After Queen Elizabeth's death, Prince Charles took his place as King. But Prince Harry and Prince Andrew are still in the line of succession, 5th and 8th respectively, despite having stepped down from royal duties.
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What is the line of succession?
The line of succession is the order in which Royal Family members will take the throne.
With Charles now King, Prince William has become the heir and next in line to the throne. He was created Prince of Wales, a title traditionally given to the reigning sovereign's heir, by his father in the King's first royal address.
Prince William speaks of honour after receiving Prince of Wales title https://t.co/eudnCUWbqt
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) September 11, 2022
Prince George of Wales is now second in line to the throne. His sister, Princess Charlotte of Wales, is third in line. The young Princess made history after the birth of Prince Louis of Wales, 4th in line to the throne, by being the first female Royal to retain her claim to the throne despite having a younger brother, reports The Sun.
Prince Harry is still 5th in line, despite having stepped down from royal duties in 2020. His two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibeth are respectively 6th and 7th in line.
Prince Andrew retains his claim to the throne at 8th in line despite being stripped of royal duties following the scandalous Virginia Giuffre lawsuit.
Why Prince Harry and Prince Andrew can still potentially be King
As stated on royal.uk, succession is regulated not only through descent but also by Parliamentary statute.
Indeed, succession was determined by constitutional developments in the 17th century, giving parliament the power to regulate succession and, if need be, deprive a sovereign of their title.
According to Express.co.uk, to remove a person from the line of succession would require an act of parliament. The newspaper explains that Prince Harry could petition parliament for his name to be struck off the line of succession, but there would be little point, seeing how far down the list he is.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II has elevated her son King Charles III to the throne, with Prince William next in line.
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 8, 2022
We've tracked the path of royal succession to the throne — down to the 23rd in line. https://t.co/qZcy9YJBgUpic.twitter.com/H4eyx64iKo
In 2013, the Succession of the Crown Act amended certain provisions set out nearly 300 years ago. The most significant of these amendments was the end to the system of male primogeniture, which allowed younger male heirs to displace older female ones. However, this only applies to children born after 28/10/2011, which is why Princess Anne is the 16th in line to the throne, behind Prince Andrew, 8th, and Prince Edward 13th, despite being the second-born child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
Read more:
⋙ The Queen's death: Here's how Royal Family members' titles will change
⋙ Queen Elizabeth II's funeral: Vladimir Putin is not expected to attend, here's why
