# If There Were A Tragic Accident At Westminster Abbey On Royal Wedding Day **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 22, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308 "2011-04-22T01:00:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/1 "2011-04-22T01:00:21Z")
…assuming the entire church goes down in a sink hole, or aliens abduct everyone during the wedding - whatever - would that make some distant 8th cousin, twice removed, the new head of the Royal Family? In other words, would that (lucky for them) uninvited wedding guest relative become the next King or Queen? Any idea who that person might be? I have to assume all the closest family members will be in attendance, so just wondering is there is a list of next closest kin somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/2 "2011-04-22T01:14:02Z")
Say hello to your new monarch, King Ralph! ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/3 "2011-04-22T01:19:29Z")
Here you go. I don’t think you need to go that far down before you get into second cousins who might not get an invitation and other Monarchs whose entire line probably won’t attend (King of Norway coming in at #68) > **[Succession to the British throne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_of_succession_to_the_British_throne)** > > Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex,\[note 1\] legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701 restrict succession to the throne to the legitimate Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover who are in "communion with the Church of England". Spouses of Catholics were disqualified from 1689 until the law was amended i... ETA: Let me know if you find yourself on there…😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/4 "2011-04-22T04:39:04Z")
My guess is that it would be Savannah Philips or maybe even Viscount Severn (I doubt a four month old will be there, and it won’t surprise me if a three year old not in the wedding party isn’t either). Of course, you still have to find the next _adult_, who will become the regent until the new king or queen turns 18. ETA: But that person also has to be a British subject, resident in the UK, and non-Catholic. ---
**Author:** ![snowmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@snowmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowmaster)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/5 "2011-04-23T18:49:43Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > ETA: But that person also has to be a British subject, resident in the UK, and non-Catholic. Really? I didn’t think being a British Subject or resident in the UK had anything to do with it. Isn’t there a Duke of Somewhere who is essintially an American Citizen and in the line of succession? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/6 "2011-04-23T18:52:25Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to General Questions. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/7 "2011-04-23T19:13:21Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Of course, you still have to find the next _adult_, who will become the regent until the new king or queen turns 18. ETA: But that person also has to be a British subject, resident in the UK, and non-Catholic. I don’t think the regent even needs to be in the line of succession, does s/he? It’s just whoever Parliament picks. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/8 "2011-04-23T19:37:25Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > My guess is that it would be Savannah Philips or maybe even Viscount Severn (I doubt a four month old will be there, and it won’t surprise me if a three year old not in the wedding party isn’t either). > > Of course, you still have to find the next _adult_, who will become the regent until the new king or queen turns 18. ETA: But that person also has to be a British subject, resident in the UK, and non-Catholic. Are you talking about the new king or queen or about the regent? The king or queen has to be a non-Catholic for sure, by law, but certainly not a British subject or resident of the UK. Are there any Americans on that list cited earlier of over 1200 possible claimants to the throne ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/9 "2011-04-23T19:49:40Z")
I was talking about the regent, not the monarch. > [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > I don’t think the regent even needs to be in the line of succession, does s/he? It’s just whoever Parliament picks. Currently, a regency is automatic under the Regency Act of 1937. It’s the next eligible person in the line of succession. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/10 "2011-04-23T20:55:02Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > My guess is that it would be Savannah Philips or maybe even Viscount Severn (I doubt a four month old will be there, and it won’t surprise me if a three year old not in the wedding party isn’t either). > > Of course, you still have to find the next _adult_, who will become the regent until the new king or queen turns 18. ETA: But that person also has to be a British subject, resident in the UK, and non-Catholic. Looks like it is Viscount Severn, second child and first son of Prince Edward, currently eighth in line to the throne. If this BBC list of guests is right none of the young children have been invited and Prince James of Wessex is the one closest to the throne. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/12 "2011-04-23T23:32:58Z")
> [@snowmaster](#): > > Really? I didn’t think being a British Subject or resident in the UK had anything to do with it. Isn’t there a Duke of Somewhere who is essintially an American Citizen and in the line of succession? Are you thinking of [Christopher Guest](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Guest#Peerage_and_heirs), of Spinal Tap and married-to-Jamie-Lee-Curtis fame? He’s a Baron, which is a ‘peer’ and not in the line of Royal succession, AFAIK. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/13 "2011-04-23T23:41:12Z")
Missed the edit window - There are Radziwills in The Line but the American ones married Catholics, so no go. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/14 "2011-04-24T02:26:15Z")
Two words: [King Xan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xan_Windsor,_Lord_Culloden)! ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/15 "2011-04-24T02:38:26Z")
Lord Culloden would like some Cheerios and juice, p’ease. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/16 "2011-04-24T03:50:23Z")
Some of these questions are answered in this thread: > **[Queen Catherine](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=605024)** > > I’ve heard that if you go back far enough, Prince William and Kate Middleton are distant cousins. So how many people would have to die, to make her Queen in her own right? (assuming that there are no additional births or deaths) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/17 "2011-04-24T16:16:12Z")
Franz, Duke of Bavaria. Jacobites up! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/18 "2011-04-24T16:36:12Z")
Quoth **Ronald** : > [@](#): > > Are you talking about the new king or queen or about the regent? The king or queen has to be a non-Catholic for sure, by law, but certainly not a British subject or resident of the UK. And in fact, the monarch by definition _cannot_ be a British subject (though he or she probably was, before assuming the throne). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/19 "2011-04-24T22:36:55Z")
> [@snowmaster](#): > > Really? I didn’t think being a British Subject or resident in the UK had anything to do with it. Isn’t there a Duke of Somewhere who is essintially an American Citizen and in the line of succession? The Duke of Bedford is American-born: [Andrew Russell, 15th Duke of Bedford - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Russell,_15th_Duke_of_Bedford) The Duke of Manchester was born in Australia, and once offered to sell his title: [Alexander Montagu, 13th Duke of Manchester - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Montagu,_13th_Duke_of_Manchester) Doesn’t look like either are in the line of succession. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/20 "2011-04-24T23:08:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **Ronald** :And in fact, the monarch by definition _cannot_ be a British subject (though he or she probably was, before assuming the throne). Oscar Wilde once took a challenge to come up with a _bon mot_ or witty retort on any subject his challenger might pose. His challenger then said, “Very well then: the Queen.” “Ah,” replied Wilde, “the Queen is not a subject!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308/21 "2011-04-25T18:28:20Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > …assuming the entire church goes down in a sink hole, or aliens abduct everyone during the wedding - whatever - would that make some distant 8th cousin, twice removed, the new head of the Royal Family? > > In other words, would that (lucky for them) uninvited wedding guest relative become the next King or Queen? > Any idea who that person might be? > I have to assume all the closest family members will be in attendance, so just wondering is there is a list of next closest kin somewhere. Is the OP essentially asking if the UK has the British equivalent to the “Designated Survivor” that they have in the US (i.e. one senator or something is always sequestered during things like States of the Union in case the Commies nuke the White House, and the President, VP, House Speaker, and everyone else dies, leaving the country leader-less)? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-were-a-tragic-accident-at-westminster-abbey-on-royal-wedding-day/579308.md?page=2)