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This list uses the following conventions. Heirs are determined according to cognatic primogeniture as currentlt in use in the United Kindom. However, where the throne was usurped the heir has been determined by reference to the actual King.
In the list, subsequent Kings and Queens are in CAPITALS. Heirs apparent are in normal typeface and heirs presumptive are in italics.
William I claimed the throne of England by right of conquest on 14 Oct 1066. His eldest son, Robert, was his heir although William reportedly wanted to disinherit him. He was persuaded to divide his dominions between his two eldest sons. Robert succeeded to the Duchy of Normandy and his brother William to the throne of England. At the time of their father's death, the two brothers made an agreement to be each other's heir so Robert remained the heir.
When William II died on August 2, 1100, Robert should have inherited the throne of England. However he was on his return journey from the First Crusade which enabled his youngest brother, Henry, to seize the throne of England. Robert then led an invasion of England to retake the throne. This failed and he was was forced to renounce his claim to the English throne in the Treaty of Alton. However, had Henry died at this time we assume that Robert would have succeeded to the throne despite the treaty as there are no other heirs.
On the birth of Henry’s first child that child became the heir. Some records have William Atheling born in 1101 and his sister Matilda born in 1103. Others have Matilda born in Feb 1102 and William Atheling in Nov 1103. We assume the former to be correct.
The list therefore starts as follows:
14 Oct 1066 Robert (as heir to William I) 9 Sept 1087 Robert (as heir to William II) 2 Aug 1100 Robert (as heir to Henry I) 1101 William Atheling 26 Nov 1119 Richard (drowned on the White Ship with his brother but under modern legal doctrine, being younger, deemed to have died after his brother) 26 Nov 1119 Matilda
On the death of her brothers in 1119 Matilda received the oath of fealty as Heiress Presumptive. However, on Henry I’s death on 1 Dec 1135, Matilda’s claim to the throne was usurped by Henry’s nephew, Stephen.
1 Dec 1135 Baudouin Dec 1135 Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne, 10 Aug 1152 William II, Count of Mortain and Boulogne
In 1152, Matilda renounced her claim to England in favour of Stephen for his life with remainder to her son, Henry. By virtue of the Treaty of Wallingford, also known as the Treaty of Winchester and as the Treaty of Westminster, finally signed at Westminster in November 1153, it was confirmed that Henry was Stephen’s heir.
Nov 1153 HENRY (subsequently Henry II) 25 Oct 1154 William 1156 Henry, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, the Young King 11 June 1183. RICHARD (subsequently Richard I) 6 July 1189 Arthur, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond
On Richard I’s death on 6 April 1199, his younger brother, John, usurped Arthur’s right to the throne and proclaimed himself King. However, in the absence of any sons or living brothers, John’s heir must have been Arthur.
6 April 1199 Arthur, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond 3 April 1203 Eleanor of Brittany 10 Oct 1206 HENRY (subsequently Henry III) 19 Oct 1216 Richard, Earl of Cornwall 17 June 1239 EDWARD (subsequently Edward I) 16 Nov 1272 Henry 14 Oct 1274 Alphonso 19 Aug 1284 EDWARD, Prince of Wales (subsequently Edward II) 8 July 1307 Thomas, of Brotherton, Earl of Norfolk 13 Nov 1312 EDWARD (subsequently Edward III) 7 Jan 1327 John, of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall 15 June 1330 Edward, The Black Prince, Prince of Wales 8 June 1376 RICHARD, Prince of Wales (subsequently Richard II) 22 June 1377 Philippa, Countess of Ulster, 5 Jan 1378 Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March 20 July 1398 Edmund, 5th Earl of March,
Richard II was deposed by his cousin Henry IV on 30 Sept. 1399 and Edmund, Earl of March’s claim to the throne was ignored.
