The line of succession is the official list of members of the royal family in the order that they would become king or queen if those coming before them were to die or abdicate.
The succession list is published by the royal family and is updated when necessary.
The family member at the top of the list is the direct heir presumptive to the throne and for 70 years the former Prince Charles sat in that position.
When Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle on Thursday, Charles immediately became king and those in the line of succession advanced one place closer to the throne.
The British royal family updated the line of succession on its website in the hours after the queen’s death. It’s now done to 23 places, with Prince William at the top, followed by Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Harry and his two children.
Royal spouses and non-blood members of the family aren’t included in the line of succession as they can’t inherit the throne in their own right. Though the Princess of Wales and Meghan Markle could become queen consorts, this would only be if their husbands inherited the throne themselves.
On reading the new line of succession, social media users posted their consternation that such an important position in one of the world’s leading democracies could potentially be inherited by three children under the age of 10 and Prince Harry, who moved to the U.S. after stepping down from his working role within the royal family.
Writer and comedian Rohita Kadambi took to Twitter to to post:
“This is why the monarchy is so comical to me. Imagine any other job being like ‘so our back-up options for the position are an amateur helicopter pilot, three kids in primary school, and a podcaster in Santa Barbara.’”
Comedian Ken Cheng also voiced his disbelief in the system. “The line of succession is so bat****, imagine being like ‘yo bro I’m going to take your job when you die unless you create a firstborn.’”
Writer and columnist Gimba Kakanda shared this confusion, writing: “These royal lines of succession confuse me. So, as a prince, your older brother would be first in the line, and his kids, not you, would be next in the line of succession? You are next after his kids. What happens if the brother dies then? His first kid becomes the heir-apparent?”
As three of the next five members of the royal family are children, a special system has been created under the Regency Act. This puts in place a system where the monarch’s powers and functions can be performed in their name by a designated royal family member.
The Regency Act of 1937 states: “If the Sovereign is, at his accession, under the age of eighteen years, then, until he attains that age, the royal functions shall be performed in the name and on behalf of the sovereign by a regent.”
The regent is the next person in the line of succession who meets requirements laid out by the Regency Act of 1937. These include that the regent must be over the age of 18, a British subject and “domiciled in some part of the United Kingdom.”
If King Charles III were to become incapacitated due to ill health, Prince William would become regent. If William were king and died before Prince George was 18, the next regent would be Prince Harry. This however would require him to live in the U.K. The failure to do so would disqualify him from holding the position.
In response to some of the online criticism of the monarchy and the line of succession, a number of Twitter users were quick to point out the inherent flaws in the U.S. and global political systems too.
Writer and journalist Martin F. Robbins posted a photograph from the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol building alongside a caption reading:
“If I were a pundit in a country whose transfer of power looked like this I would simply not express opinions about the ‘absurdity’ of British system of government.”
Queen Elizabeth II ruled for 70 years and will be honored with a full state funeral on Monday, September 19. King Charles approved a motion to make the date a bank holiday in the United Kingdom so that the public can take part.
Prince William, The Prince of Wales
Prince George of Wales
Princess Charlotte of Wales
Prince Louis of Wales
Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor
Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor
Prince Andrew, The Duke of York
Princess Beatrice, Mrs. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
Miss Sienna Mapelli Mozzi
Princess Eugenie, Mrs. Jack Brooksbank
Master August Brooksbank
Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex
Viscount Severn
The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor
Princess Anne, The Princess Royal
Mr. Peter Phillips
Miss Savannah Phillips
Miss Isla Phillips
Mrs. Michael Tindall
Miss Mia Tindall
Miss Lena Tindall
Master Lucas Tindall
