Pecking Order
May 25 2021, Published 12:36 p.m. ET
A royal baby boom means the line of succession to the British throne is changing on an almost monthly basis!
Senior royals are being pushed down the pecking order, and there are now some eye-catching differences between the new arrivals and older members of the family.
Prince Andrew, who was SECOND in line to the throne when he was born in 1960, will soon be down to NINTH place.
And his sister, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal and arguably the hardest working royal, will drop down to SEVENTEENTH position.
Despite moving to California and giving up royal duties, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children remain in line, with Archie at seven and the baby girl Meghan is expecting at eight.
Even though they will be U.S. citizens and won’t have titles, they remain in place.
The coming child of Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edo Mapelli Mozzi, will be 11th in line, shuffling sister Eugenie’s son, August Brooksbank, down to 13th, just behind Prince Edward.
Bragging rights about their place in the succession seem to matter more than titles to royals.
For example, when Princess Anne’s son, Peter Phillips, married Autumn Kelly in 2008, she left the Catholic church and joined the Church of England so that he wasn't removed from the list, even though he doesn't have a title.
Ah I hear you say, what about women’s rights and the fact that Catholics can now be accepted?
The Succession to the Crown Act, which came into force in 2015, repealed the Royal Marriages Act 1772 and gave equal rights to females and Catholics.
But it was not retrospective so Princess Anne and her children remain behind her three brothers.
Perhaps the most significant result of the change was that William and Kate’s second child, Charlotte, now remains in fourth place, whereas before she would have been overtaken by her younger brother, Louis.
And quite right.
But spare a thought for the Queen’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent.
When he was born in 1942 he was seventh, and his godparents were King George VI, the Queen of the Netherlands, the King of Norway, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and FIVE others!
As of today, he's hanging around at number 50!