Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their new baby boy into the world on May 6, Kensington Palace announced on Monday. It is the couple’s first child.
Harry and Meghan married in May 2018, becoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Now, the question is where the new arrival will fit into the line of succession of the British royal family.
The answer is seventh in line. The new baby bumps Prince Andrew, the second son of the Queen, into eighth place.
But the youngster is behind his cousins Prince George and Princess Charlotte, by virtue of their father — Prince William — being older than Harry and second in line to the throne.
The good news for the new baby is that its gender didn’t come into consideration in the line of succession, unlike in times gone by.
In 2013, the U.K. Parliament passed a law allowing succession of siblings to be decided by age, rather than gender. The previous rules meant that an older sister would come further down the pecking order than her younger brother.
The new baby also bumps Princess Eugenie, who got married last October, into tenth in line to the throne.
The new line of succession is as follows:
- Prince Charles
- Prince William
- Prince George
- Princess Charlotte
- Prince Louis
- Prince Harry
- Harry and Meghan’s new baby
- Prince Andrew
- Princess Beatrice
- Princess Eugenie
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