Ours faithfully
May 1st, 2011
A letter to the Sunday Times, the first paragraph of which was published on 1st May 2011.
Rather than barring Catholics specifically from the throne, the 1701 Act of Settlement stipulates British sovereigns be “heirs of the body of the Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover, being Protestant” (“Race is on to change law of succession”, News, April 17). The act thus excludes all those who are not of the Protestant faith, not just Catholics. This is consistent with the requirement that the sovereign is also the supreme governor of the Church of England.
It is also not the case as stated in the article that “endorsement” is required from the Commonwealth of any changes in the succession law. It is entirely a matter for the 16 realms which retain the British monarch as their Head of State to decide individually. This is because Headship of the Commonwealth itself is a quite separate matter: there is no formal provision for that post to be filled by the British monarch after the present Queen.