or who have married Roman Catholics. Descendants of those debarred for being or marrying Roman Catholics, however, may still be eligible to succeed. The succession was also regulated by His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, which excluded the abdicated king Edward VIII and his descendants from the throne; this act ceased to have any practical effect when Edward, then known as the Duke of Windsor, died without issue in 1972.

Elizabeth II is the present Sovereign and her heir apparent is her eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales. Next in line is Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, the Prince of Wales's eldest son.

The first four individuals in the line of succession who are twenty-one years or older, along with the Sovereign's consort, may be appointed Counsellors of State. Counsellors of State perform some of the Sovereign's duties whilst he or she is abroad or temporarily incapacitated. Otherwise, individuals in the line of succession need not have specific legal or official duties (though members of the royal family often do).

The monarch of the United Kingdom is also the monarch of 15 other sovereign states within the Commonwealth of Nations. By convention iterated in the preamble to the Statute of Westminster 1931, the line of succession cannot be altered without the agreement of all 16 Commonwealth realms. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011, it was announced that the 16 heads of government had agreed unanimously that laws governing the succession would be changed, so that sons of any future monarch would no longer be preferred over daughters. This change will not apply retroactively, and will only affect the descendants of the current heir apparent, Charles, Prince of Wales. It was also agreed that the ban on the monarch being married to a Roman Catholic would be lifted, although the monarch would still need to be in communion with the Church of England. Individual realms will need to enact legislation before the succession changes take effect.