Coronation of King Charles III: The Succession to the Throne in England

Former Crown Prince Charles (74) Mountbatten-Windsor has been Queen since the death of his mother Elizabeth II new reigning King of the United Kingdom.

On May 6th he will be King Charles III. officially crowned in London. His wife Camilla (75) is Queen Consort.

But who will one day succeed him? And what exactly does that depend on? Read all about the rules of succession to the British throne here and take a look at the possible successor regents of King Charles III.

Prince William is the current heir to the throne

The new crown prince and current heir to the throne number one is now Charles’ eldest son Prince William (40).

What you can also see from the fact that his titles and those of his wife Catherine have already been extended accordingly by the king. They are now, instead of previously, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.

Additionally, they are the “Prince and Princess of Wales”. Both titles that King Charles III. wore as crown prince.

This is how the succession to the throne of the British monarchy is decided

The fact is: by no means does the reigning king alone determine who will wear the crown after him. Parliament makes the laws.

Succession is determined by the Bill of Rights 1689, the Act of Settlement 1701 and the Royal Marriages and Succession to the Crown (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill 2009.

The British Parliament’s Act of Settlement of 1701 also stipulated that only Protestants (members of the Anglican Church) could sit on the English throne. Catholics have been excluded ever since.

Since when the Windsors are kings

In 1714 the line of succession passed from the House of Stuart to the House of Hanover. Because at that time the Electress Sophie von Hanover (1630-1714) was the only surviving Protestant relative of the English royal family, but died shortly before the inheritance occurred. Her son became king in her place: George I of Hanover (1660-1727).

The House of Hanover then reigned uninterruptedly from 1714 until the death of Queen Victoria (1819-1901).

In 1901 the scepter passed with King Edward VII (1841 to 1910) to the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (the family of Victoria’s husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha), which broke away for political reasons during World War I in 1917 -Germanized and renamed Windsor.

It was headed by Queen Elizabeth II from 1952 until her death in 2022. Her husband was Philip Mountbatten.

The eldest son of the two Charles Mountbatten-Windsor is known as Charles III. King of Great Britain.

Current succession to the throne after Elizabeth II.

► In short, the currently applicable rule of succession to the throne is as follows: All surviving, non-excluded, Protestant descendants of Sophie von Hanover are entitled. The decisive factor in the claim is the order of birth.

In the succession of Charles III. Here are the descendants of Elizabeth II in order of succession to the throne.