30 Sept 1399 HENRY Prince of Wales (subsequently Henry V) 21 March 1413 Thomas, Duke of Clarence 22 March 1421 John, Duke of Bedford 6 Dec 1421 HENRY Prince of Wales (subsequently Henry VI) 31 Aug 1422 John, Duke of Bedford 15 Sept 1435 Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester,
With the death of the last of the King’s uncles, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, on 23 Feb. 1447 the heir is unclear. None of his uncles or aunts had any heirs so it is necessary to revert to his great uncles and great aunts, the children of John of Gaunt. Following this line the line descends through his daughter Philippa who married John I, King of Portugal. The heir is then Afonso V, King of Portugal.
If foreigners are ignored the line descends through Elizabeth, second daughter of John of Gaunt. The heir is then John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter.
If, however, the Beauforts, legitimated children of John of Gaunt, were entitled to inherit the crown, the heir would be Margaret Beaufort, subsequently Margaret Tudor and mother of Henry VII. We ignore this claim as the Beauforts were legitimated by Statute 20 Rec. II (1397), but were not thereby enabled to inherit the Crown.
We prefer the claim of the Duke of Exeter.
23 Feb 1447 John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter 5 August 1447 Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter 13 Oct 1453 Edward, Prince of Wales
Please note that with reference to the next few heirs, the heirs to Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III are all called Edward, Prince of Wales.
Henry VI was deposed by his cousin Edward IV on 4 March, 1461
4 March 1461 George, Duke of Clarence
Henry VI was restored in place of his cousin Edward IV on 9 Oct 1470
9 Oct 1470 Edward, Prince of Wales
Edward IV was restored on 4 May, 1471
4 May 1471 EDWARD, Prince of Wales (subsequently Edward V) 9 April 1483 Richard. Duke of York
Edward V was deposed by Richard III who was proclaimed King on June 22, 1483
22 June 1483 Edward, Prince of Wales
Edward, Prince of Wales died on 31 March, 1484. In the absence of other information we must conclude that Richard’s heir was his niece, the eldest daughter of Edward IV and sister to Edward V.
31 March 1484 Elizabeth
Richard III was killed at Bosworth Field on 22 Aug. 1485 and was succeeded by Henry VII.
The heir at this time is unclear. The strict lineal heir (according to modern doctrine) of Edward III is Princess Elizabeth as she is the senior heir of Lionel of Antwerp through the marriage of Anne (sister to Edmund, 5th Earl of March, Heir Presumptive to Richard II – see above) to Richard of Coisburgh, Earl of Cambridge (heir of 2nd Duke of York). Henry VII was the Lancastrian Heir in right of his mother Margaret Tudor but her claim depended on whether the Beauforts were able to succeed to the Crown (see above). There was no other Beaufort claimant. The next heirs were the House of York, the legal representative of whom was Princess Elizabeth. We, therefore, conclude that Princess Elizabeth was Henry VII’s heir.
22 Aug 1485 Elizabeth (subsequently Queen Elizabeth as Henry VII’s Queen Consort) 20 Sept 1486 Arthur, Prince of Wales 2 April 1502 HENRY Prince of Wales (subsequently Henry VIII) 21 April 1509 Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland 1 Jan 1511 Henry, Duke of Cornwall 22 Feb 1511 Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland Nov 1513 Unnamed son Nov 1513 Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland Dec 1514 Henry, Duke of Cornwall Dec 1514 Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland 18 Feb 1516 MARY (subsequently Mary I)
The Princess Mary was disqualified from the succession by the First Succession Act of 1534
March 1534 ELIZABETH (subsequently Elizabeth I) 29 Jan 1536. Unnamed son 29 Jan 1536. ELIZABETH
The Princess Elizabeth was disqualified from the succession by the Second Succession Act of 1536. There was, therefore, either no heir or it was Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland. We prefer the latter.
