List of heirs to the English throne

This is a list of the individuals who were, at any given time, considered the next in line to inherit the throne of England, should the incumbent monarch die. Those who actually succeeded (at any future time) are shown in bold. Stillborn children and infants surviving less than a month are not included.

Because England and the United Kingdom both used the Male Primogeniture as their main system of inheritance, the “default” heir will be the one most suitable under these rules in order.

1. The throne always passes to the eldest son
2. If the eldest son is dead, the throne will then pass to the eldest son’s eldest son. Repeat this process until you get a living eldest son or if the eldest son has died without producing a son.
3. If the eldest son in the bottom of the family tree still has no sons, an eldest daughter will then take the throne.
4. If the eldest son in the bottom of the family tree died childless or unmarried, the throne will move on to the next brother in line. Complete 1-4 again until you either find an heir or has gone through all the brothers.
5. If all of these still get you no heirs, go to the next sister in line, and complete 1-5 until you find an heir or had gone through all the sisters as well.
6. If all of these still get you no heirs, move up 1 step in the family tree, then do 1-6 all again until you find an heir, which must happen, despite you might have to go through generations.

Not that these rules apply on “default” heirs, and the monarch in place can specifically name an heir if they want to. There are also a lot of reasons that can allow a king to disqualify any candidates, by claiming them are illegitimate, not Protestant (post 1689), or had committed treason.

A ruling monarch can also bar a line in the family tree from being a successor. Reasons for these are also extremely broad.

Note than recently the UK succession system has changed to Absolute primogeniture, which is almost the same with the only difference being that a male does not take presence over a female as heir.

It may be noted that the succession was highly uncertain, and was not governed by a fixed convention, for much of the century after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Significant breaks in the succession, where the designated heir did not in fact succeed (due to usurpation, conquest, revolution, or lack of heirs) are shown as breaks in the table below.

The symbols +1, +2, etc. are to be read "once (twice, etc.) removed in descendancy", i.e., the child or grandchild (etc.) of a cousin of the degree specified. The symbols -1, -2, etc. indicate the converse relationship, i.e., the cousin of a parent or grandparent (etc.).

1066 to 1135

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Monarch
Robert Curthose	Heir presumptive	Son	1066	father became king	1077	exile	William I
Succession unclear 1077–1087
Robert Curthose	Heir presumptive	Elder brother	1087	By agreement	1088	failed rebellion	William II
Henry Beauclerc	Heir presumptive	Younger brother	1088	Robert's rebellion	2 August 1100	became king on childless brother's death
Succession unclear 1100–1103							Henry I
William Adelin	Heir apparent	Only son	5 August 1103	born	25 November 1120	died
Empress Matilda	Heiress presumptive	Only child	25 November 1120 proclaimed 1127	brother died	1 December 1135 (22 December 1135)	became claimant to throne (throne usurped by cousin Stephen of Blois)

1135 to 1199

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Monarch
Eustace IV of Boulogne	Heir apparent	Eldest Son	22 December 1135	father became king	17 August 1153	died	Stephen
William of Blois	Heir apparent	Third Son	17 August 1153	Brother died	November 1153	Treaty of Wallingford
Henry Curtmantle, Count of Anjou	Heir apparent	1st cousin +1	November 1153	treaty	25 October 1154	became king
William IX, Count of Poitiers	Heir apparent	eldest son	25 October 1154	father became king	April 1156	died	Henry II
Henry the Young King	Heir apparent	son	April 1156	brother died	11 June 1183	died
Richard, Duke of Aquitaine	Heir apparent	son	11 June 1183	brother died	6 July 1189	became king
Arthur I, Duke of Brittany	Heir presumptive	nephew	6 July 1189	uncle became king	6 April 1199	throne usurped by youngest uncle John Lackland	Richard I

1199 to 1399

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Monarch
Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine	Heir presumptive	nephew	6 April 1199	uncle became king	1 October 1207	son born to king	John
Henry of Winchester	Heir apparent	eldest son	1 October 1207	born	19 October 1216	became king
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall	Heir presumptive	younger brother	19 October 1216	brother became king	17 June 1239	son born to king	Henry III
Edward Longshanks, Lord of Chester, but without the title of earl	Heir apparent	eldest son	17 June 1239	born	20 November 1272	became king
Henry	Heir apparent	eldest son	20 November 1272	father became king	16 October 1274	died	Edward I
Alphonso, Earl of Chester	Heir apparent	son	16 October 1274	brother died	19 August 1284	died
Edward of Caernarfon, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	son	19 August 1284	brother died	7 July 1307	became king
Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk	Heir presumptive	younger brother	7 July 1307	brother became king	13 November 1312	son born to king	Edward II
Edward of Windsor, Earl of Chester	Heir apparent	eldest son	13 November 1312	born	25 January 1327	became king
John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall	Heir presumptive	younger brother	25 January 1327	brother became king	15 June 1330	son born to king	Edward III
Edward "the Black Prince", Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	eldest son	15 June 1330	born	8 June 1376	died
Richard of Bordeaux, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	grandson	8 June 1376	father died	21 June 1377	became king[1]
John of Gaunt	Heir presumptive	uncle	21 June 1377	nephew became king	24 October 1386	Roger Mortimer named as heir[1]	Richard II
Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March	Heir presumptive	1st cousin +1	24 October 1386	royal edict	20 July 1398	died
Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March	Heir presumptive	1st cousin +2	20 July 1398	father died	29 September 1399	king deposed

