The line of succession in the British royal family clearly defines who will succeed Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned for nearly 70 years. Her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died in April 2021 at the age of 99, after a long and faithful service to the queen. Philip, on the other hand, was not in line for the throne because he was not born into royalty but married into it. If you’ve watched Netflix’s The Crown or keep up with the real-life royal drama and want to learn more about the royal family’s line of succession, keep reading.
The royal family line of succession is complicated
The fact that Charles, Prince of Wales, is the first in line to succeed Queen Elizabeth is well known. Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son, Charles, is the first in line to the throne. Prince Charles married Princess Diana in 1981. William and Harry, the royal couple’s two sons, were born, making William the next heir to the throne.
The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, is the second in line to the throne. He married Kate Middleton (now Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge) at university, and the couple has three children: George, Charlotte, and Louis. After his father, Prince William, and grandfather, Prince Charles, Prince George of Cambridge is the third in line to the throne.
Following Prince George, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and their baby brother Prince Louis of Cambridge take the fourth and fifth places in line to the throne. In the unlikely event that the Cambridges do not succeed in gaining power, Prince William’s younger brother Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, who is sixth in line, will take the throne.
When Prince Harry left royal family was he removed from the royal family line of succession?
Archie, the Duke of Sussex’s firstborn son, was born in 2019 to the Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Archie was promoted to seventh in line, and his sister Lilibet Diana was promoted to eighth in line. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to name their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, according to royal correspondents, indicated that they did not intend to raise their son as a royal. Because of Lilibet’s birth, her great uncle, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was bumped down to ninth in line.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, Queen Elizabeth’s second-oldest daughters, are 10th and 11th in line to the throne, respectively. August Philip Hawke Brooksbank, Eugenie’s son, is the 12th royal in line, succeeding Queen Elizabeth’s youngest son Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, who was born in February 2021.
Queen Elizabeth’s three other children and their kids come next
After his father, the Earl of Wessex becomes the 13th in line to the throne, and his son James, Viscount Severn becomes the 14th in line. After her younger brother James in 14th place, Lady Louise Windsor, Prince Edward’s eldest child, is followed by Anne, Princess Royal.
The Princess Royal was third in line to the throne when she was born in 1950, but she has since moved down the hierarchy to become the 16th royal in line to the throne. Princess Anne’s only child and the queen’s oldest grandchild is Peter Phillips.
He is 17th in line, followed by his eldest child, Savannah Phillips (the queen’s first great-grandchild), who is 18th. Isla Phillips, Savannah’s younger sister, is the 19th in line to the throne, while Zara Tindall, Princess Anne’s daughter, is the 20th.
Zara Tindall’s daughter Mia Grace, who was born in January 2014, is the 21st in line to the throne, while her sister Lena Elizabeth is the 22nd. Both Lena Elizabeth and Mia Grace will be known as Miss Tindall because they do not have royal titles. Lucas Tindall, Zara Tindall’s son, is the 23rd in line to the British throne.
