Sophia Naturalization Act 1705
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The Act for the Naturalization of the Most Excellent Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, and the Issue of her Body was an Act of the Parliament of England (4 & 5 Ann. c. 16.) in 1705.
It followed from the Act of Settlement 1701 whereby the descendants of the Electress Sophia of Hanover and heirs, were declared to be in the line of succession to the throne (her son George I later became king).
However, Sophia was not considered to be an Englishwoman as she had not been born in England. This Act naturalised her and "the issue of her body" as English subjects. Naturalisation was restricted to those of the Protestant faith.
However any person born to a descendant of Sophia could also claim to be the "issue of her body". This was first tested soon after World War II, when Ernest Augustus IV, Prince of Hanover (1914–1987, father of the current Ernst August of Hanover) successfully claimed British nationality on this basis (Attorney-General -v- HRH Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover [1957] 1 All ER 49) after considerable litigation.
Although the Act was repealed by the British Nationality Act 1948, it is still thought that some descendants of Sophia could lay claim to be a British national, although most of these would apparently only be British Overseas citizens.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Home Office article on Sophia [1]
