List of heirs to the English throne


This is a list of the individuals who were, at any given time, considered the next in line to inherit the throne of England, should the incumbent monarch die. Those who actually succeeded are shown in bold. Stillborn children and infants surviving less than a month are not included.
Because England and the United Kingdom both used the Male Primogeniture as their main system of inheritance, the “default” heir will be the one most suitable under these rules in order.
  1. The throne always passes to the eldest son
  2. If the eldest son is dead, the throne will then pass to the eldest son’s eldest son. Repeat this process until you get a living eldest son or if the eldest son has died without producing a son.
  3. If the eldest son in the bottom of the family tree still has no sons, an eldest daughter will then take the throne.
  4. If the eldest son in the bottom of the family tree died childless or unmarried, the throne will move on to the next brother in line. Complete 1-4 again until you either find an heir or has gone through all the brothers.
  5. If all of these still get you no heirs, go to the next sister in line, and complete 1-5 until you find an heir or had gone through all the sisters as well.
  6. If all of these still get you no heirs, move up 1 step in the family tree, then do 1-6 all again until you find an heir, which must happen, despite you might have to go through generations.
Not that these rules apply on “default” heirs, and the monarch in place can specifically name an heir if they want to. There are also a lot of reasons that can allow a king to disqualify any candidates, by claiming them are illegitimate, not Protestant, or had committed treason.
A ruling monarch can also bar a line in the family tree from being a successor. Reasons for these are also extremely broad.
Note than recently the UK succession system has changed to Absolute primogeniture, which is almost the same with the only difference being that a male does not take presence over a female as heir.
It may be noted that the succession was highly uncertain, and was not governed by a fixed convention, for much of the century after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Significant breaks in the succession, where the designated heir did not in fact succeed are shown as breaks in the table below.
The symbols +1, +2, etc. are to be read "once removed in descendancy", i.e., the child or grandchild of a cousin of the degree specified. The symbols -1, -2, etc. indicate the converse relationship, i.e., the cousin of a parent or grandparent.

1066 to 1135

1135 to 1199

1199 to 1399

1399 to 1485

1485 to 1603

1603 to 1689

Jacobite heirs apparent and presumptive, 1688-1807

The following are the heirs of the Jacobite pretenders to the throne to the death of the last Stuart pretender. For other persons in this lineage, see Jacobite succession.
HeirStatusRelationship to PretenderBecame heirReasonCeased to be heirReasonNext in successionPretender
James, Prince of WalesHeir apparentson13 February 1689father deposed16 September 1701became pretenderMary, Princess of Orange 1689-1694, elder sisterJames II
James, Prince of WalesHeir apparentson13 February 1689father deposed16 September 1701became pretenderPrincess Anne of Denmark 1694-1701, elder sisterJames II
Princess Anne of DenmarkHeiress presumptiveelder sister16 September 1701father died, brother became pretender1 August 1714diedLouisa Maria 1701-1712, younger sisterJames III
"The Old Pretender"
Princess Anne of DenmarkHeiress presumptiveelder sister16 September 1701father died, brother became pretender1 August 1714diedAnne Marie d'Orléans 1712-1714, 1st cousinJames III
"The Old Pretender"
Anne Marie d'OrléansHeiress presumptive1st cousin1 August 1714cousin died31 December 1720son born to pretenderVictor Amadeus, Prince of Piedmont 1714-1715, sonJames III
"The Old Pretender"
Anne Marie d'OrléansHeiress presumptive1st cousin1 August 1714cousin died31 December 1720son born to pretenderCharles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont 1715-1720, sonJames III
"The Old Pretender"
Charles, Prince of WalesHeir apparentson31 December 1720born1 January 1766became pretenderAnne Marie d'Orléans 1720-1725, 1st cousin -1James III
"The Old Pretender"
Charles, Prince of WalesHeir apparentson31 December 1720born1 January 1766became pretenderHenry, Duke of York 1725-1766, younger brotherJames III
"The Old Pretender"
Henry, Duke of YorkHeir presumptiveyounger brother1 January 1766brother became pretender31 January 1788became pretenderCharles Emmanuel III of Sardinia 1766-1773, 2nd cousinCharles III
"The Young Pretender"
Henry, Duke of YorkHeir presumptiveyounger brother1 January 1766brother became pretender31 January 1788became pretenderVictor Amadeus III of Sardinia 1773-1788, 2nd cousin +1Charles III
"The Young Pretender"
Victor Amadeus III of SardiniaHeir presumptive2nd cousin +131 January 1788cousin became pretender14 October 1796diedCharles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont 1788-1796, sonHenry IX
"Cardinal York"
Charles Emmanuel IV of SardiniaHeir presumptive2nd cousin +214 October 1796father died13 July 1807Death of last Stuart pretenderVictor Emmanuel I of Sardinia 1796-1807, younger brotherHenry IX
"Cardinal York"

1689 to 1707