King Charles and Queen Camilla will be crowned in a historic ceremony in London on March 6 – but will that mean anything changes in the royal line of succession?
The short answer is no, since the line of succession automatically changed when Charles became King following the passing of Queen Elizabeth. As it stands, Prince William is the current heir to the throne, followed by his son Prince George, and so on.
But quite recently, an official change was made to the royal line of succession which refers to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, by their royal titles.
The children, who fall sixth and seventh respectively in the line of succession, had previously been listed under their non-royal, layperson titles: as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor & Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor. The update also includes the children’s middle names, alongside the Sussex title, making them: Prince Archie Harrison of Sussex and Princess Lilibet Diana of Sussex.
Chris Jackson
It follows the christening of Lilibet – whose first name is a nod to the late Queen’s nickname, while Diana is after her late grandmother, Princess Diana – last week in Los Angeles, following which a spokesperson for the Sussexes said in a statement: “I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Bishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor.”
The line of succession had a significant reshuffle last year, following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, aged 96. She was succeeded by her firstborn son, King Charles III, who reigns alongside his wife Camilla as Queen Consort – a shift to be officially marked with the coronation on 6 May.
Her Majesty The Queen was the world’s longest-reigning monarch, celebrating the historic milestone of 70 years on the throne at her Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, before passing away on the 8th September of that year. She became Queen on 6 February 1952, after the death of her father, King George VI, following the royal line of succession.