Real reason Princess Charlotte has higher chance of becoming Queen than Princess Anne laid bare
Historically, male children born into the House of Windsor were given priority in the line of succession over their female siblings. However, this all changed when Prince William and Princess Kate were expecting their first child, leading to a complete overhaul of the system that put male and female children on equal footing.
Previously, even if a girl was born first, any subsequent male children would have leapfrogged them in the line of succession, making it far more likely for the country to have a King than a Queen. This changed forever during the late Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
During Princess Kate’s first pregnancy, new royal legislation was introduced ensuring that whether her first child was a boy or a girl, they would remain the heir to the throne – shifting from male primogeniture to absolute primogeniture.
The Act of Succession (2013) also abolished “provisions by which those who marry Roman Catholics are disqualified from the line of succession. The changes came into force in all sixteen Realms in March 2015,” according to the royal family’s official website.
This means that Princess Charlotte has a much higher chance of becoming Queen one day than her great-aunt Princess Anne ever did. When Anne was born, she was second in line to the throne, but upon the birth of her younger brother Prince Andrew, she moved down to third in line, and then fourth when her youngest brother Prince Edward was born.
Prince George, the first-born child of Prince William and Kate, is currently second in line to the throne, making him the direct heir and future King. Despite changes in succession rules, Princess Charlotte’s chances of becoming Queen remain slim unless her older brother George abdicates or does not have any children, reports the Mirror.
If the old rules were still in place, Charlotte would have moved down to fourth in line after the birth of her younger brother, Prince Louis. However, she now retains her position behind George until he has his own children – a distant prospect given that he is only 11 years old.
The possibility of Charlotte ascending to the throne could occur if George abdicated without heirs, as happened in 1936 when Edward VIII renounced his kingship to marry American Wallis Simpson. This led to his brother, King George VI, taking over, forever altering the line of succession.
