Your Complete Guide to the British Royal Family Tree and Line of Succession
April 24, 2018 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
The British royal family tree and line of succession is going through some changes. Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge welcomed a royal baby boy on Monday, and the royal family is also preparing for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s upcoming royal wedding.
While Queen Eliabeth, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George are fairly easily to place in the rather complicated British royal family tree, where do royals like Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall and Prince Edward come into the picture? If you can’t get your head around the head-scratch-worthy royal family tree, don’t be too hard on yourself. The most famous family in Britain is notoriously a complicated one, with a few divorces, second marriages and name repetitions.
To make matters even more complicated, the British royal line of succession is also pretty complex. Until fairly recently, the line of succession followed a system of male preference primogeniture — where princes took precedence over their older sisters. However, the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act amended the system so that males no longer take precedence over their older sisters. This is why if Kate Middleton and Prince William’s third child is a boy, Princess Charlotte will remain fourth in line to the throne and won’t be bumped down to fifth place.
So, for those of you struggling to determine between your Prince Philips and your Peter Phillips, here is a complete look at the British royal family tree and the equally mind-muddling line of succession.
Queen Elizabeth: On the throne
Queen Elizabeth II is the world’s longest reigning monarch and has been on the throne for a whopping 66 years. She sits at the top of the British royal family tree, boasting four children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren — with another two on the way. Many will be familiar with the Queen’s life story thanks to the popular Netflix series The Crown, which has so far chronicled her life from pre-coronation through her late 30s.
The Queen’s husband Prince Phillip (also known as the Duke of Edinburgh) married into the royal family, therefore he’s next to Queen Elizabeth at the top of the royal family tree but not included in the royal line of succession.
Prince Charles: First in line to the throne
Prince Charles, who turns 70 this year, will inherit the crown when his 92-year-old mother Queen Elizabeth passes away. Charles, whose official title is the Prince of Wales, is the first child of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip on the royal family tree, and an older brother to Princess Anne (known as the Princess Royal), Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. He is also the father of Princes William and Harry, who he had with his first wife, the late Princess Diana.
Prince William: Second in line to the throne
Thirty-five-year-old Prince William is second in line to the throne, under his father, Prince Charles, on the royal family tree. His mother was the late Diana Spencer (known as Diana, Princess of Wales), and he is married to the non-royal Kate Middleton. Following in the footsteps of his mother, Prince William is heavily involved with hundreds of charities, from his spearheading of the mental health initiative Heads Together to his work as a patron for Centrepoint, a charity which supports homeless young people. Since 2010, Prince William has been President of BAFTA (the British equivalent of the Oscars), supporting its award ceremonies and various charitable activities that include promoting emerging talent from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds.
Prince George: Third in line to the throne
Cheeky Prince George is third in line to the throne, just under his father, Prince William on the British royal family tree. Despite being only four years old, the young prince has already accompanied his parents on various royal duties including a three-week tour of New Zealand and Australia in 2014 and an official visit to Canada in 2016. George, known as Prince George of Cambridge, made headlines around the world when he began kindergarten in 2016. He’s also expected to be part of his uncle Prince Harry’s royal wedding to Meghan Markle this May.
Princess Charlotte: Fourth in line to the throne
Prince George’s younger sister Charlotte sits next to her brother George on the royal family tree, but just under him in the line of succession. Princess Charlotte is fourth in line to the throne, and even if her upcoming younger royal sibling is a boy, he will not replace her in the line of succession thanks to the new rules. Princess Charlotte, aged two, enjoyed her first family holiday in 2016 — when she went skiing and played in the snow in the French Alps.
Third royal baby: Fifth in line to the throne
The third child of Prince William and Kate Middleton is fifth in line to the throne, bumping Prince Harry down to sixth position. Middleton gave birth to the royal baby boy, whose name has not yet been released, on Monday morning. Despite the newborn being a boy, he has not replaced elder sister Princess Charlotte thanks to the recent change in the rules of the line of succession.
Prince Harry: Sixth in line to the throne
It’s very unlikely that Prince Harry, 33, will ever be king, given his lowly sixth position in the line of succession behind George, Charlotte and the upcoming royal baby number three (though he’s next to his brother, Prince William, on the royal family tree). That said, he’s clearly got bigger things on his mind than ascending the throne. Harry is involved in several charitable initiatives, including mental health campaigns, The Invictus Games and conservation projects in Africa. He’s also in the midst of planning his highly-anticipated wedding to actress and philanthropist Meghan Markle this May.
