User blog:DragonEditsArticles/Annals of Mountchristen-Windsor Royal History (vol. 1 iss. 1): What's Apparent About these Heirs?

Readers of Red, White and Royal Blue debate many questions. For example, is Prince Henry truly a Ravenclaw, or is Alex's Hufflepuff theory correct? However, it may be that few questions are more contested than the matter of where Henry falls in the line of succession for the throne of England.

Historical Succession Practices
Many monarchies, including the throne of the United Kingdom under the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and later the House of Windsor, historically practiced male-preference primogeniture. Under such systems, eligible dynasts form a line of succession determined not only by birth order, but by gender as well. That is, among a dynast's eligible children, all sons (and any descendants they may have) would come before any daughters in the line of succession. For example, Queen Victoria's eldest child was Victoria, Princess Royal (later German Empress). However, Queen Victoria was not succeeded as the monarch of England by the younger Victoria, Princess Royal because she also had sons; her eldest son, The Prince Albert Edward, was automatically created Duke of Cornwall upon his birth, and was created Prince of Wales at the age of about one month. He later reigned as King Edward VII, while his elder sister, Victoria, Princess Royal, became German Empress and Queen of Prussia only by virtue of her marriage to German Emperor Frederick III. At the time of their birth, younger brothers routinely displaced elder sisters in the line of succession.

Differences in Succession Between the Houses of Mountchristen-Windsor and Mountbatten-Windsor
In the House of Mountbatten-Windsor, the line of succession to the British throne is governed by the Bill of Rights 1689, the Act of Settlement 1701, and the Succession to the Crown Act 2013. Succession is determined by descent, legitimacy, and religion. Additionally–and critically for the purposes of the current discussion–gender is a factor, as males born before 28 October 2011 precede their elder sisters in the line of succession. The provisions of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 in the Mountbatten-Windsor version meant that Princess Charlotte of Cambridge retained her place in the line of succession even after the birth of her younger brother, Prince Louis. The position of Anne, Princess Royal and her descendants were not changed relative to the other children of Queen Elizabeth II, because all the siblings were born prior to 28 October 2011.

The best comparison to Prince Henry and his siblings from the book are the Mountbatten-Windsor parallels we find in the children of Charles, Prince of Wales. If Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Henry (more commonly known as Harry), Duke of Sussex had a sister who came between them in age, her place in the line of succession would not have been altered by the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 as currently written, because she (and both brothers) would be born prior to 28 October 2011. This hypothetical Mountbatten-Windsor sister and her descendants would fall in the line of succession after William and Harry and their descendants.

Disputed Information
In the case of the Mountchristen-Windsors, while Prince Henry is staying with Alex in Texas, he mentions that "Philip is the heir and I'm the spare," making no mention of Beatrice. This seems to confirm that Beatrice comes behind Henry in the Mountchristen-Windsor line of succession despite coming between Philip and Henry in birth order. For Beatrice to come before Henry in the line of succession, the laws governing inheritance of the crown would need to have been changed in a way distinct from the changes that have occurred in the case Mountbatten-Windsors.

Later, however, Prince Philip confronts Henry regarding the feasibility of taking Alex as his consort. Philip indignantly asks how Henry envisions this playing out, mockingly asking if he thinks Alex will be "fourth in line to be Queen of England" (p. 309). This seems to suggest Henry comes after Beatrice in the line of succession, with Princess Catherine first in line to be Queen (regnant), with Martha next in line as a potential queen consort to Philip during his reign, followed by Beatrice as a potential Queen (regnant), and Henry fourth in line for the throne (with Alex, as his hypothetical consort, "fourth in line to be Queen...").

Current Line of Succession
The current possible lines of succession, based on what is stated in the book, are as follows:

Under Male-Preference Primogeniture:

Queen Mary


 * (1) Catherine, Princess of Wales
 * (2) Prince Philip of Wales
 * (3) Prince Henry of Wales
 * (4) Princess Beatrice of Wales

Alternatively, it may be that this is the correct order of succession:

Under Absolute Primogeniture:

Queen Mary


 * (1) Catherine, Princess of Wales
 * (2) Prince Philip of Wales
 * (3) Princess Beatrice of Wales
 * (4) Prince Henry of Wales

In either case, each dynast would be followed by any legitimate heirs descending from them. That is, if Philip and Martha have children, those children would come in line below Philip but above Henry and Beatrice.