This link was going around the other day, thanks, I think, to a mention on Cracked.com, of all places.
The line of succession to the British throne, laid out well into the 1200s.
I an excluded (damn!) thanks to this rule. (And, you know, the fact that I am neither English nor in any way related to the Royals.) "Anyone who is Roman Catholic, becomes Roman Catholic, or marries a Roman Catholic is permanently excluded from the succession; this provision removing "papists" from the succession has never been tested."
And it might actually affect Princess Anne's son, Peter, since "Peter Phillips is engaged to marry Autumn Kelly, a Roman Catholic. Unless she renounces her Catholicism, Phillips will lose his place in the line of succession upon their marriage. As of September 2007, no wedding date has been set." (I bet they would find out some other way to disown her anyway, since who can envision a Queen Autumn? Also, her last name is Irish, which might not fly there, methinks.)
That's not the only snooty provision, though. Sons come before daughters even if the daughter is older, which is why Princess Anne, who would probably make a kick-ass queen, has to get in line well behind her younger brothers' kids. Cause Y chromosomes still rule, which is one of the many petty reasons I am smug that we do not have a monarchy, although sometimes you wouldn't know it from looking at the inhabitants of our White House.
And check this out: "A person born to parents who are not married to each other at the time of birth is not included in the line of succession. The subsequent marriage of the parents does not alter this."
So anyone out there claiming to be the love child of Charles and Camilla, no hope for you, even if you were a boy born before Wills.
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2 comments:
That rule about bastard children being excluded, even if the parents eventually marry, was added thanks to some ancestors of mine as I understand it. John of Gaunt (son of King Edward III of England) had, if I recall correctly, 11 kids total. Some of those kids were with his mistress of 20 years Katherine de Swinford, who he married once his wife finally died.
Now, John has 3 wives total: Blanche, Constanza and Katherine. His only surviving child with Constanze was a daughter, but Katherine bore a couple of boys. So, when his son with first wife Blanche went and became King Henry IV, Henry wanted to make certain none of his half-siblings would be a threat to his somewhat shaky claim to the succession (he basically had to murder the previous king, Richard II, to gain the title.) So, he threw in that rule about "A person born to parents who are not married to each other at the time of birth is not included in the line of succession. The subsequent marriage of the parents does not alter this."
If I would have known marrying a Catholic would disqualify me i'd have re-thought my decision:) LOL
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