Prince Andrew: Seventh in line to the throne
Prince Andrew, better known as the Duke of York, sits under Queen Elizabeth on the royal family tree as her second-eldest son. At the time of his birth, Andrew was second in line to the throne, but he’s since moved to seventh place. Prince Andrew was previously married to Sarah Ferguson, known as ‘Fergie’. In January 2015, Prince Andrew faced allegations of sexual impropriety, which Buckingham Palace has denied.
Princess Beatrice: Eighth in line to the throne
Princess Beatrice of York is the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. The 29-year-old is perhaps best known for her extravagant headwear (the hat she wore at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011 spawned its own Facebook page with thousands of likes.
Princess Eugenie: Ninth in line to the throne
Princess Eugenie is the younger sister of Princess Beatrice. The 28-year-old is the latest member of the Royal Family to get engaged, to Jack Brooksbank, the former manager of an upper-class nightclub, whom she met on a skiing trip. Eugenie’s engagement ring features a pink-hued padparadscha sapphire surrounded by diamonds. In an interview with the BBC, she said the proposal, which took place in Nicaragua, was a “complete surprise.”
Prince Edward:10th in line to the throne
Prince Edward, also known as the Earl of Wessex, is the Queen and Prince Philip’s youngest child, sitting next to Princes Charles and Edward on the royal family tree. Edward takes precedence over his elder sister Anne in the line of succession because the new rules that could affect Princess Charlotte only apply to males born after October 28, 2011. Edward is married to Sophie Rhys-Jones, who worked in public relations. The pair have two children: James, Viscount Severn, and Lady Louise Windsor.
James, Viscount Severn: 11th in line to the throne
Just when you thought the names of the British royal family couldn’t get any posher, James, Viscount Severn comes along. The 10-year-old is the youngest child of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones on the royal family tree, but takes precedence over his elder sister, Lady Louise Windsor in the royal line of succession. Because his father is an Earl, James has taken on the subsidiary title of Viscount Severn, rather than Prince.
Lady Louise Windsor: 12th in line to the throne
Fourteen-year-old Lady Louise Windsor is twelfth in line to the throne, following her brother James, who she sits next to on the royal family tree. The teenager, who was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011, was born a month prematurely and delivered by emergency Caesarian section. In an interview with the BBC in 2016, her mother, the Countess of Wessex, revealed that Louise did not realize her grandmother was the Queen until it was pointed out to her at school.
Anne, Princess Royal: 13th in line to the throne
Anne, a keen and talented equestrian, is the second child of the Queen and Prince Philip, sitting next to her brothers, Princes Charles, Andrew and Edward on the royal family tree. She is known as the Princess Royal — a title often awarded by a British ruler to their eldest daughter. The 67-year-old is involved with more than 300 charities and has been President of Save the Children U.K. since 1970. Anne has two children, Peter and Zara, with her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips. She divorced Mark Phillips in 1992 and has been married to retired British naval officer Sir Timothy Laurence since the same year.
Peter Phillips: 14th in line to the throne
Peter Phillips, 40, has lived a fairly non-royal existence for one on the royal family tree. After graduating from a university in southern England, Phillips worked for Jaguar Racing, in the hospitality department. He has since held roles at Williams Grand Prix Engineering and the Royal Bank of Scotland. In 2008, he married a Canadian woman named Autumn Kelly at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be married in May.
Savannah Phillips: 15th in line to the throne
Seven-year-old Savannah Phillips is the daughter of Peter and Autumn Phillips and the great-granddaughter of the Queen and Prince Philip. In June last year, Savannah made her debut appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to mark the Queen’s official 91st birthday.
Isla Phillips: 16th in line to the throne
Isla Phillips, six, is the youngest child of Peter and Autumn Phillips on the royal family tree. Isla and her family live in London and the two young girls spend time with their cousins, George and Charlotte, who are close to them in age.
Zara Tindall: 17th in line to the throne
Zara Tindall (née Phillips) is the second child of Anne, the Princess Royal, and Mark Phillips on the royal family tree. She married the English former rugby player Mike Tindall in 2011 and the pair have one daughter: Mia Grace. After sadly losing a baby in December 2016, it was announced in January this year that the pair are expecting a baby again, due this summer. Like her mother, Zara Tindall is a keen and successful equestrian. According to Country Life magazine, she is one of just three riders to have held both world and European eventing titles simultaneously.
Mia Tindall: 18th in line to the throne
Mia Tindall is the only child of Zara and Mike Tindall (though the couple is currently expecting their second). The 4-year-old, who was born in January 2014, made headlines in 2016 when a portrait released of the Queen and her grandchildren showed Mia clutching at her grandmother’s purse — which looked enormous in her tiny arms.
