![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help
improve it or discuss these issues on the
talk page. (
Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Since William the Conqueror claimed the English throne, succession has been determined by bequest, battle, primogeniture, and parliament.
On his deathbed, William the Conqueror accorded the Duchy of Normandy to his eldest son Robert Curthose, the Kingdom of England to his son William Rufus, and money for his youngest son Henry Beauclerc for him to buy land. Thus, with William I's death on 9 September 1087, the heir to the throne was:
William II had no children. He and his elder brother Robert previously agreed to be each other's heir. However, on his death, on 2 August 1100, Robert was away on crusade. Their younger brother, Henry Beauclerc, had the nobility elect him as king. Henry later warred with Robert and by treaty was recognised as king.
The succession to Henry I was altered by the death of his son, William Adelin. Left without male heirs, Henry took the unprecedented step of making his barons swear to accept his daughter Empress Matilda, widow of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, as his heir. However, her cousin, Stephen of Blois (the third son of Adela of Normandy) gained the support of the barons and usurped the throne, claiming that Henry had changed his mind on his deathbed. This act provoked a seventeen-year long civil war between him and the forces loyal to Matilda.
The succession to Stephen was altered by the death of his son Eustace, whom he wished to have crowned king during his own lifetime (in imitation of the Capetian monarchy). Though Stephen still had a son, William, the boy was still young and unprepared to challenge Matilda's son, Henry of Anjou for the throne.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Wallingford that ended the Anarchy, Stephen agreed to make Henry his successor. Thus, on the day of Stephen's death, 25 October 1154, Henry became King Henry II.
The succession to Henry II was altered by the death of his son, Henry the Young King, who was crowned king while his father still lived. Henry II had wished to divide his lands among his children upon his death, but was forced to sign the unfavorable treaty of Azay-le-Rideau on 4 July 1189 (two days before his death) with the king of France and his rebellious sons, by which he recognised his eldest son Richard as sole heir.
On the day of Henry II's death, 6 July 1189, the throne passed to his eldest living son: Richard I.
Richard had no legitimate children. On the day of his death, 6 April 1199, if the line of succession to the English throne had followed primogeniture, he would have been succeeded by his nephew Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (born 1187), son of Richard I's brother Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany. However, since Arthur had sided with Philip II of France, Richard's enemy, Richard named his younger brother John as his heir, and he became king.
John died, on 19 October 1216, in the midst of conflict against his barons; most of them had already recognised Prince Louis of France as king. However, with John's death, his barons saw his young son as a safer option. John's eldest son became Henry III, and the French were driven away from the country.
On Henry III's death, on 16 November 1272, the throne passed to his eldest son, Edward I.
On Edward I's death, on 7 July 1307, the throne passed to his eldest surviving son, Edward II.
On the day of Edward II's abdication, 25 January 1327, the throne passed to his eldest son, Edward III.
The succession to Edward III was governed according to his entail to the crown in 1376. [1] On his death, on 21 June 1377, the line of succession to the English throne was:
The throne passed to the first person in line, who became Richard II.
After the death of Richard's uncle, John of Gaunt, in 1399, the two main contenders to be Richard II's heir were:
Richard disinherited Henry, who was in exile, but Richard was deposed and Bolingbroke became king as Henry IV. [2]
Henry had justified his usurpation by emphasising his descent in the male line. On the day of Henry IV's death, 20 March 1413, the line of succession to the English throne following agnatic primogeniture was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Henry V.
On the day of Henry V's death, 31 August 1422, the line of succession following agnatic primogeniture was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Henry VI.
On the day of Henry VI's first deposition, 4 March 1461, the line of succession following agnatic primogeniture was;
However, during the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI was forcibly deposed by his third cousin twice removed, Edward, Duke of York, who became Edward IV.
After George, Duke of Clarence (born 1449), was proclaimed a traitor on 31 March 1470, Edward IV never formally named a new heir as his queen was pregnant at the time, and he was hoping (correctly) that the child would be a boy. On 3 October 1470 however, Edward IV was deposed and the throne was restored to Henry VI, the previous monarch, during the period known as the Readeption of Henry VI.