1399 to 1485

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Next in succession	Monarch
Henry of Monmouth, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	eldest son	30 September 1399	father became king	20 March 1413	became king	Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence 1399-1413, younger brother	Henry IV
Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence	Heir presumptive	younger brother	20 March 1413	brother became king	22 March 1421	died	John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford 1413-1421, younger brother	Henry V
John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford	Heir presumptive	younger brother	22 March 1421	brother died	6 December 1421	son born to king	Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester 1413-1421, younger brother
Henry, Duke of Cornwall	Heir apparent	eldest son	6 December 1421	born	31 August 1422	became king	John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford 1421-1422, uncle
John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford	Heir presumptive	uncle	31 August 1422	nephew became king	14 September 1435	died	Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester 1422-1435, younger brother	Henry VI
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester	Heir presumptive	uncle	14 September 1435	elder brother died	23 February 1447	died	uncertain[2]
uncertain[2]
Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	eldest son	13 October 1453	born	25 October 1460[3] (4 March 1461)	Act of Accord (king deposed in March 1461)	uncertain[2]
Richard, Duke of York	Heir apparent	3rd cousin +1	25 October 1460	Act of Accord[3]	30 December 1460	died	Edward, Earl of March 1460, son
Edward, Duke of York	Heir apparent	3rd cousin +2	30 December 1460	father died	4 March 1461	became king	George 1460-1461, brother
George, Duke of Clarence	Heir presumptive	younger brother	4 March 1461	brother became king	12 March 1470	fled after failed rebellion	Richard, Duke of Gloucester 1461-1466, younger brother	Edward IV
uncertain[4]
Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	eldest son	31 October 1470	father restored as king	11 April 1471 (4 May 1471)	father deposed (prince died on 4 May 1471)	George, Duke of Clarence[5]	Henry VI
Edward, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	eldest son	11 April 1471	father restored	9 April 1483	became king	George, Duke of Clarence 1471-1473, uncle	Edward IV
							Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York 1473-1483, younger brother
Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York	Heir presumptive	younger brother	9 April 1483	brother became king	22 June 1483	declared illegitimate	Richard, Duke of Gloucester 1483, uncle	Edward V
Edward of Middleham, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	eldest son	26 June 1483	father became king	9 April 1484	died	Edward, Earl of Warwick	Richard III
Edward, Earl of Warwick	Heir presumptive	nephew	9 April 1484	royal edict	March 1485	removed from succession	Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury
John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln	Heir presumptive	nephew	March 1485	royal edict	22 August 1485	king killed	Edmund de la Pole

