order of succession to the throne of england
Succession to the British throne Queen Elizabeth II is the sovereign, and her heir apparent is her eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales. Next in line after him is Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, the Prince of Wales's elder son. Third in line is Prince George, the son of the Duke of Cambridge, followed by his sister, Princess Charlotte. Fifth in line is Prince Henry of Wales, the younger son of the Prince of Wales. Sixth in line is Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the Queen's second-eldest son. Any of the first six in line marrying without the sovereign's consent would be disqualified from succession.
House of Windsor The House of Windsor is the royal house of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The dynasty is of German paternal descent and was originally a branch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, itself derived from the House of Wettin, and it succeeded the House of Hanover as monarchs in the British Empire following the death of Queen Victoria, wife of Albert, Prince Consort. The houses of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Windsor have provided five British monarchs to date, including four kings and the present queen, Elizabeth II.
History of the United Kingdom A further Act of Union in 1800 added the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
British royal family The British royal family comprises the monarch of the United Kingdom and her close relations. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member of the British royal family and, apart from Queen Elizabeth II herself, different lists include different people. Those who at the time are entitled to the style His or Her Royal Highness (HRH), and any styled His or Her Majesty (HM), are normally considered members, including those so styled before the beginning of the current monarch's reign. By this criterion, a list of the current royal family will usually include the monarch, the children and male-line grandchildren of the monarch and previous monarchs, the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, and all their current or widowed spouses.