# Yet another British succession question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344 "2013-07-24T01:28:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/21 "2013-07-24T17:20:26Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > if Kate and Will had chosen to use his sperm and her egg but a surrogate mother I wonder if the child would still be eligible or if it would have to be debated. (Obviously it’s a scenario that wasn’t a consideration the last time the succession was debated.) I’m going to guess that genetics matters, and not the location of gestation. But I’m certain it would have to be debated. Next question: female monarch uses her own DNA to clone herself. Carries one of her fertilized eggs, delivers her own identical twin. Does that child become next it line for Queen? ---
**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:** [July 24, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/22 "2013-07-24T17:30:27Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > …Next question: female monarch uses her own DNA to clone herself. Carries one of her fertilized eggs, delivers her own identical twin. > Does that child become next it [sic] line for Queen? Parliament can tinker with the line of succession to its heart’s content, especially if, in the future, biotech unduly complicates things. Under the current law, though, yes, I think the cloned child would be next in line, assuming the Queen in question had no older children. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/23 "2013-07-24T18:14:23Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > Should the Queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William all be suddenly wiped out by a virulent disease contracted from a dirty telephone, Prince As-yet-to-be-named would indeed become King… What if this happened when Kate was 9 months pregnant and in labor? Would Harry jump right in as king? “You should have gone with the C-section last week, beyotch!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/24 "2013-07-24T18:23:29Z")
Prince George Alexander Lois Cambridge. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/25 "2013-07-24T18:27:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Parliament can tinker with the line of succession to its heart’s content, especially if, in the future, biotech unduly complicates things. Under the current law, though, yes, I think the cloned child would be next in line, assuming the Queen in question had no older children. So, under current law, the deciding element is The Royal Vagina, and the first human out of it is next in line? ETA examples- her own clone, or a surrogate of non-royal lineage or an alien-human hybrid. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/26 "2013-07-24T18:36:49Z")
Any such change also must be approved by the parliaments of those countries that recognize the English monarch as head of state. If, let’s say, the Canadian Parliament did not approve the change allowing a female first-born to be monarch ahead of her hypothetical younger brother(s), it would have meant that the hypothetical Princess Noname could have been queen of England but her hypothetical younger brother the king of Canada. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/27 "2013-07-24T21:01:54Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > If something fatal happened to Prince William, who would be in line after Charles? The new baby or Harry? > > I’m thinking Harry. After Charles’ demise, his only surviving son would be the next in line, right? And then Harry’s children, if any. As others have said, no. For the same reason that, if Charles were to die today, Andrew would not become the heir. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/28 "2013-07-24T23:45:49Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > What if this happened when Kate was 9 months pregnant and in labor? Would Harry jump right in as king? > > “You should have gone with the C-section last week, beyotch!” 😃 No, Harry would still be behind the unborn child, as once the pregnancy was known, as long as a viable foetus existed, it would be presumed to be next in line. Oh, and Prince George Alexander Louis (not Lois) of Cambridge. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/29 "2013-07-25T15:10:54Z")
Who enforces all this? If a king simply declares any one of his children or nephews to be successor, won’t his will be respected? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/30 "2013-07-25T15:19:23Z")
> [@kk\_fusion](#): > > Who enforces all this? If a king simply declares any one of his children or nephews to be successor, won’t his will be respected? No, no, and hell no. The UK and the Commonwealth are under the rule of law, and the monarch does not unilaterally make law. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/31 "2013-07-25T18:12:36Z")
The line of sucession is set by a mixture of statute law, mainly the _Act of Settlement_ of 1701, and common law. (Changes are pending in the UK and the Commonwealth realms to amend the line of succession to treat males and females equally.) The king does not have the power to alter an Act of Parliament or the common law. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/32 "2013-07-26T01:21:13Z")
It’s good to be the King, but not _that_ good. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/33 "2013-07-26T03:05:18Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Can’t wait for the the scandal that makes England ring when Prince Noname is king but abdicates to marry a divorced American, Wallace Simpson, “the man I love.” I’ve been wondering the same thing. For the first time, two Queens! > [@kk\_fusion](#): > > Who enforces all this? If a king simply declares any one of his children or nephews to be successor, won’t his will be respected? No more than if a U.S. President declared anyone his successor. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344/34 "2013-07-26T03:23:48Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > A weird thing I’ve wondered: I know the succession requires the heir must be of royal blood (i.e. no adopted children are eligible), but if Kate and Will had chosen to use his sperm and her egg but a surrogate mother I wonder if the child would still be eligible or if it would have to be debated. (Obviously it’s a scenario that wasn’t a consideration the last time the succession was debated.) Can we spin that one another way? Lets say young prince George turns out to be Gay and enters into a common law marriage with another gay man. I read somewhere in here that an adopted child can’t inherit (I think), neither of George or partner can give birth (or provide eggs), so the only remaining option to produce an heir would be to use Georges sperm and another woman, whether naturally or artificially impregnated. Now that would technically mean that the child was illegitimate. Would it be able to be recognised as heir to the throne? If yes, would some royal status then be conferred automatically on the woman who gave birth to the heir to the throne? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-british-succession-question/664344.md?page=1)