Prompt Cast
The Elaborate British Line of Succession Explained
TLDR The British line of succession is a complex and lengthy list that extends back over 1200 years. It includes thousands of people, but the next in line to the throne after Queen Elizabeth II are Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince George. The rules of succession are dictated by historical documents such as the Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The British line of succession is more elaborate than most people realize, with thousands of people in the line and the possibility of a different monarch if history had gone differently.
01:30
The British line of succession extends back over 1200 years and includes thousands of people, but the next in line to the throne after Queen Elizabeth II are Prince Charles, Prince William, and Prince George.
03:00
The rules of secession to the British throne are dictated by the Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701, which restrict succession to the legitimate descendants of Sophia of Hanover who are in communion with the Church of England.
04:33
After the death of Charles II, the crown passed to his Catholic brother James II, who was later replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange, and then to Mary's sister Anne, but when Anne died without any surviving descendants, the British had to go back up the family tree to find the next Protestant heir, Sophia, who was the highest ranking Protestant at the time.
06:00
Sophia of Hanover was chosen as the legal starting point for the line of succession to the British crown, but when she died before Queen Anne, her son George became the King of Great Britain, beginning the line of Hanover monarchs, and today there are over 5,000 people on the list for succession to the British crown, with the highest ranking non-British person being King Harold V of Norway.
07:39
The new act changed the rule to absolute primogenitor for anyone in the line of secession born after October 28th, 2011, meaning that the oldest child will now get preference regardless of sex.
09:07
The next in line to the British throne after Franz is his brother Max, who only has daughters, one of whom is married to the heir apparent of Lichtenstein, meaning the Jacobite claim to the British throne will soon be merged with the House of Lichtenstein.