1536 Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland 12 Oct 1537 EDWARD, Prince of Wales (subsequently Edward VI) 28 Jan 1547 MARY (restored to line of succession by Third Succession Act of 1543)
Having been brought up a Protestant, Edward VI had concerns about the succession having no desire to be succeeded by his older half-sister and devout Catholic, Mary. A will was, therefore, drafted leaving the Throne to his cousin Lady Jane Grey and her heirs-male. Lady Jane was the granddaughter of Mary, youngest daughter of Henry VII. Those senior to her in order of succession were disqualified as follows: Mary and Elizabeth were excluded because they were officially illegitimate, the heirs of Margaret, eldest daughter of HenryVII were excluded as being Scottish and the Duchess of Suffolk agreed to renounce her own claims. The will was illegal for many reasons; first, a minor did not have the authority to make a will and, secondly, Edward's will had not been authorised by any Act of Parliament, whilst Henry's will had been specifically authorised by an Act passed in 1544. We do not accept that Lady Jane Grey became Heiress Presumptive or Queen.
6 July 1553. ELIZABETH (restored to line of succession by Third Succession Act of 1543)
On her succession there was no clear heir to Elizabeth. The lineal heir was Mary, Queen of Scots although she wasn’t acknowledged as heir. However, as her son, James VI of Scotland, ultimately succeeded we regard Mary as Heiress Presumptive.
13 Sep 1558 Mary, Queen of Scots 8 Feb 1587 JAMES VI, King of Scotland (subsequently King James I of England) 24 March 1603 Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales 6 Nov 1612 CHARLES, Prince of Wales (subsequently Charles I) 27 March 1625 Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia 18 May 1629 Charles James, Duke of Cornwall 18 May, 1629 Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia 29 May 1630 CHARLES, Prince of Wales (subsequently Charles II) 30 Jan 1649 JAMES, Duke of York (subsequently James II & VII) 6 Feb 1685 MARY (subsequently Mary II) 10 June 1688 James, Prince of Wales
Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689, the Convention Parliament convened and declared that James's flight from England on 23 December 1688 amounted to abdication. Mary, and her husband, William of Orange were then offered the throne as joint rulers. They officially acceeded to the throne on February 13, 1689. From 23 December 1688 to 13 February 1689 there was, therefore, an interregnum. However, we view Mary as the heir at that time.
23 December 1688 MARY 13 February 1689 ANNE (subsequently Queen Anne)
William III derived his throne from the hereditary right of his wife. We do not believe that any children of a subsequent marriage following the death of Mary II would be entitled to inherit the thrones of England and Scotland. Anne, therefore, became Heiress Apparent.
28 Dec 1694 ANNE (as Heiress Apparent) 8 March 1702 Electress Sophia of Hanover (granddaughter of James I) 8 June 1714 GEORGE, Elector of Hanover (subsequently George I) 1 Aug 1714 GEORGE, Prince of Wales (subsequently George II) 11 June 1727 Frederick, Prince of Wales 20 March 1751 GEORGE, Prince of Wales (subsequently George III) 25 Oct 1760 Edward, Duke of York and Albany 12 Aug 1762 GEORGE, Prince of Wales (subsequently George IV) 29 Jan 1820 Frederick, Duke of York and Albany 5 Jan 1827 WILLIAM, Duke of Clarence (subsequently William IV). 26 June 1830 ALEXANDRINA VICTORIA (subsequently Queen Victoria). 20 June 1837 Ernest Augustus, 1st Duke of Cumberland, King of Hanover, 21 Nov 1840 Victoria (Princess Royal) 9 Nov 1841 ALBERT EDWARD, Prince of Wales (subsequently Edward VII) 22 Jan 1901 GEORGE, Prince of Wales (subsequently George V) 6 May 1910 EDWARD, Prince of Wales (subsequently Edward VIII) 20 Jan 1936 ALBERT, Duke of York (subsequently George VI) 10 Dec 1936 ELIZABETH (subsequently Elizabeth II) 6 Feb 1952 Charles, Prince of Wales, current Heir Apparent
[edit] Sources
Genealogical data has been sourced from http://www.burkes-peerage.net/sites/common/sitepages/roking.asp .
James the Nags 12:27, 25 February 2007 (UTC)