The power and functions of the monarch have never ceased to evolve, and rules of succession have been flexed to suit the needs of the time or the demands of the ruler. The area, people and customs of the kingdom have also changed. So we cannot picture William the Conqueror wrangling with parliament any more than we can imagine George IV lading his troops into battle.
Just as the monarch’s power and duties have changed, so have ideas about continuity. In ancient times, military leadership was a vital part of kingship, so it was thought best for the Crown to pass through the male line from father to son, or from brother to brother, or (as in Scotland in the early middle ages) to a king’s most respected kinsman.
As the rules stood before the birth of Prince George (and the time of Queen Elizabeth’s succession), when a monarch had sons and daughters, the sons were first to inherit. The children (sons and daughters) of a monarch’s eldest son would take precedent over a third son and so on. Only if a monarch had no living son - and no grandchildren through a son – would that monarch be succeeded by a daughter.
The descendants of Queen Victoria already number in the hundreds, and thousands of people could trace their ancestry back to a medieval king such as Edward III. Ancestry alone does not ensure the survival of the monarchy. It must adapt to change and earn respect through staying functional, while carrying on traditions that served previous generations well.
Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born at 17 Burton Street, London on 21st April 1926. A happy childhood was spent with her parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, and younger sister Margaret Rose. Present at her parents’ coronation in 1937 after the abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, in 1936, at the age of fourteen she broadcast to the children of the empire.
With the succession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952, the line of succession became secure. She is the mother of four Children, grandmother to eight and a great-grandmother. In 2013, laws changed to allow equal succession rights to both sons and daughters – ensuring that the unborn child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would become third in line to the throne.
The Queen is now the longest reigning British monarch since Queen Victoria. Her Silver (1977) and Golden (2002) Jubilees were marked by parties and parades that helped restore the image of a royal family battered by intrusive media in an age determined to ditch deference.
*extracts taken from Kings & Queens by Brenda Williams, Royal Babies by Annie Bullen and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - Diamond Jubilee Souvenir 1952 - 2012 by Annie Bullen
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