Home > Posts Tagged "Sophia Electress of Hanover"

Ours faithfully

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.

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Sovereign ideas

A letter to the Times which was published on 31st March 2009.

William Rees-Mogg (Comment, Mar. 30th) perpetuates two common errors about the Act of Settlement and its possible amendment.  The Act stipulates that British sovereigns shall be “heirs of the body of the Electress Sophia of Hanover, being Protestant”.  The Act thus excludes from the throne all those who are not of the Protestant (Christian) religion, not just Roman Catholics.

If any amendment of the Act were seriously contemplated, it would not require “the whole of the Commonwealth to agree”.  It would require the agreement of only those countries which retained the British monarch as their head of state at the time of the change (16 at present).

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.

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