On the day of Henry VI's second deposition, 11 April 1471, the line of succession following agnatic primogeniture was:
Henry was defeated in the Battle of Barnet and deposed. He died in the Tower of London on 21 May 1471, seventeen days after the final Yorkist victory in the Battle of Tewkesbury.
On the day of Edward IV's death, 9 April 1483, he had two living sons:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the elder son, who became Edward V.
On the day of Edward V's deposition, 25 June 1483, his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York, (born 1473) was the heir presumptive to throne. The King and his brother however were declared illegitimate and the throne was claimed by their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
Following the death of Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales on 9 April 1484, Richard III never formally named a new heir. On 22 August 1485, Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field, and was succeeded by the victor of the battle, Henry Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond, a descendant in a legitimated line of John of Gaunt. He became Henry VII. He also buffered his claim by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, his heir by male-preference primogeniture upon the deaths of her brothers.
On the day of Henry VII's death, 21 April 1509, the throne passed to his only living son, Henry VIII.
On the day of Henry VIII's death, 28 January 1547, the line of succession was governed by the Third Succession Act:
Upon Henry's death, the throne passed to Henry's son, who became Edward VI.
On the day of Edward VI's death, 6 July 1553, the line of succession to the English throne was as follows according to the will of Henry VIII, which excluded the descendants of his elder sister, Margaret, Queen of Scotland (note: Henry VIII's will was signed with a dry stamp rather than his hand, a technicality that eventually allowed the Stuarts to succeed):
Edward VI left a Device for the Succession, in an attempt to remove the peculiarity of his sisters' illegitimacy and rights of succession. The validity of the device was challenged after his death. In Edward's Device,
Upon his death, the first person in line per Edward's Device was proclaimed Queen Jane. Within days, Lady Mary claimed the throne as Mary I.
On the day of Mary I's death, 17 November 1558, the line of succession to the English throne was as follows according to the will of Henry VIII:
Upon her death, the throne passed to the first person in the succession, who became Elizabeth I.
During her reign, Elizabeth I never named a successor. On the day of Elizabeth's death, 24 March 1603, Elizabeth's potential heirs were from the lines of her father's two sisters:
Upon Elizabeth's death, despite Henry VIII's will, the throne passed to King James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England.
On the day of James I's death, 27 March 1625, the line of succession to the English throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Charles I.
When Charles I was beheaded on 30 January 1649 the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones was:
However, the monarchy in England was abolished and Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector. After Cromwell's death, the monarchy was restored in 1660 under Charles I's eldest son, Charles II.
On the day of Charles II death, 6 February 1685, the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones was:
On his death, the throne passed to the first in line, who became James II.
On the day that James II fled the country, 23 December 1688, the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones was:
Parliament offered the throne jointly to James II's elder daughter, who became Mary II, and her husband and first cousin, William III.
The Bill of Rights 1689 established that, whichever of the joint monarchs, William III and Mary II, died first, the other would reign alone. As Mary II died first, on 28 December 1694, William III became sole remaining monarch. On the day of Mary's death, the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones was:
On the day of William III's death, 8 March 1702, the line of succession to the English throne was determined by the Act of Settlement 1701:
The line of succession to the Scottish throne was governed by the Claim of Right Act 1689:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Queen Anne.
The succession continued with the monarchs of Great Britain.
On the day of Anne's death, 1 August 1714, the line of succession to the British throne was determined by the Act of Settlement 1701:
Upon her death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George I.
On the day of George I's death, 11 June 1727, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George II.
On the day of George II's death, 25 October 1760, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George III.
On the day of George III's death, 29 January 1820, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George IV.
On the day of George IV's death, 26 June 1830, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became William IV.
On the day of William IV's death, 20 June 1837, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Queen Victoria.
On the day of Victoria's death, 22 January 1901, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon her death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Edward VII.
On the day of Edward VII's death, 6 May 1910, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George V.
On the day of George V's death, 20 January 1936, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Edward VIII.
On the day of Edward VIII's abdication, 11 December 1936, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his abdication, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George VI.
On the day of George VI's death, 6 February 1952, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Elizabeth II.
On the day of Elizabeth II's death, 8 September 2022, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon her death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Charles III.
Currently, the line of succession to the British throne is:
![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help
improve it or discuss these issues on the
talk page. (
Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Since William the Conqueror claimed the English throne, succession has been determined by bequest, battle, primogeniture, and parliament.
