The First 25 In the Line of Succession to the British Throne

Who are royal family members closer to the British throne?

Each year, the line of succession to the British throne always has a massive change, thanks to its extended members' marriages.

This month, with the birth of Princess Beatrice's daughter, the succession line has a makeover once again. And each person below Princess Beatrice's position will go down a notch in the line of succession.

Three male heirs in direct succession to the throne

This is also the first time in British history since the Victorian era that the British throne has three male heirs in direct succession to the throne.

In 2013, the British throne succession was repealed, adopting the absolute primogeniture succession which allows equal rights to female royals to become the next monarch. 

This further means that, eldest sisters are no longer kick aside by their younger brothers, but it only affected individuals born in 2013 onwards. 

The first six

However, the first six royals in the line of succession have not changed its positions since the birth of Prince Louis of Cambridge in 2018. 

The first six in the line of succession to the British throne
Photo credit: Metro.co.uk

They are also the only individuals in the line of succession required by the newly-refurbished Royal Marriages Act to seek permission from the reigning British monarch to marry.

Here are the first 25 persons in the line of succession as of September 2021.

1. The Prince of Wales. Prince Charles is the heir-apparent of the Queen as her eldest son. He has been heir to the throne since his mother's accession in February 1952. He was born on November 14, 1948. At 62 years old, he is Britain's oldest king-in-waiting, and also in Europe today.

2. The Duke of Cambridge. Prince William, who was born on June 21, 1982, is the eldest son of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales. Since his birth in 1982 he is second-in-line to the throne behind his father.

3. Prince George of Cambridge. The eldest son of the Duke of Cambridge. He was born on July 22, 2013. He has been third in line of succession since his birth.

4. Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. Eldest daughter of the Duke of Cambridge. He is the first daughter of the monarch's heir to place in the line of succession ahead of a younger brother.  She was born on May 2, 2015.

The Absolute Primogeniture law took effect two years before her birth. Should her elder brother could not make it to the throne at the time he has no children, Charlotte will be the first British princess to become heir-apparent and hold the title, Princess of Wales, in her own right.

5. Prince Louis of Cambridge. Youngest son of the Duke of Cambridge. He is the first British Prince in history to be pushed down in the line of succession by an older sister. He was born on April 23, 2018.

6. The Duke of Sussex. Prince Harry placed sixth in the line of succession since 2018 on the birth of his nephew, Prince Louis of Cambridge. He was born on September 15, 1984 to the Prince and Princess of Wales. At the time of his birth, he was third in the line of succession.

In 2020, Prince Harry stepped back from senior royal role and moved with his wife and son to America, nonetheless, he was not removed from the line of succession.

7. Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. He is the eldest child of the Duke of Sussex and was born on May 6, 2019 in England. Though legally entitled to be known as Earl Dumbarton as his father's second peer title, his parents chose to call him in his Christian name.

Mountbatten-Windsor is the family name of the British royals who are not titled Prince and Princess. It's the coined surname of the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh declared in 1960.

8. Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor. She is the second child of the Duke of Sussex born on June 4, 2021 in the United States. She is the first British royal closer to the throne born in a foreign land. 

9. The Duke of York. Prince Andrew is the second son of the Queen and Prince Philip. He was born on February 19, 1960 and the first royal to be born on the reigning British monarch since the birth of Princess Vicky to Queen Victoria in 1840.

At the time of his birth in 1960, Prince Andrew was second in line to the throne behind his elder brother, Prince Charles. Today, with the birth of the Duke of Sussex's daughter in June, he is 9th in line.

10. Princess Beatrice. She is the eldest daughter of the Duke of York, and currently 10th in the line of succession. At the time of her birth on August 8, 1988, she was 5th in the line of succession.

11. Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi. She was born on September 18, 2021 to Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi, an Italian aristocrat. 

12. Princess Eugenie. She is the youngest daughter of the Duke of York. Princess Eugenie was born on March 23, 1990 to Prince Andrew and Sarah, the Duchess of York.

13. August Brooksbank. Son of Princess Eugenie who was born in February this year. Through his father, Jack Brooksbank, he is a remainder, meaning possible heir, to the Baronetcy of Brooksbank in the Healaugh Manor in the parish of Healaugh. It's a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom where Jack Brooksbank is a distant male heir.

14. The Earl of Wessex. Prince Edward is the youngest child of the Queen and Prince Philip. He was born on March 10, 1964. He is the last child to be born in the reigning British monarch.

15. James, Viscount Severn. Second child and only son of the Earl of Wessex. The Viscount Severn is technically a British prince but due to his parents' request in 1999 not to give their future children with the title of Prince and Princess, James assumed the status of a son of a British earl.

16. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor. She was born on November 8, 2003 as the daughter of the Earl of Wessex.  Technically, she is a British princess and can still choose to be called as such when she turns 18 this year.

17. The Princess Royal. Princess Anne is the only daughter of the Queen and Prince Philip. She was born in 1950 during the reign of her grandfather, King George VI. At the time of her birth, she was third-in-line behind her mother and older brother, Prince Charles.

18. Peter Phillips. Eldest child of the Princess Royal who was born in 1977. He is the eldest grandchild of the Queen and Prince Philip.

19. Savannah Phillips. She is the eldest child of Peter Phillips and his Canadian wife, Autumn Kelly. Savannah was born in 2010. She is also the first great-grandchild of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

20. Isla Phillips. The second daughter of Peter Phillips and his Canadian wife, Autumn Kelly. Isla was born on March 29, 2012.

21. Zara Phillips-Tindall. The second child of the Princess Royal and the eldest granddaughter of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. She was born in 1981 and it was her uncle, Prince Charles, who chose her name. Zara is a Greek name that has a meaning of "morning star".

22. Mia Tindall. Eldest child of Zara Phillips-Tindall born in 2014. She was born three years after her parents' marriage in 2011. 

23. Lena Tindall. Second daughter of Zara Tindall born in 2018.

24. Lucas Tindall. He was born in March this year (2021) as the eldest son of Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall.

25. The 2nd Earl of Snowdon. David Armstrong-Jones is the eldest child of Princess Margaret, the younger sister of the Queen who died in 2002. David, who was born in 1962, is the first person in the line of succession outside the Queen's direct family.

Trivia:

King Harald V and his descendants are the first foreign royals who are listed in the line of succession to the British throne. 

The reigning Norwegian monarch is the great-grandson of Princess Maud of Wales, the youngest child of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was in the line of succession to the British throne since his birth in 1921. He was Queen Victoria's direct descendant through her second daughter, Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse.

Queen Margrethe II, King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, Constantine II, ex-King of Greece, and their non-Catholic descendants are also in the line of succession as direct descendants of Queen Victoria.

King Juan Carlos of Spain and his wife, Queen Sofia, who are great-great grandchildren of Queen Victoria, were removed from the line of succession due to their Catholic faith.

The Earl of St. Andrews (eldest son of Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent) and his uncle, Prince Michael of Kent, were reinstated in the line of succession in 2013 after the succession law was repealed.

They were removed from the line of succession when they married Catholics. However, the succession law remains hostile to Roman Catholics, they still not eligible to succeed the throne, thus, royal family members like Lord Nicholas Windsor (youngest son of the Duke of Kent), Lady Marina Windsor and Lord Downpatrick, children of Earl of St. Andrews, who converted to Catholicism are ineligible to succeed.

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