Royal family tree: where do your favourite royals fit into the line of succession

Queen Elizabeth II has reigned the United Kingdom since February 1952, with her first-born son Prince Charles as heir apparent.

In June 2021 the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their second child, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. The couple's first daughter, is the third royal newborn to arrive in 2021, following the birth of Princess Eugenie's son August in February, and Zara Tindall's son Lucas in March. Princess Beatrice also gave birth to a baby girl named Sienna in September 2021.

Following the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's third child Prince Louis in April 2018, most family members moved down a rung on the succession ladder as Louis slotted in as fifth in line, behind the Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Historically, Princess Charlotte would have lost her spot to her younger brother, but new legislation introduced in 2013 overhauled the order of succession.

Prince Harry now sits in sixth place, with his first child Archie in seventh and his new daughter Lilibet in eighth. Prince Andrew, meanwhile, has been pushed down to ninth in line.

When Prince Louis was born it meant Prince Andrew did not have to ask his mother's permission if he wanted to re-marry.

According to the new legislation, only the first six people in the line of succession must obtain the Queen's permission to marry. Previously, under a law dating back to 1772, all descendants of George II had to seek the monarch's permission.

The line of succession

The Queen, who is 95 years old, is Britain's longest reigning monarch and has ruled for 69 years.

As the child of a royal "spare", the Queen was thought unlikely to reign until her uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated in favour of her father in 1936, whereupon he became King George VI and she the heir to the throne.

Elizabeth became Queen upon his death on February 6 1952. But what happens when she dies and who will replace her? Here's the line of succession, as it it will look when the new royal babies are born:

1. The Prince of Wales

Heir to the throne and the next king of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms. The Prince of Wales, 72, already holds the record for the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, having been in the position since 1952. He will also be the oldest person to be crowned in British history when he eventually succeeds the Queen. Upon the death of his father, Prince Philip, Charles also inherited the title of the Duke of Edinburgh in March 2021.

2. The Duke of Cambridge

As the eldest son of the heir, Prince William will one day succeed his father the Prince of Wales. At the age of 39, he may have 30 or so years to wait, if his father enjoys the longevity of other members of the Royal family.

3. Prince George

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first-born son, eight, will one day be King George VII, meaning that anyone alive today is unlikely to see another Queen on the throne in their lifetime once Elizabeth II's reign is over.

4. Princess Charlotte

Prince George's six-year-old sister is the "spare to the heir", and will face the same problems as Prince Harry and the Duke of York in trying to find the right role for themselves during a lifetime constrained by their royal title. She would only become queen if Prince George predeceased her without having any living children.

Changes in the laws of succession in 2013 mean the sex of the baby will be irrelevant to his or her place in the succession. Princess Charlotte is the first royal princess to be born within the direct line of succession since the Princess Royal in 1950, and is likely to one day inherit the title, which is traditionally given to the oldest daughter of the monarch.

5. Prince Louis

The birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's third child changed the line of succession again: Prince George and Princess Charlotte's three-year-old brother is now fifth in line to the throne, bumping uncle Harry out of the top five and into sixth place.

6. The Duke of Sussex

The all-action Prince Harry, 37, has spent most of his life being the third in line to the throne, behind his brother Prince William, but has now found himself being bumped down to sixth. His first-born child, Archie, became seventh in line to the throne in 2019.

7. Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor

Meghan and Harry's two-year-old Archie is seventh in line to the throne. After the birth of Meghan and Harry's first child, all subsequent royals moved one position lower in the succession.

8. Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor

Harry and Meghan's second child, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, is the Queen’s eleventh great-grandchild and the first to be born abroad.

The newest addition to the Sussex family, Lilibet is eighth in line to the throne - although she is not currently a princess. As of an issue by King George V in 1917, upon Prince Charles' accession to the throne, Lilibet would be entitled to become a princess.

9. The Duke of York

Once second in line to the throne, Prince Andrew, 61, is now so far down the list that he is no longer part of the "core" Royal family that will share the burden of official engagements in the future. His daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, are no longer entitled to police bodyguards, which now have to be funded by Prince Andrew.

10. Princess Beatrice

Princess Beatrice had struggled with the problem of how to combine a royal title with a need to find work. After quitting her £20,000-a-year job with Sony Entertainment Pictures in 2014, she treated herself to four holidays in the space of a little over a month.

However, the 33 year-old, who was the first member of the Royal Family to run a marathon in 2010, graduated in history and the history of ideas at Goldsmiths College, London, and has been Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy at business tech company Afiniti since 2016.

As well as continuing with charity work, she married Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi in July 2020 at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor. The couple welcomed their daughter Sienna in September 2021.

11. Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi

Sienna Elizabeth is Princess Beatrice's first child, although Mr Mozzi has a young son, Christopher Woolf Mapelli Mozzi, from a previous marriage. The new baby is 11th in line to the throne, moving the rest of the family, including Beatrice's sister Princess Eugenie, one rung down.

12. Princess Eugenie

On October 12 2018, the Duke of York's younger daughter, who is 31, married drinks executive Jack Brooksbank at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. The second royal wedding of the year featured figures from high society and the worlds of fashion and art.

13: August Philip Hawke Brooksbank

Princess Eugenie gave birth to her first child, in February 2021. Her son, August, is the Queen’s ninth great-grandchild and the Duke and Duchess of York’s first grandchild. At the time of his birth, he was 11th in line to the throne, however after the births of Lilibet, Harry and Meghan's second child and Princess Beatrice's daughter Sienna, his place is now 13th.

14. The Earl of Wessex

Prince Edward, 57, is a full-time working royal and, as of the various births of his niece and nephews' children, is 14th in line to the throne. Having achieved his own Gold Award in 1986, the Earl of Wessex took over many responsibilities regarding The Duke of Edinburgh's Award from his father, Prince Philip, before his death.

Although many assumed that Prince Edward would inherit his late father's title, the Dukedom of Edinburgh immediately passed down to the heir apparent: Charles. Upon acceding the throne, the Duke of Edinburgh title will merge with the Crown and Charles may decide whether he bestows the dukedom upon Edward.

15. James, Viscount Severn

The birth of both Lilibet and Sienna children made Prince Edward's 13 year-old son Viscount Severn 15th in line to the throne.

16. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor

Edward's eldest child, 17-year-old daughter Lady Louise Windsor, has become 16th in line to the throne, after the two new babies were born in 2021.

17. The Princess Royal

Because the 2011 law change on the succession did not apply retrospectively, the Princess Royal, 70, remains behind her three brothers in the line of succession despite being the Queen's second-born child. She is now 17th in line to the throne.

Often described as the hardest-working member of the Royal family, Princess Anne has carried out 110 engagements across 2021, working a total of 106 days.

The births of Meghan Markle's and Princess Beatrice's children in 2021 mean Anne's son Peter Phillips, 43, is now 18th in line, with his children Savannah and Isla in 19th and 20th. The princess's daughter Zara Tindall, 40, is 21st in line; her seven year-old daughter Mia is 22nd and her second daughter Lena, aged three, is 23rd. Zara gave birth to her third child, a son named Lucas, in March 2021 - him being 24th in line to the throne.

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