History UsefulNotes / TheBritishRoyalFamily

** ''Queen Victoria --> Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn --> Princess Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden --> Queen Ingrid of Denmark --> Margrethe II of Denmark'' --> ''King Frederik X'' of Denmark

* '''Queen Margrethe II of {{UsefulNotes/Denmark}}''' (b 1940), great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, third cousin of the King via descent of Christian IX of Denmark -- c. 230/240 in line. Descended from:
** ''Queen Victoria --> Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn --> Princess Margaret, Crown Princess of Sweden --> Queen Ingrid of Denmark --> Margrethe II of Denmark''

** ''Queen Victoria --> Victoria, German Empress --> Wilhelm II, German Emperor --> Victoria Louise, Duchess of Brunswick --> Queen Frederica of Greece --> Constantine II of Greece [[note]]Constantine's father Paul of Greece was additionally the son of Wilhelm II's sister Queen Sophia of Greece, which is why his relationship to Queen Victoria listed above is one degree shorter than would be indicated through this line[[/note]]--> Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece[[note]]additionally, his mother Queen Anne-Marie is the sister of Margrethe II of Denmark[[/note]]''
* '''King Willem-Alexander of [[{{UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands}} the Netherlands]]''' (b 1967), descendant of King George II, fifth cousin thrice removed of the King -- c. 800 in line, just behind his mother, former queen '''Princess Beatrix''' . Descended from:

* In spite of people really liking him ''now'', they're also hoping he might kick off a British trend of abdicating in favour of a younger heir as seen elsewhere in Europe.[[note]]Of the ten reigning hereditary monarchs of Europe as of late 2022, four--King Felipe VI of Spain, King Philippe of Belgium, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg--took their thrones after their predecessors abdicated/retired due to old age. However, the likelihood of a crowned and anointed British monarch abdicating is virtually nonexistent because their vows are taken for life, and if Charles abdicated he would lose all of his titles, being designated only as "HRH The Prince Charles".[[/note]] On the other hand, there are people who relish the propriety of his reigning until age 84, when he would make it to 2066, the millennial anniversary of the Norman Conquest, given that he shares a name with [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy William the Conqueror]].

** ''Queen Victoria --> Victoria, German Empress --> Wilhelm II, German Emperor --> Victoria Louise, Duchess of Brunswick --> Queen Frederica of Greece --> Constantine II of Greece [[note]]Constantine's father Paul of Greece was additionally the son of Wilhelm II's sister Queen Sophia of Greece, which is why his relationship to Queen Victoria listed above is one degree shorter than would be indicated through this line[[/note]]--> Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece''

* '''King Felipe VI of UsefulNotes/{{Spain}}''' (b 1968) and his father '''King Juan Carlos I''' (b 1938; abdicated 2014, retains "King" as a courtesy title despite no longer being on the throne) would be somewhere in the 700ish range. Felipe would be higher however through his mother, a sister of the last king of Greece. Felipe is a twice over great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria and second cousin once-removed of the King on the Greek side. Interestingly, the Spanish monarchs are agnatic Bourbons--that is, descendants of [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi the ruling house of France]] during the height of Anglo-French contention in the 18th century. Descended from:

** ''Queen Victoria --> Victoria, German Empress --> Wilhelm II, German Emperor --> Victoria Louise, Duchess of Brunswick --> Queen Frederica of Greece --> Constantine II of Greece [[note]]Constantine's father Paul of Greece was additionally the son of Wilhelm II's sister Queen Sophia of Greece, which is why his listed above is one shorter than would be indicated through this line[[/note]]--> Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece''

* '''Alexander, Crown Prince of UsefulNotes/{{Yugoslavia}}''' (b 1945), pretender to the Yugoslav Throne, great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria, third cousin twice removed of the King -- c. 110/120 in line. Descended from:

* '''Queen Margrethe II of {{UsefulNotes/Denmark}}''' (b 1940), great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, third cousin once removed of the King -- c. 230/240 in line. Descended from:

** ''Queen Victoria --> Victoria, German Empress --> Queen Sophia of Greece --> Paul of Greece --> Constantine II of Greece --> Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece''

The Act of Settlement 1701 barred anyone who was Catholic or married to a Catholic from taking the British throne. This bar stood until 2013, when the Succession to the Throne Act 2013 deleted the bit about people married to Catholics being barred from the throne. Actual Catholics, though, remain forbidden, for the practical reason that the monarch is also Supreme Governor of the Protestant Church of England and a "protector" of the even more Protestant Church of Scotland. (This notably leads to the [[MindScrew strangeness]] that the monarch seemingly changes religions every time they enter or leave Scotland. Several have preferred the Scottish way, though, including--at least according to some reports--both Victoria and Elizabeth II.) None of this kept the later descendants of British monarchs from marrying Catholic royals (and "recusant" British Catholic nobles), and so quite a few Catholic monarchs ''would'' be in the line were they not Catholic.