On his deathbed, William the Conqueror accorded the Duchy of Normandy to his eldest son Robert Curthose, the Kingdom of England to his son William Rufus, and money for his youngest son Henry Beauclerc for him to buy land. Thus, with William I's death on 9 September 1087, the heir to the throne was:
William II had no children. He and his elder brother Robert previously agreed to be each other's heir. However, on his death, on 2 August 1100, Robert was away on crusade. Their younger brother, Henry Beauclerc, had the nobility elect him as king. Henry later warred with Robert and by treaty was recognised as king.
The succession to Henry I was altered by the death of his son, William Adelin. Left without male heirs, Henry took the unprecedented step of making his barons swear to accept his daughter Empress Matilda, widow of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, as his heir. However, her cousin, Stephen of Blois (the third son of Adela of Normandy) gained the support of the barons and usurped the throne, claiming that Henry had changed his mind on his deathbed. This act provoked a seventeen-year long civil war between him and the forces loyal to Matilda.
The succession to Stephen was altered by the death of his son Eustace, whom he wished to have crowned king during his own lifetime (in imitation of the Capetian monarchy). Though Stephen still had a son, William, the boy was still young and unprepared to challenge Matilda's son, Henry of Anjou for the throne.
Under the terms of the Treaty of Wallingford that ended the Anarchy, Stephen agreed to make Henry his successor. Thus, on the day of Stephen's death, 25 October 1154, Henry became King Henry II.
The succession to Henry II was altered by the death of his son, Henry the Young King, who was crowned king while his father still lived. Henry II had wished to divide his lands among his children upon his death, but was forced to sign the unfavorable treaty of Azay-le-Rideau on 4 July 1189 (two days before his death) with the king of France and his rebellious sons, by which he recognised his eldest son Richard as sole heir.
On the day of Henry II's death, 6 July 1189, the throne passed to his eldest living son: Richard I.
Richard had no legitimate children. On the day of his death, 6 April 1199, if the line of succession to the English throne had followed primogeniture, he would have been succeeded by his nephew Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (born 1187), son of Richard I's brother Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany. However, since Arthur had sided with Philip II of France, Richard's enemy, Richard named his younger brother John as his heir, and he became king.
John died, on 19 October 1216, in the midst of conflict against his barons; most of them had already recognised Prince Louis of France as king. However, with John's death, his barons saw his young son as a safer option. John's eldest son became Henry III, and the French were driven away from the country.
On Henry III's death, on 16 November 1272, the throne passed to his eldest son, Edward I.
On Edward I's death, on 7 July 1307, the throne passed to his eldest surviving son, Edward II.
On the day of Edward II's abdication, 25 January 1327, the throne passed to his eldest son, Edward III.
The succession to Edward III was governed according to his entail to the crown in 1376. [1] On his death, on 21 June 1377, the line of succession to the English throne was:
The throne passed to the first person in line, who became Richard II.
After the death of Richard's uncle, John of Gaunt, in 1399, the two main contenders to be Richard II's heir were:
Richard disinherited Henry, who was in exile, but Richard was deposed and Bolingbroke became king as Henry IV. [2]
Henry had justified his usurpation by emphasising his descent in the male line. On the day of Henry IV's death, 20 March 1413, the line of succession to the English throne following agnatic primogeniture was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Henry V.
On the day of Henry V's death, 31 August 1422, the line of succession following agnatic primogeniture was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Henry VI.
On the day of Henry VI's first deposition, 4 March 1461, the line of succession following agnatic primogeniture was;
However, during the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI was forcibly deposed by his third cousin twice removed, Edward, Duke of York, who became Edward IV.
After George, Duke of Clarence (born 1449), was proclaimed a traitor on 31 March 1470, Edward IV never formally named a new heir as his queen was pregnant at the time, and he was hoping (correctly) that the child would be a boy. On 3 October 1470 however, Edward IV was deposed and the throne was restored to Henry VI, the previous monarch, during the period known as the Readeption of Henry VI.
On the day of Henry VI's second deposition, 11 April 1471, the line of succession following agnatic primogeniture was:
Henry was defeated in the Battle of Barnet and deposed. He died in the Tower of London on 21 May 1471, seventeen days after the final Yorkist victory in the Battle of Tewkesbury.
