THE BRITISH THRONE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19962, 2 June 1928, Page 8

THE BRITISH THRONE.

BT KATE ROSENBERG, B.A.

HIS MAJESTY'S HEIBS. LAWS OF SUCCESSION, NO. CHANGE FOR 200 YEARS.

The succession to the British Throne 5s curiously regulated by laws passed over 200 years ago. King Henry VHI-, away back in the sixteenth century, as a remit. of his matrimonial experiences (he married six times), mado a speciality of {succession questions. He settled them according to his will, got Parliamentary sanction and blessing by Acts of Succession, and bluffed the people into thinking lie had only carried out their wishes. In spite of all his precautions, his line, the Tudor line, carao to an end with his. daughter Elizabeth, and Scotland had to bo called upon to provide England with « King. The Stuarts camo and with them o 'duel for power between the two forces—monarchy and Parliament. Parliament won and assumed to itself undisputed authority over the choice of the sovocign. Tho struggle between king and Parliament had been nut only intense, but embittered, because of the question of religion— one king having taken violent measures to restore Roman Catholicism in England. Parliament, in .1689, having put "William 111. on the Throne, had two points clear for tho future. The first, that the king's power must be limited by Parliament; the second, that the danger of Horn an Catholicism must never again threaten England. These were the two fundamental factors that were to regulate tho Throne in future, and it was with these in mind that the two Acts which govern the British Throne at the present day were passed—the Act of Plights, 1689, and the Act of Settlement, 1702. The House of Hanover. By the former Act the ruler of England was to be a member of tho Church of England, and had to marry, if bo married, a member of the Church of England. To make doubly sure of the Protestant succession, the Act of Settlement arranged for the Throne to pass, after the. Stuarts, to the Protestant House of Hanover, a House remotely connected with tho Stuarts. Over two centuries have elapsed and these Acts have in no way been altered. The succession was settled, and so it has remained Protestant, and in the line of direct descent from the House of Hanover. One additional change has taken place. From 1714, the date when the Hanoverians came to the Throne, the British sovereign ruled over Hanover as well as Great Britain. Queen Victoria on her accession to the Throne in 1837, had to give up Hanover, for there tho Salic Law prevailed and by this no woman could ride. The British ruling houses havo been, if nothing else, cosmopolitan. The Tudojs were Welsh, the Stuarts were. Scottish,, William 111. camo from Holland, and tho Hanoverians from Germany. It has become the custom for tho British Throno to descend to the oldest male child and. to his descendants, if any, before passing to the next male child. The Prince of Whiles. The eldest son of King George Y., the Prince of Wales, is heir to the Throne. His marriage—he is to be 54 next birthday is o, subject of rrreat constitutional importance, as well as of interest. There are few princely houses leifc in Europe, and fewer princesses, particularly .Protestant princesses. Marriage with a Roman Catholic princess would give rise (o complications because of the succession law, though ono might safely assume ths:t should such a marriage take place, the princess would become a member of tie Church of England. To taking such a step there would bo one other course open —that of calling iu Parliament to amend the constitution as it now standsParliament is the only body that can, by its own act—that is, by passing a new law—supersede and, in effect, annul its own past legislation. Should Parliament think fit, therefore, it could alter the lavfs regulating tho succession in Great Britain.. As these laws date back such a long time and were made then only to cope with the exigencies of the period, it is not inconceivable that new legislation on (he- subject would be made should a new set of circumstances require it and public opinion demand it. As the law stands now, King George V.'s second Son, the Duke of who is 13 months younger than the 1 rinco of Wales, inherits the throne after the Prince of Wales, should the latter have no heir. The Duke and Duchess of York, who n.ere married in 1923, have been undertaking Royal tours to different parts of the world in a manner similar to the tours undertaken by the Prince of Wales. It is interesting .to note that the Duke of ■York now has his own Court Circular, the fust one being issued on November 2, 1927, ns from 145, Piccadilly, W.l, the town residence of Their Highnesses. This is the first time that the second son of the Sovereign has had his own Circular, hitherto a Court Circular having been issued only for the Sovereign and the princo of Wales. « Second Queen Elisabeth. Tho next in succession to the Duke of York is his daughter, Princess Elizabeth or, as she is known to every adult and child in tho country—Princess Betty, born in 3926. If she does succeed, she will be Queen Elizabeth 11. Queen Elizabeth, the "good Queen Bess" of Shakespeare's and Drake's days, ascended the throne in 1553. , Princess Betty belongs to the new generation, nnd, as we -reckon generations roughly by 30 years, it is a subject for speculation as to what, the date 1958 will see as far as the Sovereign of Great Britain is concerned. Prince Henry and Piince George, R'ing George's other sons, come next respectively in succession after Princess Elizabeth. Prince George would be followed by his sister Princess Mary, who, though the third child of King George V., would he the last to succeed in the family because -of her sex. To continue to the end, the next heirs would be tho sonis of Mary—tho Honourable George : _ascelLes and the Honourable Gerald •LasceUes,