Who is next in line to the throne after King Charles?

KING CHARLES became King in May 2023 after being first in the line of succession ever since his birth in 1948.

The Queen's eldest son took the crown after Her Majesty's death in September 2022, meaning one of his own children became the new heir to the throne.

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Who is next in line to the throne?

Prince William

Once Charles became King his eldest child, Prince William became heir to the throne.

William is the eldest son of Charles and the late Princess Diana.

He is also the the older brother of Prince Harry.

The Prince of Wales was born on June 21, 1982.

Prince George

Now that William is first in line to the throne, his eldest son Prince George has moved up to second in line.

George is the oldest of William and Kate Middleton's three children.

He was born on July 22, 2013.

Princess Charlotte

Princess Charlotte is third in line to the throne, behind her father and older brother George.

Charlotte, William and Kate's only daughter, was born on May 2, 2015.

Prince Louis

Prince Louis, Kate and William's youngest child, is fourth in line to the throne.

George and Charlotte's younger brother was born on April 23, 2018.

Prince Harry

Prince William's younger brother Harry is fifth in line to the throne.

He and wife Meghan Markle famously announced in 2020 that they were stepping back from royal duties and leaving the UK.

Harry, born on September 15, 1984, now lives in the US with his wife and children.

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor is sixth in line to the throne, after his uncle, cousins and father.

Archie, the first child of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, was born on May 6, 2019.

Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor

Meghan and Harry's second baby, daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, is seventh in line.

She was born on June 4, 2021, in California.

Lilibet is named after the late Queen Elizabeth, who was given the moniker as a nickname when she was a child.

Andrew, The Duke of York

Prince Andrew, Duke of York is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and is eighth in line to the throne.

He is the younger brother of King Charles and Princess Anne and the older brother of Prince Edward.

Andrew was born on February 19, 1960, and was married to Sarah Ferguson from 1986 until their divorce in 1996.

In 2022 Andrew was stripped of his royal titles after he was accused of sexually assaulting Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

Princess Beatrice

Princess Beatrice is the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, also known as the Duke and Duchess of York.

She was born on August 8, 1988 and is the older sister of Princess Eugenie.

Ninth in line to the throne Beatrice is married to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who she wed in 2020.

Miss Sienna Mapelli Mozzi

Tenth in line to the throne is Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, the daughter of Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

She was born on September 18, 2021.

Sienna's father, Edoardo, also has a son named Christopher Woolf from his past relationship with architect Dara Huang.

Princess Eugenie

Princess Eugenie, the second daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, is eleventh in line to the throne.

Princess Beatrice's little sister was born on March 23, 1990.

She has been married to Jack Brooksbank since 2018.

Master August Brooksbank

August Brooksbank is the eldest on of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.

He was born on February 9, 2021.

August, who is twelfth in line to the throne, was then joined by little brother Ernest on May 30, 2023.

A royal rule states that only children of the sovereign, children of the sons of the sovereign, and the oldest living son of the Prince of Wales are eligible to receive the HRH status and prince and princess titles.

This means Beatrice and Eugenie's children do not have official titles.

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How does royal succession work?

In the Royal Family, a new sovereign takes the throne when the previous monarch has died.

A group known as the Accession Council will usually meet within 24 hours of the death of a monarch, before formally proclaiming the death of the sovereign and the successor to the throne.

According to the Royal Family's official website, a regent would be appointed to perform the royal functions if a succeeding monarch was a child.

Once they had turned 18, the monarch would then take over the duties.

A new sovereign may also take the throne if a monarch abdicates.

Edward VIII famously abdicated in 1936 leaving his younger brother, Queen Elizabeth's father George VI, to become king.

Can the monarch marry a Catholic?

Yes, monarchs can marry a Catholic.

In 2011, Commonwealth leaders also decided to remove the rule that no heir could assume the throne if he or she married a Roman Catholic.

Then-Prime Minister David Cameron said at the time: "The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter, simply because he is a man just isn't acceptable any more.

"Nor does it make any sense that a potential monarch can marry someone of any faith other than Catholic.

"The thinking behind these rules is wrong."

The Roman Catholic rule can be traced to the 16th-century reign of Henry VIII.

The King broke with the Roman Catholic Church so he could divorce his wife, Queen Catherine, and marry Anne Boleyn after the Pope refused his divorce request.

Why was Prince Philip not a king?

Due to English common laws, the late Prince Philip could not become king despite being married to Queen Elizabeth II.

As is the case with Queen Camilla, the wife of a king is known as a Queen Consort and takes the title of Queen – though she doesn't rule as the monarch.

If a female royal, however, marries a man with a title below her own - as was the case with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip - she will retain the title while her husband will not be entitled to it.

Philip, therefore, became known as Prince Consort after changing his title in 1957 when his wife took to the throne.

When was the British line of succession changed?

The rules of royal succession have changed over the years.

In 2011, leaders of 16 British Commonwealth countries (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Jamaica) voted to alter the centuries-old tradition that stated daughters could only inherit the throne if there were no living sons.

This system dated back 300 years and was based on the rules of primogeniture, which gives preference to the firstborn male heirs of a king or queen.

This change in royal succession means Princess Charlotte, William and Kate Middleton's daughter, is ahead of her younger brother Louis in the line of succession.

Previously, if the third child was male he would leap the princess in the line of succession.

The rule, which became law in 2013, only takes into account children born after 2011, meaning Prince Edward's youngest child, James, born in 2007, is ahead of his older sister, Louise, born in 2003.

How did the British royal family start?

The origins of the British royal family can be traced back to the early medieval period but the family didn't become known as the House of Windsor until 1917.

The official title replaced the historic name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and was changed in a bid to avoid anti-German sentiment during the First World War.

There is disagreement amongst historians about exactly how and when the monarchy began but the first King of England is thought to have been Alfred the Great's grandson Athelstan.

William The Conqueror is known as the first Norman King of England and took the throne in 1066 after the Battle of Hastings.