Succession update

Time for an update. The Cambridges now have three and the (recently married) Sussexes are expecting. The Times printed a useful chart today. I learned that because Harry Sussex is not in the direct line of succession, according to "the royal rules, laid down by George V in Letters Patent in 1917 and updated by the Queen in 2012", his child is likely to be a mere Viscount or Lady.

On a similar subject

The Daily Express is occasionally entertaining,

Waiting in the wings

There's something of a log-jam at the moment, with E2 close to breaking records for longevity and reign. Charles is famously eager to take the throne and would not be disappointed if his mum stood down in his favour, as has happened in other European royal families.
The birth of a new 4th-in-line (unnamed at the time of writing) sister to George makes this a good time to list the queue:

1. First in line is Charles Philip Arthur George (the putative C3), son of E2
   Married Diana Spencer in 1981 and had two sons, William (b. 1982) and Harry (b.1984). Divorced in 1996 and married Camilla Parker Bowles in ? (no issue).
2. Then comes William Arthur Philip Louis, son of Charles and Diana. He would become Bill5.
   He married Kate Middleton in 2011 and they have two children, George (b. 2013) and his unnamed sister (b. 2015)
3. And third is George Alexander Louis, son of William and Kate. He would be the seventh George.

The Daily Telegraph kindly diagrammed the Line of Succession today and I'll try to get a scan. This link is to their web page and the image right is from that page showing a barely readable version of the diagram.

Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II

House / Group: Windsor
Born / died: 1926-
Reign: 1952-date

Next:  tba   Previous: George VI

Daughter of George VI
Full name Elizabeth Alexandra Mary
Married Prince Philipos (now Philip) of Greece and Denmark (a 3rd cousin) in 1947 and had 4 children (Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward)

George VI

George VI

House / Group: Windsor
Born / died: 1895-1952
Reign: 1936-1952

Next:  Elizabeth II  Previous: Edward VIII

Second son of George V
Married  Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 and had  2 children (Elizabeth and Margaret)
Reluctantly became king when his brother Edward VIII abdicated
His name was really Albert, but he chose to become George VI, in honour of his father and because Victoria had stated that there should not be a King Albert.
Buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Edward VIII

Edward VIII

House / Group: Windsor
Born / died: 1894-1972
Reign: 1936-1936

Next:  George VI  Previous: George V

First son of George V
Abdicated to marry divorcee, Wallis Simpson (after a series of relationships with other married women). They had no children, although it has been suggested that Edward fathered a son by Australian  Mollee Little.
Buried at Frogmore, near Windsor Castle. Wallis was buried beside him when she died in 1986.Second image of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, taken in 1955 by Dorothy Wilding.

George V

George V

House / Group: Windsor (see note 1)
Born / died: 1865-1936
Reign: 1919-1936

Next:  Edward VIII  Previous: Edward VII

The eldest surviving son of Edward VII (elder Albert died before his father)
Married Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (who had previously been engaged to his brother Albert) in 1893 and had  6 children (Edward (VIII)], Albert (who became George VI), Mary, Henry, George, John)
Buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Note 1: The change of House name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor was made in 1917, during the First World War, in the reign of George V, because the former was considered too Germanic.

Edward VII

Edward VII

House / Group: Saxe-Coburg (see note 2)
Born / died: 1841-1910
Reign: 1901-1910

Next: George V  Previous: Victoria

The eldest son of Victoria and Albert, christened Albert Edward
Married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1862 and had 6 children (Albert, George (V), Louise, Victoria, Maud, John)
An active Freemason, Edward also had a string of mistresses throughout his adult life.
Buried in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Note 2: Victoria was the last British monarch from the House of Hanover, her son Edward VII shifted the line to Albert's Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, but not for long, see George V on the subsequent image makeover.

Victoria

Victoria

House / Group: Hanover
Born / died: 1819-1901
Reign: 1837-1901

Next: Edward VII  Previous: William IV

The only daughter of the Duke of Kent and Strathearn (the 4th son of George III) and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.
Her route to the throne was complex. When George III (her grandfather) died, her uncle became George IV. George IV died without an heir (a daughter having pre-deceased him) and was succeeded by William IV (another of Victoria's uncles), who also died childless. Victoria could not rule Hanover (as had previous 'British' kings back to 1714) and so this passed to another uncle.
Married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (a first cousin), in 1840 and had 9 children (Victoria, Albert (Edward VII), Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold and Beatrice)
Interred, with Albert,  in the Frogmore Mausoleum, in the grounds of Windsor Castle. 

Victoria appeared on the world's first postage stamp, the Penny Black.


On the coat of arms, the Hanoverian escutcheon was removed because Victoria, as a woman, could not rule Hanover. This design has remained in use until the present day.

William IV

William IV

House / Group: Hanover
Born / died: 1765-1837
Reign: 1830-1837

Next: Victoria  Previous: George IV

The 3rd son of George III and Queen Charlotte.
He became King when George IV died without an heir (a daughter having pre-deceased him), the 2nd son Prince Frederick having died in 1827.
He had a long affair with the Irish actress Dorothea Bland (stage name Mrs Jordan) with whom he had at least 10 children. In 1818, aged 52, he married the 26-year old Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. They had two daughters, Charlotte (who died hours after her birth) and Elizabeth (who died at 2 months).
Buried in Windsor Castle.

George IV

George IV

House / Group: Hanover
Born / died: 1762-1830
Reign: 1820-1830

Next: William IV Previous: George III

The eldest son of George III and Queen Charlotte.
He had been Regent for 9 years prior to his father's death as George III became insane.
He reluctantly married his cousin, Caroline of Brunswick, in 1795, but they separated after the birth of their only child Charlotte (who died in 1817 in childbirth). Before and after the marriage he had a series of relationships with various women and children by several of them.
Buried in Windsor Castle.