* '''King Felipe VI of UsefulNotes/{{Spain}}''' (b 1968) and his father '''King Juan Carlos I''' (b 1938; abdicated 2014, retains "King" as a courtesy title despite no longer being on the throne) would be somewhere in the 700ish range, with Felipe immediately following his father. Felipe is a great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria and third cousin once-removed of the King on the Mountbatten side. Interestingly, the Spanish monarchs are agnatic Bourbons--that is, descendants of [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi the ruling house of France]] during the height of Anglo-French contention in the 18th century. Descended from:

* He is very much associated with the military. In his early military career, he had a reputation of being very much a typical soldier when it came to beer and women, but he grew out of that in the end. He really wanted to serve in active duty in Afghanistan and even threatened to make a scene if he couldn't do so, but there were issues with a prince being a high-profile target. The first solution was to keep his presence there secret during an initial tour of duty, but that failed (blame the [[UsefulNotes/AustralianMedia Aussie media]]). Then he asked if there was anything he could work on that was so high-profile of a target that it wouldn't matter if a prince was there, and they let him fly helicopter gunships. He left the military in 2015 to focus on his royal duties and charity work, but he kept up his affiliation through charity work. He caused a minor controversy when, speaking positively of his military experience, he suggested re-instituting national service in Britain. He also created the Invictus Games, a multi-sport event for disabled soldiers and veterans from around the world (inspired by his experience seeing the Warrior Games in Colorado). He even got the Queen to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02G_y-sE4sI promote the 2016 edition]]. After the release of his memoir ''Spare'' in 2023, however, despite Harry claiming he'd published his kill number from Afghanistan to help other veterans and reduce potential suicides, he faced backlash from current and former military members for breaking protocol and potential safety issues, as well as general military tradition.

->'''Full Name:''' Louis Arthur Charles [[note]]"Louis" pronounced the French way, likely in honour of Charles's mentor and father figure Lord Louis Mountbatten; "Arthur" likely from the mythological Myth/KingArthur; and "Charles" from his paternal grandfather.[[/note]]

* He is the first British royal ''ever'' to have the first name Louis[[note]]it's been used as a middle name for quite some time--including for his older brother--thanks to Lord Louis Mountbatten, but never a first name[[/note]], a name associated for centuries with [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi French kings]].[[note]]With one caveat: The French King Louis VIII "the Lion" claimed the English throne in 1216 as Louis I of England, supported by a sizeable contingent of English lords. However, these lords only supported him opportunistically as part of their war against [[UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland King John]] (who else?); most of these lords promptly abandoned "Louis I" after John died in late 1216, and while he managed to hold a surprisingly large part of England even after this, he quickly realised that his position was untenable and gladly accepted a massive cash payoff to leave in September 1217.[[/note]] His other names not including "Albert" marks the end of a tradition in which the second son in the direct line of succession is given that name (Victoria's second son Prince Alfred, Edward VII's second son George V, George V's second son George VI, Elizabeth II's second son Prince Andrew, and Charles III's second son Prince Harry all have the first or middle name "Albert").

* He is the first British royal ''ever'' to have the first name Louis[[note]]it's been used as a middle name for quite some time thanks to Lord Louis Mountbatten, but never a first name[[/note]], a name associated for centuries with [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi French kings]].[[note]]With one caveat: The French King Louis VIII "the Lion" claimed the English throne in 1216 as Louis I of England, supported by a sizeable contingent of English lords. However, these lords only supported him opportunistically as part of their war against [[UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland King John]] (who else?); most of these lords promptly abandoned "Louis I" after John died in late 1216, and while he managed to hold a surprisingly large part of England even after this, he quickly realised that his position was untenable and gladly accepted a massive cash payoff to leave in September 1217.[[/note]] His other names not including "Albert" marks the end of a tradition in which the second son in the direct line of succession is given that name (Victoria's second son Prince Alfred, Edward VII's second son George V, George V's second son George VI, Elizabeth II's second son Prince Andrew, and Charles III's second son Prince Harry all have the first or middle name "Albert").

