As things stand, Harry is currently sixth in the line of succession to the throne and Andrew sits in ninth position.
Both princes retain their places in the line of succession despite Harry stepping down as an official working royal in 2020 when he moved to North America with Meghan Markle and despite Andrews’ surrendering of his public role in the wake of a sexual assult lawsuit filed against him by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre in 2021.
On top of both princes no longer undertaking official duties on behalf of the queen, both Harry and Andrew were asked to surrender their military and royal charity patronages back to the crown. This meant that the patronages given to the princes by the queen were returned to her to be distributed to other royals such as Kate Middleton and Prince William.
The line of succession is the official order that members of the royal family would inherit the throne. The official list is published on the royal family’s website to the 24th place.
Those that populate the list are the blood relatives of the queen starting with Prince Charles, who is first in line to the throne, followed by William and his children, Harry and his children and then Andrew.
For Harry to inherit the throne, the queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and his three children would need to predecease him. Though this is an extreme unlikelihood, concerns have been raised over the Cambridge family’s habit of traveling together in the same plane when going on tours or holidays. In the past heirs would avoid traveling together in case of disaster.
Harry and Andrew were not born sixth and ninth in line to the throne. Their positions in the line of succession are determined by the children that their siblings have had.
When Andrew was born, as the second son of the reigning queen, he was second in line to the throne. Despite Princess Anne being 10 years older than Andrew, the British laws of primogeniture in effect at the time meant that she was automatically lower than her younger brothers in terms of succession. This law was changed in 2013 and the first royal princess who took precedence over her younger brothers in the line of succession was Princess Charlotte, though this doesn’t apply retroactively to Anne.
Andrew remained second in line to the throne until Prince William was born in 1982 and he was again bumped down a place when Harry was born and took his place as third in line to the throne in 1984.
The line of succession’s importance became highlighted in 1936 when King Edward VIII abdicated and the crown was passed to the next in line, King George VI, then the Duke of York.
When she was born, the queen was only third in line to the throne, the same position as Harry. If Edward VIII had married and had children, those children would have moved Elizabeth down the line but when he abdicated it became clear that she would one day become queen.
The line of succession is officially updated with each birth and death that occurs within the royal family. Royal spouses such as Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle do not have positions on the list because they are not of royal blood, they instead could become queens only if their husbands become king.
The Line of Succession
- Prince Charles 2. Prince William 3. Prince George 4. Princess Charlotte 5. Prince Louis 6. Prince Harry 7. Archie Mountbatten-Windsor 8. Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor 9. Prince Andrew 10. Princess Beatrice 11. Sienna Mapelli Mozzi 12. Princess Eugenie 13. August Brooksbank 14. Prince Edward 15. Viscount Severn 16. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor 17. Princess Anne 18. Peter Phillips 19. Savannah Phillips 20. Isla Phillips 21. Zara Tindall 22. Mia Tindall 23. Lena Tindall 24. Lucas Tindall
