List of heirs to the British throne
{{Short description|none}}
{{For|heirs to the thrones of England and Scotland before 1707|List of heirs to the English throne|List of heirs to the Scottish throne}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2021}}
This is a list of the individuals who were, at any given time, considered the next in line to succeed the British monarch to inherit the throne of the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922), or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1922–present), should the incumbent monarch die or abdicate.
The list commences in 1707 following the Acts of Union, which joined the Kingdoms of England and Scotland (previously separate states, with separate legislatures but with the same monarch) into a single Kingdom of Great Britain. Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702 and Queen of Great Britain from 1707. The 1701 Act of Settlement established Electress Sophia of Hanover as successor to the English throne, and this was extended to Scotland through the Treaty of Union (Article II) and the Acts of Union.
List of heirs
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan=2 | Heir ! rowspan=2 | Status ! rowspan=2 | Relationship to monarch ! colspan=2 | Became heir ! colspan=2 | Ceased to be heir ! rowspan=2 | Next in succession ! rowspan=2 | Monarch |
| Date
! Reason ! Date ! Reason |
|---|
| 100px Electress Sophia of Hanover{{Cite web | url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/Will3/12-13/2/section/I | title=Act of Settlement (1700)}} | Heir presumptive | First cousin, once removed | 1 May 1707 | Formation of Kingdom of Great Britain | 8 June 1714 | Died | George Louis, Elector of Hanover | rowspan=2 | Anne |
| 100px George Louis, Elector of Hanover | Heir presumptive | Second cousin | 8 June 1714 | Mother died | 1 August 1714 | style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became king |
| 100px George, Prince of Wales | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 1 August 1714 | Father became king | 11 June 1727 | style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became king | Prince Frederick, Duke of Edinburgh | George I |
| rowspan=3 | 100px Frederick, Prince of Wales | rowspan=3 | Heir apparent | rowspan=3 | Eldest son | rowspan=3 | 11 June 1727 | rowspan=3 | Father became king | rowspan=3 | 31 March 1751 | rowspan=3 | Died | Prince William, Duke of Cumberland | rowspan=4 | George II |
| Princess Augusta 1737–1738 Daughter |
| Prince George 1738–1751 Son |
| 100px George, Prince of Wales | Heir apparent | Grandson | 31 March 1751 | Father died | 25 October 1760 | style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became king | Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany |
| 100px Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 25 October 1760 | Brother became king without children | 12 August 1762 | Supplanted: son born to king | Prince William Henry | rowspan=5 | George III |
| rowspan=4 | 100px George, Prince of Wales | rowspan=4 | Heir apparent | rowspan=4 | Eldest son | rowspan=4 | 12 August 1762 | rowspan=4 | Born | rowspan=4 | 29 January 1820 | rowspan=4 style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became king | Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany |
| Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany 1763–1796 Younger brother |
| Princess Charlotte of Wales 1796–1817 Daughter |
| Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany 1817–1820 Younger brother |
| 100px Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 29 January 1820 | Brother became king without children | 5 January 1827 | Died | Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews | rowspan=2 | George IV |
| 100px Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 5 January 1827 | Older brother died without children | 26 June 1830 | style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became king |
| 100px Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent | Heir presumptive | Niece | 26 June 1830 | Uncle became king | 20 June 1837 | style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became queen |
| 100px Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover | Heir presumptive | Uncle | 20 June 1837 | Niece became queen | 21 November 1840 | Supplanted: Daughter born to queen | George, Crown Prince of Hanover | rowspan=6 | Victoria |
| 100px Princess Victoria | Heir presumptive | Eldest daughter | 21 November 1840 | Born | 9 November 1841 | Supplanted: Brother born | Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover |
| rowspan=4 | 100px Albert Edward, Prince of Wales | rowspan=4 | Heir apparent | rowspan=4 | Eldest son | rowspan=4 | 9 November 1841 | rowspan=4 | Born | rowspan=4 | 22 January 1901 | rowspan=4 style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became king | Princess Victoria, Princess Royal |
| Prince Alfred 1844–1864 Younger brother |
| Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale 1864–1892 Son |
| Prince George, Duke of York 1892–1901 Son |
| 100px George, Prince of Wales | Heir apparent | Second son | 22 January 1901 | Father became king | 6 May 1910 | style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became king |
| 100px Edward, Prince of Wales | Heir apparent | Eldest son | 6 May 1910 | Father became king | 20 January 1936 | style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became king | Prince Albert, Duke of York | George V |
| 100px Prince Albert, Duke of York | Heir presumptive | Younger brother | 20 January 1936 | Brother became king without children | 11 December 1936 | style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became king | Princess Elizabeth of York |
| rowspan=2 | 100px Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh | rowspan=2 | Heir presumptive | rowspan=2 | Elder daughter | rowspan=2 | 11 December 1936 | rowspan=2 | Father became king | rowspan=2 | 6 February 1952 | rowspan=2 style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became queen | Princess Margaret | rowspan=2 | George VI |
| Prince Charles of Edinburgh 1948–1952 Son |
| rowspan=3 | 100px Charles, Prince of Wales{{Efn|Charles, eldest son of Elizabeth II, was the longest-serving heir apparent or presumptive in British history at {{age in years and days|1952|2|6|2022|9|8}}.}} | rowspan=3 | Heir apparent | rowspan=3 | Eldest son | rowspan=3 | 6 February 1952 | rowspan=3 | Mother became queen | rowspan=3 | 8 September 2022 | rowspan=3 style="border-width:2px; border-color:#CC2EFA" | Became king | Princess Anne | rowspan=3 | Elizabeth II |
| Prince Andrew 1960–1982 Younger brother |
| Prince William, Duke of Cambridge 1982–2022 Son |
| 100px William, Prince of Wales | Heir apparent | Elder son | 8 September 2022 | colspan=2 | Incumbent |
Notes
{{notelist}}