A year ago, on September 8, 2022, the British royal family and the world mourned Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96, ending a historic 70-year reign.
Now, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth have a new monarch who will be crowned in May 2023. Let's take a look at the order of succession to the throne and who the top 30 royal relatives are ......
Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, has a 73-year history and became the monarch of the United Kingdom after his mother's death in September 2022. He is now King Charles III, and his second wife is known as Queen Camilla.
Prince William is now the first heir to the throne. After the death of his grandmother Elizabeth II and the accession to the throne of King Charles III, William inherited two new titles from his father: he and his wife Kate are now not only the Duke of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge, but also the Prince and Princess of Wales, which is particularly significant: the latter title was finally used by William's late mother, Princess Diana.
Second in line to the throne is the young Prince George, who will be crowned king after the death of his father, Prince William. Although that day is many years later, it is interesting to note that the youngest monarch in English history was Henry VI, who ascended the throne for only 8 months and 26 days.
Coming in second to her brother is Princess Charlotte, who is third in line to the British throne. While not entirely impossible, her chances of actually attaining the highest position in the royal family are low, which requires her brother to die or relinquish the throne before having children. Thanks to a law passed by parliament in 2011, the long-standing practice of preference for sons has officially ended, meaning that even if the third child of Duchess Kate and Prince William is a boy, Charlotte will not be ignored (as was the case with Princess Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II).
Prince William and Princess Kate's third child – a son born in April 2018 – is fourth in line to the British throne. Prince Louis would only be crowned king if his siblings died (or abdicated the throne) before forming their own family.
Fifth in the order of royal succession is Henry, Prince of Wales, also known as Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Although Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan, whom he married in 2018, stepped down as senior working members of the royal family in 2020, he and his children remain ...... heirs to the throne
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan's first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was born in May 2019 and is sixth in line to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Although he was not given a royal title at birth, but in September 2022, when his grandfather, Charles III, became monarch and was known as Master Alch Mountbatten-Windsor, he automatically became Prince Alchie, a title that was finally recognized by Buckingham Palace six months later.
Despite Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan's second child, Lilibet · Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born in the United States without a title, but she still occupies the position of heir to the throne when she arrived in Santa Barbara, California, in June 2021. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II died, making her seventh in line to the throne – technically Princess Lilibet Diana, although Buckingham Palace did not admit this until another six months later in March 2023.
In March 2023, Harry and Meghan announced that Lily would be baptized at their home in California, and Lily's title of princess was confirmed, and they publicly referred to her as Princess Lily Diana for the first time. What is the reason for the title change? Back in 1917, King George V issued a patent to grant the title of prince or princess to the monarch's male grandchildren – when Charles became king in 2022, it meant that his grandchildren could claim their birth rights to use the prince and princess before their name.
Lily is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty the Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen in honour of her beloved late grandmother, Princess of Wales," the couple explained when announcing Lily's birth at the Akwell meeting.
Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, is now in eighth place. Although he lost his permission to use the HRH title in an official capacity in 2022 due to the advancement of a civil ** case against him – he denied any wrongdoing, but he reportedly settled with the plaintiff in 2022 for $16 million ** – the Duke of York remains the heir to the throne.
The ninth in line to the throne is Princess Beatrice of York, the daughter of Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York. Prior to the birth of Princess Charlotte in May 2015, Beatrice was the highest-ranked woman in the royal heirs.
In September 2021, Princess Beatrice and her husband, real estate developer Eduardo Marpeli Mozzi, welcomed their first child – daughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapeli Mozzi, who is now the tenth in line to the throne.
In 11th place is Princess Eugenie, the sister of Princess Beatrice. As one of the Queen's granddaughters, Eugenie has experienced all the ups and downs of the lives of members of the British royal family, including the royal wedding to commoner Jack Brooksbank in October 2018 and the public divorce of her parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.
Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank's son, August Philip Hawk Brookbank, was born in February 2021 and is 12th in line to the throne.
Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank's second child, Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank, was born in May 2023 and is 13th in line of succession to the throne. In announcing Ernest's birth, Eugenie revealed that Ernest "was named after his great-great-great-grandfather (king) George (V), his grandfather George (father), and my grandfather Ronald (mother)." ”
Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, is the 14th in line to the throne. He was made Earl of Wessex before marrying Sophie Rees-Jones in 1999. On his 59th birthday in March 2023, his brother King Charles III gave him a new title: Duke of Edinburgh, a title that previously belonged to their late father, Prince Philip.
However, Buckingham Palace announced: "This title will be held by Prince Edward for life." This meant that, unlike most principalities, Edward's son would not inherit the title, which would return to the throne after Edward's death.
The 15th heir to the throne? Son of Prince Edward, son of the Duke of Edinburgh. He was known as James, Viscount Severn until shortly after he was 15 years old. In March 2023, after Edward was made Duke of Edinburgh, James inherited his father's previous title, the Earl of Wessex. While James is technically the youngest child in the family, he ranks higher on the list than his older sister, Louise Mountbatten-Lady Windsor, due to the old (now repealed) rule of preference for male heirs over female heirs. Although the rules have changed, they only affect children born after 2011.