With the impending marriage of HRH Prince William to Ms. Catherine Middleton, the question of royal succession has risen again. While the populace generally accepts whomever that is selected for the throne, there has been growing calls for the succession to bypass the current legal heir to the throne, HRH Prince Charles, in favor of his son, HRH Prince William, who is second in line to the throne. This is mainly caused by the fallout HRH Prince Charles divorce with his popular and much adored wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1996 and the subsequent revelations of extramarital affairs, perceived insensitivity and the need of the public to apportion blame for the shattered fairy tale that swept the whole country of their feet almost two decades earlier, on 29 July 1981.

However, the Queen is not legally permitted to choose anyone else other than her eldest son to succeed her to the throne. Even if she abdicated, or died, the constitution is clear on this respect and only a change to the law will allow for such a scenario to become reality. It is unlikely that the members of the British parliament would consider such a proposal seriously, unless such a request was made by the legal heir himself. The succession for the throne for the last 300 years has been a relatively smooth and peaceful affair ever since the Glorious Revolution of 1688 which deposed His Majesty The King James II, as opposed to the more volatile circumstances in the process of ascendancy to the throne in the time before then. The last time the parliament was involved in a matter of succession was in 1936, and it was only to facilitate the decision by His Majesty The King Edward VIII to marry a Catholic commoner and abdicate the throne.

The present royal family is a direct descendent of Cedric, the King of Wessex. The choice of succession at the time fell under the authority of the Witenagemot. The Witenagemot is an informal assembly of non-royals consisting of leading figures from the religious, economic and administrative sector of the nascent nation. The Witenagemot would normally choose, after an election amongst themselves, a reigning monarch’s eldest son for the succession. However, the form was not adhered to in 1066, which caused a struggle for the throne leading to the Battle of Hastings between William, the Duke of Normandy and Harold, the Earl of Essex, which was won by the former.

Another interesting variable lies in the Act of Settlement of 1701, which, alongside the Bill of Rights of 1689, are the main legislative laws governing the royal succession. Among others, the bill states that in the absence of a male heir, the inheritance of a monarch, tangible or otherwise, should be divided equally between the female heirs and held in abeyance until a legal male heir comes of age. When His Majesty The King George VI died in 1952, a strict adherence to the law would have seen the King’s daughters, sisters Elizabeth and Margaret, becoming co-heirs. However, political expediency saw to the ascension of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II, and her eldest son in turn, became the legal heir to the throne. The son of the late Margaret, Viscount David Linley has a notable claim to the throne. While there has never been any indication that the Viscount would pursue a claim, the fact remains that if he did, it would be a credible one indeed.

The Sovereign of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland) and the sixteen independent states of the Commonwealth realm (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda and Belize), apart from being the constitutional head of the aforementioned nations, is also technically the owner of a massive fortune, estimated to be in the region of £20 billion, which consists of

• The Duchy of Lancaster estate

• Sandringham House

• Balmoral Castle

• Castle of Mey

• Art collection (worth at least £10 billion, excluding the Royal Art collection)

• Buckingham Palace,

• Windsor Castle,

• Crown Jewels

• The Crown Estate (estimated at £7.3 billion)

As it is now, His Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II has reigned for over 59 years, the second longest ever, just four years behind the record held by her great-great grandmother Her Majesty The Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years. Her 62 year old son HRH Princess Charles, on the other hand, is well on his way to overtake his Majesty The King Edward IV (64 years) as the oldest King to ascend the throne.

Line of Succession to the Throne

1. HRH The Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, eldest son of HM Queen Elizabeth II

2. HRH Prince William of Wales, elder son of HRH The Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales

3. HRH Prince Henry of Wales, son of HRH The Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales

4. HRH The Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, second son of HM Queen Elizabeth II

5. HRH Princess Beatrice of York, elder daughter of HRH The Prince Andrew, The Duke of York

6. HRH Princess Eugenie of York, daughter of HRH The Prince Andrew, The Duke of York

7. HRH The Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex, son of HM Queen Elizabeth II

8. James Windsor, Viscount Severn, son of HRH The Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex

9. Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of HRH The Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex

10. HRH The Princess Anne, The Princess Royal, only daughter of HM Queen Elizabeth II

11. Peter Phillips, son of HRH The Princess Anne, The Princess Royal

12. Zara Phillips, daughter of HRH The Princess Anne, The Princess Royal

13. David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley, son of HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

14. The Honourable Charles Armstrong-Jones, son of David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley

15. The Honourable Margarita Armstrong-Jones, daughter of David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley

16. Lady Sarah Chatto, daughter of HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

17. Samuel Chatto, son of Lady Sarah Chatto

18. Arthur Chatto, son of Lady Sarah Chatto

19. HRH Prince Richard, The Duke of Gloucester, son of HRH The Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, 3rd son of HM King George V

20. Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster, son of HRH Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
    

21. Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden

22. Lady Davina Lewis

23. Lady Rose Windsor

24. Edward, Duke of Kent

25. Lady Amelia Windsor

26. Lady Helen Taylor

27. Mr Columbus Taylor

28. Mr Cassius Taylor

29. Miss Eloise Taylor

30. Miss Estella Taylor

31. Lord Frederick Windsor

32. Lady Gabriella Windsor

33. Princess Alexandra of Kent

34. Mr James Ogilvy

35. Mr Alexander Ogilvy

36. Miss Flora Ogilvy

37. Mrs Marina Mowatt

38. Master Christian Mowatt

39. Miss Zenouska Mowatt

40. George Lascelles, Earl of Harewood

41. David Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles

42. The Hon. Alexander Lascelles

43. The Hon. Edward Lascelles

44. The Hon. James Lascelles

45. Rowan Lascelles

46. Tewa Lascelles

47. Sophie Lascelles

48. The Hon. Jeremy Lascelles

49. Thomas Lascelles

50. Ellen Lascelles

51. Amy Lascelles

52. Henry Lascelles

53. Maximilian Lascelles

54. James Carnegie, Duke of Fife

55. David Carnegie, Earl of Southesk

56. Charles Carnegie, Lord Carnegie

57. The Hon. George William Carnegie

58. The Hon. Hugh Alexander Carnegie

59. Lady Alexandra Etherington

60. Amelia Etherington

61. King Harald V of Norway

62. Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway

63. Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway

64. Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

65. Princess Märtha Louise of Norway

66. Maud Angelica Behn

67. Leah Isadora Behn

68. Princess Ragnhild of Norway

69. Olav Lorentzen

70. Christian Lorentzen

71. Sophia Lorentzen

72. Victoria Ribeiro

73. Princess Astrid of Norway

74. Alexander Ferner

75. Stella Ferner

76. Carl-Christian Ferner

77. Cathrine Ferner Johansen

78. Sebastian Ferner Johansen

79. Madeleine Ferner Johansen

80. Benedikte Ferner

81. Elisabeth Ferner Beckman

82. Benjamin Ferner Beckman

83. Paul-Philippe Hohenzollern

84. Alexander Hohenzollern

85. Princess Margarita of Romania

86. Princess Helen of Romania

87. Nicholas Medforth-Mills

88. Karina Medforth-Mills

89. Princess Irina of Romania

90. Michael Kreuger

91. Angelica Kreuger

92. Princess Sophie of Romania

93. Elisabeta-Maria de Laufenborg

94. Prince Peter of Yugoslavia

95. Prince Philip of Yugoslavia

96. Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia

97. Prince Nikolas of Yugoslavia

98. Princess Marija of Yugoslavia

99. Prince George of Yugoslavia

100. Prince Michael of Yugoslavia