Royal princess' christening a family affair
Princess Charlotte, Prince William and Kate Middleton's second child and Britain's newest royal addition, was christened in front of Queen Elizabeth and 21 of the closest family and friends at Sandringham Estate. The princess was born on 2 May 2015, and the event marked her second outing. Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, conducted the royal christening.
The Act of Settlement (1701) dictated that only Protestant heirs of Princess Sophia, granddaughter of James I, may reign the British throne. Roman Catholics, those married to a Roman Catholic, and their children were refuted claims for being in the line of succession. The Sovereign had to swear to strengthen and maintain the Church of England (and the Church of Scotland after 1707).
Succession to the throne is an Act of Parliament and the King/Queen cannot change it. Their future is not in their hands, so to speak.
Before 2011, 'Male Preference Cognatic Primogeniture' enabled the eldest male child of the Monarch to succeed to the throne and if there are no male children, female children could succeed. Absolute Primogeniture (the new system) avows for succession of the eldest child, instead of the male child having priority over the female children. Many consider this a long over-due change.
The new act paved the way for any future monarch to marry a Roman Catholic. The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 needed the approval of all 15 Commonwealth countries where the Queen is head of state. The legislation was agreed in principle at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Perth, Australia, in October 2011 but came into force only in 2015.
With the birth of Princess Charlotte on 2 May 2015, Prince Harry who was fourth in line to the throne, found himself being bumped down to fifth. This is because of the 'right of representation'; this law grants the child of Prince William to be represented in the 'line of succession'. He had become the fourth in line after Prince George's birth.
Karin Vogel from Germany, who is approximately 5,754th in line to the throne, is the last person in the line of succession to the British Throne.
