Expert: Joseph Logue - 2/7/2006

Question
Greetings.

In Wikipedia I read:
The Duke of Sussex is a peerage title conferred upon Prince Augustus Frederick (1773-1843), sixth son of King George III. He was created Duke of Sussex, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Arklow in the Peerage of the United Kingdom on 25 November 1801. Since he died without legitimate issue, the title became extinct.
My question: why did he not become king on the death of his brother King William IV?

Thank you,

Simon

Answer
Hello Simon,

This is an illuminating question as it shows the principles of primogeniture and how succession to the throne works.  The short answer is that the Duke of Sussex had older brothers who already had children:  the Prince of Wales was father to Princess Charlotte, and the Duke of Kent was the father of Princess Alexandrina.  These two princesses moved their uncles further down the line of succession.  Charlotte died in 1817; Alexandrina became Queen Victoria in 1837 on the death of her uncle WIlliam IV and reigned until 1901.

The laws of succession to the British throne follow a fairly simple pattern -- sons succeed first, from eldest and his children to the youngest and his children; females follow all males, from eldest and her children to youngest and her children.  This can be difficult to follow with the children of King George III, as many of the sons had contracted marriages not sanctioned under the Royal Marriages Act.  (This meant that none of them were legal and the children from these marriages illegitimate and thus unable to inherit the throne.)

Looking at the children of King George and Queen Charlotte, we see that they had 8 sons.  The youngest, Octavius, was born in 1779 and immediately came higher in the line of succession than his oldest sister, Charlotte, who was born in 1766.  The Prince of Wales was first in line, then his daughter Charlotte; then came the second son of George III, the Duke of York.  He had no children, so next came his brother the Duke of Clarence, who had no surviving legitimate children.  Then came Clarence's brother, the Duke of Kent, then his daughter, the future Queen Victoria.  After Victoria came her uncles Ernest Augustus (Duke of Cumberland), then Augustus (Duke of Sussex), then Adolphus (Duke of Cambridge).

It helps to look at the succession as it is today, with the descendants of the present Queen taking precedence over the descendants of the previous monarch (George VI), then from the monarch before him (George V since Edward VIII had no issue) and so on.  So first comes the Prince of Wales, then his son William, then Harry.  Then comes the Duke of York, the second son of the Queen, then his elder daughter Beatrice then his younger daughter, Eugenie.  Next is the Earl of Wessex, then his daughter Louise.  After all the sons and their children are taken care of, the succession goes to Princess Anne, the Queen's second child and only daughter, then her son Peter, then her daughter Zara.  Notice that even if Zara had been born first she would come after her brother in the succession.  From there it goes to the children and the grandchildren of Princess Margaret, the Queen's late sister.

I hope this helps Simon.  It can be a little confusing, and it changes vastly over time as well.  Just remember -- all sons and their children, then daughters and their children, with sons going before daughters.  I have a page devoted to the way things change at:

http://sixtydegrees.josephlogue.com/succession.htm

Check it out.  Thanks for visiting AllExperts.com

Sincerely,

Joseph Logue