However, since that is no longer the case, the new baby boy now comes in fifth-in-line of succession, after elder sister Princess Charlotte. Significantly, until 2013, the Succession to the Crown Act mandated a system of male preference, giving precedence to the Princes over their elder sisters in the claim to the throne. Royal spouses such as Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle do not have positions on the list because they are not of royal blood, they instead could become queens only if their husbands become king.Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip Mountbatten have four children, the eldest being Prince Charles, followed by Princess Anne, whose title is the Princess Royal Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex. The line of succession is officially updated with each birth and death that occurs within the royal family. If Edward VIII had married and had children, those children would have moved Elizabeth down the line but when he abdicated it became clear that she would one day become queen. When she was born, the queen was only third in line to the throne, the same position as Harry. The line of succession's importance became highlighted in 1936 when King Edward VIII abdicated and the crown was passed to the next in line, King George VI, then the Duke of York. This law was changed in 2013 and the first royal princess who took precedence over her younger brothers in the line of succession was Princess Charlotte, though this doesn't apply retroactively to Anne.Īndrew remained second in line to the throne until Prince William was born in 1982 and he was again bumped down a place when Harry was born and took his place as third in line to the throne in 1984. Despite Princess Anne being 10 years older than Andrew, the British laws of primogeniture in effect at the time meant that she was automatically lower than her younger brothers in terms of succession. When Andrew was born, as the second son of the reigning queen, he was second in line to the throne. Their positions in the line of succession are determined by the children that their siblings have had. Harry and Andrew were not born sixth and ninth in line to the throne. In the past heirs would avoid traveling together in case of disaster. Though this is an extreme unlikelihood, concerns have been raised over the Cambridge family's habit of traveling together in the same plane when going on tours or holidays. Those that populate the list are the blood relatives of the queen starting with Prince Charles, who is first in line to the throne, followed by William and his children, Harry and his children and then Andrew.įor Harry to inherit the throne, the queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and his three children would need to predecease him. The official list is published on the royal family's website to the 24th place. The line of succession is the official order that members of the royal family would inherit the throne. Eamonn McCormack/Getty Images/Matt Dunham/WPA Pool/Getty Images/Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images And St Edward's Crown (inset) photographed April 19, 1994. Prince Harry and Prince Andrew are sixth and ninth in line to the British throne respectively.