1485 to 1603

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Next in succession	Monarch
No recognised heir 1485–1486								Henry VII
Arthur, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	eldest son	20 September 1486	born	2 April 1502	died	none 1486–1489
							Margaret Tudor 1489-1491, younger sister
							Henry, Duke of York 1491-1502, younger brother
Henry, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	son	2 April 1502	brother died	22 April 1509	became king	Margaret, Queen of Scots 1502-1509, sister
No recognised heir 1509-1511[6]								Henry VIII
Henry, Duke of Cornwall	Heir apparent	eldest son	1 January 1511	born	23 February 1511	died	Margaret, Queen of Scots 1511, aunt
No recognised heir 1511-1514[6]
Henry, Duke of Cornwall	Heir apparent	eldest son	December 1514	born	December 1514/January 1515	died	Margaret, Queen of Scots 1514/15, aunt
No recognised heir 1515-1516[6]
Mary Tudor	Heiress presumptive	eldest daughter	18 February 1516	born	March 1534	Deprived by Act of Parliament	Margaret, Queen of Scots 1516-1533, aunt
							Elizabeth Tudor, 1533–1534, younger half-sister
Elizabeth Tudor	Heiress presumptive	daughter	March 1534	Act of Parliament	1536	Deprived by Act of Parliament	Margaret, Queen of Scots 1534-1536, aunt
No recognised heir 1536-1537[6]
Edward, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	only son	12 October 1537	born	28 January 1547	became king	Mary Tudor, older half-sister, 1543–1547
Mary Tudor	Heiress presumptive	elder half-sister	28 January 1547	half-brother became king	21 June 1553	excluded by letters patent	Lady Elizabeth 1547-1553, younger half-sister	Edward VI
Lady Jane Grey	Heiress presumptive	1st cousin +1	21 June 1553	Named in letters patent	6 July 1553	proclaimed queen	Catherine, Lady Herbert of Cardiff 1553, younger sister
Upon the death of Edward VI, the succession was disputed between his sister Mary, the heir by primogeniture and the will of Henry VIII, and Lady Jane Grey, whom Edward had named his heir. Since Jane Grey's short reign is a matter of dispute, so are her heirs.
Catherine, Lady Herbert of Cardiff	Heiress presumptive (disputed)	younger sister	6 July 1553	sister proclaimed queen	19 July 1553	sister deposed	Mary Grey 1553, younger sister	Jane
Elizabeth Tudor	Heiress presumptive	younger half-sister	6 July 1553	Half-sister became queen	17 November 1558	became queen	None	Mary I
Since Elizabeth I (1558–1603) never designated an heir, the succession was disputed among heirs of Henry VII by cognatic primogeniture and the heirs established under the Third Succession Act and the will of Henry VIII. The last two documents placed the English descendants of his younger sister Mary ahead of the Scottish descendants of his elder sister Margaret. The following are the leaders of both lines:
Mary, Queen of Scots	Potential heirs by cognatic primogeniture	1st cousin +1	17 November 1558	Cousin became queen	8 February 1587	Executed	James VI of Scotland, son (1566-1587)	Elizabeth I
James VI of Scotland		1st cousin +2	8 February 1587	Mother executed	24 March 1603	became King	Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, son (1594-1603)
Lady Frances Stokes	Potential heirs by the will of Henry VIII	1st cousin	17 November 1558	Cousin became queen	20 November 1559	Died	Lady Catherine Grey, daughter
Lady Catherine Grey		1st cousin +1	20 November 1559	Mother died	26 January 1568	Died	Lady Mary Grey, sister
Lady Mary Grey		1st cousin +1	26 January 1568	Sister died	20 April 1578	Died	Margaret, Countess of Derby, 1st cousin
Margaret, Countess of Derby		1st cousin +1	20 April 1578	1st cousin died	28 September 1596	Died	Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby, son (1578-1594)
							Lady Anne Stanley, granddaughter (1594-1596)
Lady Anne Stanley		1st cousin +3	28 September 1596	Paternal grandmother died	24 March 1603	succession of new king	Lady Frances Stanley, sister

1603 to 1689

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Next in succession	Monarch
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	eldest son	24 March 1603	father became king	6 November 1612	died	Charles, Duke of York 1603-1612, younger brother	James I
Charles, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	son	6 November 1612	brother died	27 March 1625	became king	Elizabeth, Electress Palatine 1612-1625, elder sister
Elizabeth, Electress Palatine	Heiress presumptive	elder sister	27 March 1625	brother became king	29 May 1630	son born to king	Frederick Henry 1625-1629, son	Charles I
							Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine 1629-1630, son
Charles, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	son	29 May 1630	born	30 January 1649[7]	became king	Elizabeth, Electress Palatine 1630-1631, aunt
							Mary, Princess Royal 1631-1633, sister
							James, Duke of York 1633-1649, brother
James, Duke of York	Heir presumptive	younger brother	30 January 1649[7]	brother proclaimed King	6 February 1685	became king	Henry, Duke of Gloucester 1649- Sept 1660, younger brother	Charles II
							Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange Sept-Oct 1660, elder sister
							Charles, Duke of Cambridge Oct 1660-May 1661, son
							Prince William of Orange May 1661-Apr 1662, nephew
							Princess Mary Apr 1662-July 1663, daughter
							James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge July 1663-June 1667, son
							Princess Mary June-Sept 1667, daughter
							Edgar Stuart, Duke of Cambridge Sept 1667-Nov 1669, son
							Princess Mary 1669-1677, daughter
							Charles, Duke of Cambridge Nov-Dec 1677, son
							Mary, Princess of Orange 1677-1685, daughter
Mary, Princess of Orange	Heiress presumptive	elder daughter	6 February 1685	father became king	10 June 1688	younger brother born	Princess Anne of Denmark 1685-1688, younger sister	James II
James, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	son	10 June 1688	born	13 February 1689	father deposed	Mary, Princess of Orange, elder sister 1688-1689

Jacobite heirs apparent and presumptive, 1688-1807

The following are the heirs of the Jacobite pretenders to the throne to the death of the last Stuart pretender. For other persons in this lineage, see Jacobite succession.