On the day of Edward IV's death, 9 April 1483, he had two living sons:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the elder son, who became Edward V.
On the day of Edward V's deposition, 25 June 1483, his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York, (born 1473) was the heir presumptive to throne. The King and his brother however were declared illegitimate and the throne was claimed by their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
Following the death of Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales on 9 April 1484, Richard III never formally named a new heir. On 22 August 1485, Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field, and was succeeded by the victor of the battle, Henry Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond, a descendant in a legitimated line of John of Gaunt. He became Henry VII. He also buffered his claim by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, his heir by male-preference primogeniture upon the deaths of her brothers.
On the day of Henry VII's death, 21 April 1509, the throne passed to his only living son, Henry VIII.
On the day of Henry VIII's death, 28 January 1547, the line of succession was governed by the Third Succession Act:
Upon Henry's death, the throne passed to Henry's son, who became Edward VI.
On the day of Edward VI's death, 6 July 1553, the line of succession to the English throne was as follows according to the will of Henry VIII, which excluded the descendants of his elder sister, Margaret, Queen of Scotland (note: Henry VIII's will was signed with a dry stamp rather than his hand, a technicality that eventually allowed the Stuarts to succeed):
Edward VI left a Device for the Succession, in an attempt to remove the peculiarity of his sisters' illegitimacy and rights of succession. The validity of the device was challenged after his death. In Edward's Device,
Upon his death, the first person in line per Edward's Device was proclaimed Queen Jane. Within days, Lady Mary claimed the throne as Mary I.
On the day of Mary I's death, 17 November 1558, the line of succession to the English throne was as follows according to the will of Henry VIII:
Upon her death, the throne passed to the first person in the succession, who became Elizabeth I.
During her reign, Elizabeth I never named a successor. On the day of Elizabeth's death, 24 March 1603, Elizabeth's potential heirs were from the lines of her father's two sisters:
Upon Elizabeth's death, despite Henry VIII's will, the throne passed to King James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England.
On the day of James I's death, 27 March 1625, the line of succession to the English throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Charles I.
When Charles I was beheaded on 30 January 1649 the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones was:
However, the monarchy in England was abolished and Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector. After Cromwell's death, the monarchy was restored in 1660 under Charles I's eldest son, Charles II.
On the day of Charles II death, 6 February 1685, the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones was:
On his death, the throne passed to the first in line, who became James II.
On the day that James II fled the country, 23 December 1688, the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones was:
Parliament offered the throne jointly to James II's elder daughter, who became Mary II, and her husband and first cousin, William III.
The Bill of Rights 1689 established that, whichever of the joint monarchs, William III and Mary II, died first, the other would reign alone. As Mary II died first, on 28 December 1694, William III became sole remaining monarch. On the day of Mary's death, the line of succession to the English and Scottish thrones was:
On the day of William III's death, 8 March 1702, the line of succession to the English throne was determined by the Act of Settlement 1701:
The line of succession to the Scottish throne was governed by the Claim of Right Act 1689:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Queen Anne.
The succession continued with the monarchs of Great Britain.
On the day of Anne's death, 1 August 1714, the line of succession to the British throne was determined by the Act of Settlement 1701:
Upon her death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George I.
On the day of George I's death, 11 June 1727, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George II.
On the day of George II's death, 25 October 1760, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George III.
On the day of George III's death, 29 January 1820, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George IV.
On the day of George IV's death, 26 June 1830, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became William IV.
On the day of William IV's death, 20 June 1837, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Queen Victoria.
On the day of Victoria's death, 22 January 1901, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon her death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Edward VII.
On the day of Edward VII's death, 6 May 1910, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George V.
On the day of George V's death, 20 January 1936, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Edward VIII.
On the day of Edward VIII's abdication, 11 December 1936, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his abdication, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became George VI.
On the day of George VI's death, 6 February 1952, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon his death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Elizabeth II.
On the day of Elizabeth II's death, 8 September 2022, the line of succession to the British throne was:
Upon her death, the throne passed to the first person in line, who became Charles III.
Currently, the line of succession to the British throne is: