This is a list of the individuals who were, at any given time, considered the next in line to inherit the throne of Scotland, 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.
It may be noted that although the Crown could pass through the female line (for example to the House of Dunkeld in 1034), in the High Middle Ages it is doubtful whether a queen regnant would have been accepted as ruler.
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.).
This section possibly contains original research . Women were not generally considered as heirs in the 12th and 13th centuries.(September 2022) |
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Reason | Ceased to be heir | Reason | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Henry, Earl of Huntingdon | Heir apparent | Son | 23 April 1124 | Father became king | 12 June 1152 | Died | David I |
Malcolm | Heir apparent | Grandson | 12 June 1152 | Father died | 24 May 1153 | Became king | |
William, Earl of Northumbria | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 24 May 1153 | Brother became king | 9 December 1165 | Became king | Malcolm IV |
David, Earl of Huntingdon | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 9 December 1165 | Brother became king | 1193 | Daughter born to king | William I |
Margaret | Heiress presumptive | Eldest daughter | 1193 | Born | 24 August 1198 | Brother born | |
Alexander | Heir apparent | Son | 24 August 1198 | Born | 4 December 1214 | Became king | |
Margaret, Countess of Kent | Heiress presumptive | Elder sister | 4 December 1214 | Brother became king | 4 September 1241 | Son born to king | Alexander II |
Alexander | Heir apparent | Son | 4 September 1241 | Born | 8 July 1249 | Became king | |
Margaret, Countess of Kent | Heiress presumptive | Aunt | 8 July 1249 | Nephew became king | 25 November 1259 | Died | Alexander III |
Isabella, Countess of Norfolk | Heiress presumptive | Aunt | 25 November 1259 | Sister died | 28 February 1261 | Daughter born to king | |
Margaret | Heiress presumptive | Daughter | 28 February 1261 | Born | 21 January 1264 | Brother born | |
Alexander | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 21 January 1264 | Born | 28 January 1284 | Died | |
Margaret | Heiress presumptive | Granddaughter | 28 January 1284 | Uncle died | 19 March 1286 | Became lady and queen | |
No recognised heir 1286–1290 | Margaret |
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Reason | Ceased to be heir | Reason | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edward | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 17 November 1292 | Father became king | 10 July 1296 | Father abdicated | John |
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Reason | Ceased to be heir | Reason | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No recognised heir 1306–1315 | Robert I | ||||||
Edward, Earl of Carrick | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 27 April 1315 | Proclaimed heir | 14 October 1318 | Died | |
No recognised heir Oct–Dec 1318 | |||||||
Robert | Heir presumptive | Grandson | 3 December 1318 | Proclaimed heir | 5 March 1324 | Son born to king | |
David, Earl of Carrick | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 5 March 1324 | Born | 7 June 1329 | Became king | |
Robert, High Steward of Scotland | Heir presumptive | Nephew | 7 June 1329 | Uncle became king | 22 February 1371 | Became king | David II |
Heir | Status | Relationship to Monarch | Became heir | Reason | Ceased to be heir | Reason | Next in succession | Monarch |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No recognised heir Feb–Mar 1371 | Robert II | |||||||
John, Earl of Carrick | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 27 March 1371 | Proclaimed heir | 19 April 1390 | Became king | None 1371–1373 | |
Robert, Earl of Fife 1373–1378, younger brother | ||||||||
David 1378–1390, son | ||||||||
David, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 19 April 1390 | Father became king | 26 March 1402 | Died | Robert, Earl of Fife 1390–1394, uncle | Robert III |
James 1394–1402, younger brother | ||||||||
James, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Son | 26 March 1402 | Brother died | 4 April 1406 | Became king | Robert, Duke of Albany, uncle | |
Robert, Duke of Albany | Heir presumptive | Uncle | 4 April 1406 | Nephew became king | 3 September 1420 | Died | Murdoch, eldest son | James I |
Murdoch, Duke of Albany | Heir presumptive | 1st cousin | 3 September 1420 | Father died | 25 May 1425 | Died | Robert 1420–1421, eldest son | |
Walter 1421–1425, son | ||||||||
Alexander 1425, son | ||||||||
Walter, Earl of Atholl | Heir presumptive | Uncle | 25 May 1425 | Nephew died | 16 October 1430 | Son born to king | Alan, Earl of Caithness, eldest son | |
Alexander, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 16 October 1430 | Born | 1430 | Died | James, younger brother | |
James, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Son | 1430 | Brother died | 21 February 1437 | Became king | Walter, Earl of Atholl, granduncle | |
Walter, Earl of Atholl | Heir presumptive | Granduncle | 21 February 1437 | Grandnephew became king | 26 March 1437 | Died | Robert, Master of Atholl, grandson | James II |
No recognised heir 1437–1451 | ||||||||
James, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 10 July 1451 | Born | 3 August 1460 | Became king | None 1451–1454 | |
Alexander, Duke of Albany 1454–1460, younger brother | ||||||||
Alexander, Duke of Albany | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 3 August 1460 | Brother became king | 17 March 1473 | Son born to king | John, Earl of Mar, younger brother | James III |
James, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 17 March 1473 | born | 11 June 1488 | Became king | Alexander, Duke of Albany 1473–1476, uncle | |
James 1476–1488, younger brother | ||||||||
James, Duke of Ross | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 11 June 1488 | Brother became king | 12 January 1504 | Died | John, Earl of Mar 1488–1503, younger brother | James IV |
John, Duke of Albany 1503–1504, 1st cousin | ||||||||
John, Duke of Albany | Heir presumptive | 1st cousin | 12 January 1504 | Cousin died | 21 February 1507 | Son born to king | James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, 1st cousin | |
James, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 21 February 1507 | Born | 27 February 1508 | Died | John, Duke of Albany, 1st cousin −1 | |
John, Duke of Albany | Heir presumptive | 1st cousin | 27 February 1508 | King's son died | 20 October 1509 | Son born to king | James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, 1st cousin | |
Arthur, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Son | 20 October 1509 | Born | 14 July 1510 | Died | John, Duke of Albany, 1st cousin −1 | |
John, Duke of Albany | Heir presumptive | 1st cousin | 14 July 1510 | King's son died | 10 April 1512 | Son born to king | James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, 1st cousin | |
James, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Son | 10 April 1512 | Born | 9 September 1513 | Became king | John, Duke of Albany, 1st cousin −1 | |
John, Duke of Albany | Heir presumptive | 1st cousin −1 | 9 September 1513 | Cousin became king | 30 April 1514 | King's brother born | James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, 1st cousin | James V |
Alexander, Duke of Ross | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 30 April 1514 | Born | 18 December 1515 | Died | John, Duke of Albany, 1st cousin −1 | |
John, Duke of Albany | Heir presumptive | 1st cousin −1 | 18 December 1515 | Cousin died | 2 July 1536 | Died | James Hamilton, Earl of Arran 1515–1529, 1st cousin | |
James Hamilton, Earl of Arran 1529–1536, 1st cousin −1 | ||||||||
James Hamilton, Earl of Arran | Heir presumptive | 2nd cousin | 2 July 1536 | Cousin died | 22 May 1540 | son born to king | Helen Hamilton, Countess of Argyll 1536–1537, elder sister | |
James Hamilton 1537–1540, eldest son | ||||||||
James, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 22 May 1540 | Born | 21 April 1541 | Died | James Hamilton, Earl of Arran 1540–1541, 2nd cousin −1 | |
Arthur, Duke of Albany 1541, younger brother | ||||||||
James Hamilton, Earl of Arran 1541, 2nd cousin −1 | ||||||||
James Hamilton, Earl of Arran | Heir presumptive | 2nd cousin | 21 April 1541 | King's son died | 8 December 1542 | Daughter born to king | James Hamilton, eldest son | |
Mary | Heiress presumptive | Daughter | 8 December 1542 | Born | 14 December 1542 | Became queen | James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, 2nd cousin −1 | |
James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault | Heir presumptive | 2nd cousin −1 | 14 December 1542 | Cousin became queen | 19 June 1566 | Son born to queen | James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, eldest son | Mary I |
James, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Son | 19 June 1566 | Born | 24 July 1567 | Became king | James Hamilton, 2nd cousin −2 | |
James Hamilton, Earl of Arran | Heir presumptive | 2nd cousin −2 | 24 July 1567 | Cousin became king | 22 January 1575 | Died | James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, eldest son | James VI |
James Hamilton, Earl of Arran | Heir presumptive | 3rd cousin −1 | 22 January 1575 | Father died | 19 February 1594 | Son born to king | John Hamilton, younger brother | |
Henry Frederick, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 19 February 1594 | Born | 6 November 1612 | Died | James Hamilton, Earl of Arran 1594–1596, 3rd cousin −2 | |
Elizabeth 1596–1600, younger sister | ||||||||
Charles, Duke of Albany 1600–1612, younger brother | ||||||||
Charles, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Son | 6 November 1612 | Brother died | 27 March 1625 | Became king | Elizabeth, Electress Palatine, 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, eldest son | Charles I |
Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine 1629–1630, son | ||||||||
Charles, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 29 May 1630 | Born | 30 January 1649 | Became king | Elizabeth, Electress Palatine 1630–1631, aunt | |
Mary, Princess Royal 1631–1633, younger sister | ||||||||
James 1633–1649, younger brother | ||||||||
James, Duke of Albany | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 30 January 1649 | Brother became king | 6 February 1685 | Became king | Henry 1649–1660, younger brother | Charles II |
Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange 1660, elder sister | ||||||||
Charles 1660–1661, son | ||||||||
Prince William of Orange 1661–1662, nephew | ||||||||
Princess Mary 1662–1663, daughter | ||||||||
James 1663–1667, son | ||||||||
Princess Mary 1667, daughter | ||||||||
Edgar 1667–1669, son | ||||||||
Princess Mary 1669–1677, daughter | ||||||||
Charles 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 | Brother born | Princess Anne of Denmark, younger sister | James VII |
James, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Son | 10 June 1688 | Born | 11 April 1689 | father deposed | Mary, Princess of Orange, elder sister | |
William II | Mutual heirs | Husband | 11 May 1689 | Claim of Right Act 1689 | 28 December 1694 | Became sole monarch | Princess Anne of Denmark, sister(-in-law), | Mary II |
Mary II | Wife | Died | William II | |||||
Princess Anne of Denmark | Heiress apparent | Sister-in-law and 1st cousin | 28 December 1694 | Sister's death | 8 March 1702 | Became queen | William 1694–1700, son | |
none 1700–1702 | ||||||||
No recognised heir 1702–1707 (see Act of Security 1704) | Anne |
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, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Son | 11 April 1689 | Father deposed | 16 September 1701 | Became pretender | Mary, Princess of Orange 1689–1694, elder sister | James VII |
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, Princess Royal 1701–1712, younger sister | James VIII "The Old Pretender" |
Anne Marie, Queen of Sicily 1712–1714, 1st cousin | ||||||||
Anne Marie, Queen of Sardinia | 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, Duke of Rothesay | Heir apparent | Son | 31 December 1720 | Born | 1 January 1766 | Became pretender | Anne Marie, Queen of Sardinia 1720–1725, 1st cousin -1 | |
Henry 1725–1766, younger brother | ||||||||
Henry | 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 I "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 |
The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, became disqualified to inherit the throne. This had the effect of deposing the remaining descendants of Charles I, other than his Protestant granddaughter Anne, as the next Protestant in line to the throne was Sophia of Hanover. Born into the House of Wittelsbach, she was a granddaughter of James VI and I from his most junior surviving line, with the crowns descending only to her non-Catholic heirs. Sophia died shortly before the death of Queen Anne, and Sophia's son succeeded to the throne as King George I, starting the Hanoverian dynasty in Britain.
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. He was the first British monarch of the House of Hanover.
James Francis Edward Stuart, nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James VII and II of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from July 1688 until, just months after his birth, his Catholic father was deposed and exiled in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. James II's Protestant elder daughter Mary II and her husband William III became co-monarchs. The Bill of Rights 1689 and Act of Settlement 1701 excluded Catholics such as James from the English and British thrones.
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Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relative. In most contexts, it means the inheritance of the firstborn son ; it can also mean by the firstborn daughter, or firstborn child.
An heir apparent or simply heir is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more eligible heir is known as heir presumptive.
The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fitz Alan. The name Stewart and variations had become established as a family name by the time of his grandson Walter Stewart. The first monarch of the Stewart line was Robert II, whose male-line descendants were kings and queens in Scotland from 1371, and of England, Ireland and Great Britain from 1603, until 1714. Mary, Queen of Scots (r.1542-1567), was brought up in France where she adopted the French spelling of the name Stuart.
A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate. The word may refer to a former monarch or a descendant of a deposed monarchy, although this type of claimant is also referred to as a head of a house.
The succession to the throne of the Principality of Monaco is currently governed by Princely Law 1.249 of 2 April 2002.
Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. The Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701 restrict succession to the throne to the legitimate Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover who are in "communion with the Church of England". Spouses of Catholics were disqualified from 1689 until the law was amended in 2015. Protestant descendants of those excluded for being Roman Catholics are eligible.
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The Jacobite succession is the line through which Jacobites believed that the crowns of England, Scotland, and Ireland should have descended, applying primogeniture, since the deposition of James II and VII in 1688 and his death in 1701. It is in opposition to the legal line of succession to the British throne since that time.
From the 1340s to the 19th century, excluding two brief intervals in the 1360s and the 1420s, the kings and queens of England and Ireland also claimed the throne of France. The claim dates from Edward III, who claimed the French throne in 1340 as the sororal nephew of the last direct Capetian, Charles IV. Edward and his heirs fought the Hundred Years' War to enforce this claim, and were briefly successful in the 1420s under Henry V and Henry VI, but the House of Valois, a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, was ultimately victorious and retained control of France, except for Calais and the Channel Islands. English and British monarchs continued to prominently call themselves kings of France, and the French fleur-de-lis was included in the royal arms. This continued until 1802, by which time France no longer had any monarch, having become a republic. The Jacobite claimants, however, did not explicitly relinquish the claim.
Agnatic seniority is a patrilineal principle of inheritance where the order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children succeed only after the males of the elder generation have all been exhausted. Agnatic seniority essentially excludes females of the dynasty and their descendants from the succession. Contrast agnatic primogeniture, where the king's sons stand higher in succession than his brothers.
An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility. This sequence may be regulated through descent or by statute.
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Jacobite consorts are those who were married to a Jacobite pretender to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland since the abdication of James II in 1688. By Jacobites they are thus regarded, if female, as rightful Queens Consort of England, Scotland and Ireland. Since the death of Marie-Jenke, Duchess of Bavaria in 1983, there has been no Jacobite consort; the current pretender, Franz, Duke of Bavaria, is not married.