Heir	Status	Relationship to Pretender	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Next in succession	Pretender
James, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	son	13 February 1689	father deposed	16 September 1701	became pretender	Mary, Princess of Orange 1689-1694, elder sister	James II
							Princess Anne of Denmark 1694-1701, elder sister
Princess Anne of Denmark	Heiress presumptive	elder sister	16 September 1701	father died, brother became pretender	1 August 1714	died	Louisa Maria 1701-1712, younger sister	James III "The Old Pretender"
							Anne Marie d'Orléans 1712-1714, 1st cousin
Anne Marie d'Orléans	Heiress presumptive	1st cousin	1 August 1714	cousin died	31 December 1720	son born to pretender	Victor Amadeus, Prince of Piedmont 1714-1715, son
							Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont 1715-1720, son
Charles, Prince of Wales	Heir apparent	son	31 December 1720	born	1 January 1766	became pretender	Anne Marie d'Orléans 1720-1725, 1st cousin -1
							Henry, Duke of York 1725-1766, younger brother
Henry, Duke of York	Heir presumptive	younger brother	1 January 1766	brother became pretender	31 January 1788	became pretender	Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia 1766-1773, 2nd cousin	Charles III "The Young Pretender"
							Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia 1773-1788, 2nd cousin +1
Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia	Heir presumptive	2nd cousin +1	31 January 1788	cousin became pretender	14 October 1796	died	Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Piedmont 1788-1796, son	Henry IX "Cardinal York"
Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia	Heir presumptive	2nd cousin +2	14 October 1796	father died	13 July 1807	Death of last Stuart pretender	Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia 1796-1807, younger brother

1689 to 1707

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir	Reason	Ceased to be heir	Reason	Next in succession	Monarch
William III	Mutual heirs	husband	13 February 1689	Act of parliament	28 December 1694	became sole monarch	Princess Anne of Denmark, sister(-in-law), 1689–1702	Mary II
Mary II		wife				died		William III
Princess Anne of Denmark	Heiress apparent	sister-in-law and 1st cousin	28 December 1694	sister's death	8 March 1702	became queen	William, Duke of Gloucester 1694-1700, son
							Uncertain 1700-1701
							Sophia, Dowager Electress of Hanover, 1701–1702, 1st cousin -1
Sophia, Dowager Electress of Hanover	Heiress presumptive	1st cousin -1	8 March 1702	death of William III	1 May 1707	became heiress-presumptive to Great Britain	George Louis, Elector of Hanover 1702-1707, son	Anne

See also

• List of heirs to the Scottish throne
• List of heirs to the British throne
• Line of succession to the British throne
• History of the English line of succession

Notes

1. In 1376 Edward III entailed the throne on his heirs male. This entailment was set aside at the Wonderful Parliament of 1386 where Richard II named Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March as his heir. Mortimer, Fears of Henry IV, pp. 366–9
2. No clear heir to the throne existed following the deaths of Henry VI's uncles, which left him the last of Henry IV's legitimate descendants to survive. The nearest legitimate heirs by blood were the descendants of Henry IV's older sister, Philippa of Lancaster; however, as these were Kings and Princes of Portugal (the senior heir of this line was King Afonso V), it was very unlikely that they would be offered the throne of England. The next most senior line were the descendants of Henry IV's second eldest sister Elizabeth of Lancaster, of whom the senior heirs were the Dukes of Exeter.
   Another potential line were the descendants of John Beaufort, half-brother of Henry IV, whose senior heir was Margaret Beaufort, mother of the future Henry VII. However, the legitimacy of the Beaufort line was suspect.
3. The Parliamentary Act of Accord established Richard of York as the heir of Henry VI. The Act was rejected by Lancastrian partisans who continued to recognise Edward of Westminster as his father's heir.
4. After Clarence's rebellion flight, no alternative was declared. His younger brother, Richard of Gloucester, was next in line.
5. Clarence supported the restoration of Henry VI and was named next-in-line, after the King's son and his future offspring. Upon Edward IV's return to England in April 1471, Clarence switched his allegiance back to his brother.
6. The next in line was Margaret, Queen of Scots, sister of Henry VIII.
7. Charles II was proclaimed and recognised as King by royalists immediately after his father's death, though his effective rule only began with the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

References

• Ian Mortimer, The Fears of Henry IV: the Life of England's Self-Made King (Vintage, 2008)