->'''Full Name:''' George Alexander Louis [[note]]"George" comes from his many royal ancestors named George (including his great-great-grandfather George VI). "Alexander" comes from three Kings of Scotland who reigned in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries -- his parents met in Scotland, he has Scottish ancestry through the Queen Mum, and Scotland was due to hold a referendum on independence the following year, leading to a gesture of unity. "Louis" comes from his paternal relatives Prince Louis of Battenburg (his three-times-great-grandfather) and Earl Mountbatten of Burma (his three-times-great-uncle). He got his name just two days after he was born, which is historically very fast for a newborn royal -- Charles went nameless for almost a ''month''.[[/note]]

* His wedding, unlike that of his older brother, mostly lacked any political or foreign royal guests -- just the few who were close to Harry personally.[[note]]The only other members of another reigning monarchy to attend were Prince Seeiso of UsefulNotes/{{Lesotho}}, a close personal friend of Harry. Former Prime Minister UsefulNotes/JohnMajor was there, but explicitly in his capacity as an advisor to the groom (a former banker, the royal family had appointed Major a financial and administrative advisor to Princes William and Harry shortly after their mother's death) and not as a former PM. Nicholas Soames MP was there, but he's UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill's grandson and thus a distant relative through Harry's mother Diana. And Ben Mulroney, son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, was there because his wife was close friends with Meghan and their children were part of the bridal party.[[/note]] "Officially", this is because Harry, unlike William, was not a future monarch, and there was thus no need for them to attend. However, it's widely believed that Harry wanted to invite his friend UsefulNotes/BarackObama, but for diplomatic reasons, this couldn't be done without also inviting then-current U.S. President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, who was ''hugely'' unpopular with the British public[[note]]opinion polls said that half of them hate him, and most of the rest "merely" don't like him[[/note]], not to mention disliked by the bride, who had publicly denounced him before the engagement, and all foreign politicians had to be uninvited to save face. Among those who ''did'' attend the wedding were Harry's two [[AmicableExes ex-girlfriends]] [[BetterAsFriends Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas]].

* UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (besides the maverick province UsefulNotes/{{Quebec}}) is in no apparent hurry to lose the monarchy, which exists as the Royal Family of Canada in that nation-- technically a separate monarchy to the UK, but made up of exactly the same individuals. In fact, this is the case with all of the Commonwealth realms, but the Canadians were the first to develop the theory and consequently have both the most traditional and most developed theory of monarchy. Canada is still the most monarchist Commonwealth Realm, partly because it is the oldest Commonwealth realm besides the UK, and partly because it has a [[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates large, friendly-but-overbearing, culturally-similar republic]] right next door, making the monarchy a good way to distinguish itself from its neighbour. Canada is one of the few places where being both a leftist intellectual and a fervent monarchist is so commonplace as to be unremarkable--to many English-speaking Canadians, the monarchy is just part of being Canadian. (Doesn't mean the governor-general is treated with any more respect, though.) Even UsefulNotes/PierreTrudeau (who, significantly, was a francophone Québecois, albeit a devotedly federalist one), noted to to have regarded the monarchy with "bemused contempt", put down any talk of a Canadian republic as idle nonsense. There's also support for the monarchy from Canada's First Nations, as the treaties and agreements that protect their sovereignty and rights are with the Crown rather than the Canadian government. It also helps that the Canadian Constitution requires unanimous consent of all the Canadian provinces´ legislatures and a majority of the House of Commons to amend the Constitution to abolish the monarchy. Any debate over significantly changing the Constitution [[WeAREStrugglingTogether almost invariably ends up devolving into petty bickering between the provinces]], so no one can be bothered to start that process.

Notable things about him:

Notable things about him:

Notable things about her:

* Her parents considered naming her Octavia due to her 8/8/88 birthday, according to her mother Sarah.

Under the Acts of Settlement 1701 and 1703, the line of succession to the British throne used to use male-preference primogeniture. In practice, this meant that any male children automatically went before the female children, even if the sister was older. This was changed in 2013 to absolute primogeniture, meaning the oldest child inherits, no matter what gender--but only for royal children born 2011 and later (so Princes Andrew and Edward and their children still precede their sister Princess Anne and hers). Another change in the succession laws concerns royal approval of marriages -- before 2013, anyone in the line of succession was (technically) required to receive royal approval before any marriage in order to remain in the line, but now, only the first six individuals in the line of succession[[note]]currently William, George, Charlotte, Louis, Harry, and Archie[[/note]] require such approval.

* She is the first queen to have been previously married since UsefulNotes/CatherineParr, who was widowed twice before marrying Henry VIII in the 15th century, and the first queen to have a living former spouse since UsefulNotes/EleanorOfAquitaine in the ''12th'' century, whose marriage to Louis VII of France had been annulled.

* Born in California, she is the highest-ranked royal in the line of succession born overseas.[[note]]Next on the list is Lady Maud Windsor, the daughter of Lord Frederick Windsor and granddaughter of Prince Michael of Kent, at ''51st'' in line; her parents were based in Los Angeles at the time for career reasons.[[/note]]

* Born in California, she is the first royal in the line of succession born overseas.

** Paradoxically, the undemocratic nature of the monarchy means constitutional monarchs are ''more'' likely to make the "democratic" decision in a crisis. The analysis is complicated, but in essence, constitutional monarchs who know what they're doing know they lack any democratic legitimacy to interfere in the decisions of the elected government and so studiously defer to the elected government at every turn.[[note]]Constitutional monarchs who don't know what they're doing usually end up meddling too much in politics and getting overthrown. This is what happened to Charles III's paternal second cousin Constantine II of UsefulNotes/{{Greece}}--if Cousin Costas had had the good sense to just do whatever the elected government wanted (unless that was unconstitutional, of course) and never do anything at all unless the elected government asked it of him (unless the constitution required it, of course), Greece would probably still be a monarchy. But he didn't, so it's not.[[/note]] The heads of state of parliamentary republics are less likely to do so, as they are usually elected directly or indirectly in some way and so feel they have some democratic mandate to actually exercise the powers nominally granted to them in the constitution.

--> 10. '''Sienna Mapelli Mozzi''' (b 2021) ''only daughter of Princess Beatrice, Mrs Mapelli Mozzi''

-> 4. '''Prince Louis of Wales''' (b 2018) ''third child andyounger son of William, Prince of Wales''

-> 2. '''Prince George of Wales''' (b 2013) ''elder son of William, Prince of Wales''
-> 3. '''Princess Charlotte of Wales''' (b 2015) ''only daughter of William, Prince of Wales''
-> 4. '''Prince Louis of Wales''' (b 2018) ''younger son of William, Prince of Wales''

-> 6. '''Prince Archie of Sussex''' (b 2019) ''only son of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex''
-> 7. '''Princess Lilibet "Lili" of Sussex''' (b 2021) ''only daughter of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex''

--> 12. '''August Brooksbank''' (b 2021) ''elder son of Princess Eugenie, Mrs Brooksbank''
--> 13. '''Ernest Brooksbank''' (b 2023) ''younger son of Princess Eugenie, Mrs Brooksbank''

--> 22. '''Mia Tindall''' (b 2014) ''elder daughter of Zara Tindall''
--> 23. '''Lena Tindall''' (b 2018) ''younger daughter of Zara Tindall''
--> 24. '''Lucas Tindall''' (b 2021) ''only son of Zara Tindall''

--> 51. '''Maud Windsor''' (b 2013) ''elder daughter of Lord Frederick Windsor''
--> 52. '''Isabella Windsor''' (b 2016) ''younger daughter of Lord Frederick Windsor''

---> 65. '''Sebastian Lascelles ''' ''(b 2020), only son of The Hon. Edward Lascelles''

---> 70. '''Fran Lascelles''' (b 2014) ''only son of Tewa Lascelles''

---> 73. '''Cleo Lascelles''' (b 2017) ''elder daughter of Thomas Lascelles''
---> 74. '''Celeste Lascelles''' (b 2020) ''younger daughter of Thomas Lascelles''

** Paradoxically, the undemocratic nature of the monarchy means constitutional monarchs are ''more'' likely to make the "democratic" decision in a crisis. The analysis is complicated, but in essence, constitutional monarchs who know what they're doing know they lack any democratic legitimacy to interfere in the decisions of the elected government and so studiously defer to the elected government at every turn.[[note]]Constitutional monarchs who don't know what they're doing usually end up meddling too much in politics and getting overthrown. This is what happened to Charles III's paternal second cousin Constantine II of UsefulNotes/{{Greece}}--if Cousin Costas had had the good sense to just do whatever the elected government wanted (unless that was unconstitutional, of course), Greece would probably still be a monarchy. But he didn't, so it's not.[[/note]] The heads of state of parliamentary republics are less likely to do so, as they are usually elected directly or indirectly in some way and so feel they have some democratic mandate to actually exercise the powers nominally granted to them in the constitution.

** Paradoxically, the undemocratic nature of the monarchy means constitutional monarchs are ''more'' likely to make the "democratic" decision in a crisis. The analysis is complicated, but in essence, constitutional monarchs who know what they're doing know they lack any democratic legitimacy to interfere in the decisions of the elected government and so studiously defer to the elected government at every turn.[[note]]Constitutional monarchs who don't know what they're doing usually end up meddling too much in politics and getting overthrown. This is what happened to Charles III's paternal second cousin Constantine II of UsefulNotes/{{Greece}}--if he'd had the good sense to just do whatever the elected government wanted (unless that was unconstitutional, of course), Greece would probably still be a monarchy. But he didn't, so it's not.[[/note]] The heads of state of parliamentary republics are less likely to do so, as they are usually elected directly or indirectly in some way and so feel they have some democratic mandate to actually exercise the powers nominally granted to them in the constitution.

** Paradoxically, the undemocratic nature of the monarchy means constitutional monarchs are ''more'' likely to make the "democratic" decision in a crisis. The analysis is complicated, but in essence, constitutional monarchs who know what they're doing know they lack any democratic legitimacy to interfere in the decisions of the elected government and so studiously defer to the elected government at every turn.[[note]]Constitutional monarchs who don't know what they're doing usually end up meddling too much in politics and getting overthrown. This is what happened to Charles III's paternal second cousin Constantine II of Greece--if he'd had the good sense to just do whatever the elected government wanted (unless that was unconstitutional, of course), Greece would probably still be a monarchy. But he didn't, so it's not.[[/note]] The heads of state of parliamentary republics are less likely to do so, as they are usually elected directly or indirectly in some way and so feel they have some democratic mandate to actually exercise the powers nominally granted to them in the constitution.

** Preserving the system as a parliamentary democracy, which (according to these political scientists) is a superior way of doing democracy as compared to presidential and semi-presidential systems. Keeping the political executive responsible to the legislative majority ensures that the government is able to respond to changing events and public opinion, and has numerous other benefits (for full details, read ''Why Not Parliamentarism?'' by the Brazilian scholar Tiago Ribiera Dos Santos). The case for monarchy from this is that while parliamentary republics are a thing, they are rare, for the very good reason that there's always a temptation in a republic to give the head of state some "real" power (shading into French-style semi-presidentialism). However, parliamentary systems work best when the head of state is a pure figurehead, which is much easier to maintain with a monarchy.
** Paradoxically, the undemocratic nature of the monarchy means constitutional monarchs are ''more'' likely to make the "democratic" decision in a crisis. The analysis is complicated, but in essence, constitutional monarchs who know what they're doing know they lack any democratic legitimacy to interfere in the decisions of the elected government and so studiously defer to the elected government at every turn. The heads of state of parliamentary republics are less likely to do so, as they are usually elected directly or indirectly in some way and so feel they have some democratic mandate to actually exercise the powers nominally granted to them in the constitution.

* Evidently she's not particularly popular within her family given her reputation as part of TheProudElite; the Queen once wryly commented prior to the marriage that her lineage made Marie Christine likely sound "a bit too grand for us." Charles called them "the rent-a-Kents." Princess Margaret apparently refused to speak to Princess Michael for years.[[note]]Probably not due to being a Catholic, as Margaret apparently toyed with the idea of converting herself at one point, and more due to simple dislike/clash of personalities.[[/note]] Princess Margaret's son, David, Viscount Linley, was once asked what he would wish on his worst enemy, and he replied, "dinner with Princess Michael." It's unsurprising, really, as in the past she has publicly referred to older members of the royal family as "dull," called Diana, Princess of Wales "uneducated," and claimed that she had "more royal blood in her veins than any person to marry into the royal family since Prince Philip."[[note]]All of these are accurate. None of which will make you well-liked.[[/note]]