Line of Succession

The line of succession is the ordering of individuals entitled to inherit the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and other Commonwealth realms.

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.

Differences Between the Mountchristen-Windsor and Mountbatten-Windsor Universes
In our (the Mountbatten-Windsor) universe, 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 act in our universe 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 real-life 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 Red, White and Royal Blue, while Prince Henry is staying with Alex in Texas, he mentions that "Philip is the heir and I'm the spare," (p. 238) making no mention of Beatrice. This seems to suggest 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 Mountbatten-Windsor universe.

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...").

One considerable issue in determining the line of succession is that Catherine, Princess of Wales is known to have married Arthur Fox over the objections of The Queen. In the Mountbatten-Windsor universe, the marriage of a senior member of the Royal Family without the sovereign's permission is essentially unprecedented. Royal marriages are regulated by law and the permission of the reigning monarch would be specifically required for Catherine to marry. Contracting such a marriage without the permission of the sovereign could remove Catherine from the line of succession or render her children illegitimate (see related reading below).

Related Reading
See also:


 * This entry in the Annals of Mountchristen-Windsor Royal History regarding the order of succession among the heirs of Catherine, Princess of Wales


 * This entry in the Annals of Mountchristen-Windsor Royal History regarding the implications of a dynast such as Princess Catherine marrying without the permission of the sovereign, with ramifications for the legitimacy of her heirs.