Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Prince Harry is clearly a high-ranking royal, but where is he in the line of succession to the British throne? Harry is still high enough on the ladder that the Queen’s approval was required for him to marry Meghan Markle. However, Prince William’s growing brood is pushing Harry further down in the line of succession.
The answer is that Prince Harry is now sixth in line for the throne. Who’s ahead of him? Well, obviously the throne is occupied – by Elizabeth II, Queen of England. However, Elizabeth is 92. When she passes away or abdicates the throne, the next in line will be Prince Charles, her eldest son.
GettyPrince Charles is at the top of the line of succession, followed by his son Prince William. Harry is now sixth in the line.
The way the line of succession works, though, is that the throne would next pass to Charles’ children, not to his siblings Anne, Andrew or Edward. That means that Prince William is second in line for the throne because, at 35, he is the elder brother (Harry is 33). Wiliam and Kate’s eldest son, Prince George, is third in line for the throne. Charles, William, and George are set to be Kings some day.
Princess Charlotte, William and Kate’s middle child, is fourth in line for the throne. It wasn’t long ago that females were skipped in the line of succession, but that’s not true anymore, and it hasn’t been since 2013. William and Kate’s new baby, Prince Louis, is, thus, fifth in line for the throne. And that makes Harry sixth.
Who comes next? According to Metro UK, Prince Andrew is 7th in line to the throne. His daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are 8th and 9th respectively. Prince Edward is 10th. The line of succession then moves to Edward’s children, James, and then, Louise, at 11th and 12th positions. Princess Anne is 13th. That’s true even though she’s older than Andrew and Edward because, when she was born, the line of succession put males in the family over females. Anne’s children round out the line of succession.
GettyKate Middleton and her family.
The Royal Family’s website explains, “The succession to the throne is regulated not only through descent, but also by Parliamentary statute. The order of succession is the sequence of members of the Royal Family in the order in which they stand in line to the throne.”
Incidentally, if Meghan and Harry have children, they will occupy the next position in the line of succession after Harry, currently 7th, unless William has more children. If Meghan doesn’t renounce her U.S. citizenship when she becomes a British citizen, the children would be American as well as British. Town and Country Magazine reports that means they could theoretically qualify to become the American president!
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (Centre Foreground) and Prince Philip (Right Foreground) are joined at Clarence House in London by Prince Charles, (Left Foreground) Prince Edward, (Right Background) Princess Anne (Centre Background) and Prince Andrew (Left Background) on the occasion of a dinner hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall to mark the forthcoming Diamond Wedding Anniversary of The Queen and The Duke, 18 November 2007.
The Royal Family’s website lists the Line of Succession this way:
1. The Prince of Wales
2. The Duke of Cambridge
3. Prince George of Cambridge
4. Princess Charlotte of Cambridge
5. Prince Louis of Cambridge
6. Prince Henry of Wales
7. The Duke of York
8. Princess Beatrice of York
9. Princess Eugenie of York
10. The Earl of Wessex
11. Viscount Severn
12. The Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor
13. The Princess Royal
14. Mr. Peter Phillips
15. Miss Savannah Phillips
16. Miss Isla Phillips
17. Mrs. Michael Tindall