CHAT: English succession (was: kinship terms (Henaudute))

> Anton Sherwood <bronto@...> wrote:
> > Perhaps in that culture the sons inherit in order of
> > birth but if there are no sons the daughters divide
> > the inheritance (as is true of English baronies-by-writ;
> > this rule is also reflected in the courtesy titles of
> > earls' children).
Cheng Zhong Su wrote:
> Do you mean daughters divide the inheritance in equal?
> But the Queen has a sister, how they divided the
> throne?
I didn't say the rule extends to inheritance in general.

But if the Throne were a barony-by-writ, it would pass into abeyance
until all branches but one die out, or the Crown calls the title out of
abeyance by settling it on one person.

The resulting heir need not be senior.  When Lord Darcy de Knayth &
Conyers died in 1888, his two baronies went into abeyance, which was
quickly resolved so that each of his daughters got one.  (Fox-Davies,
The Art of Heraldry, caption to Fig.936 - i knew it was in there
somewhere!)

A number of British ceremonial offices are hereditary, and some of those
are in abeyance; the various claimants rotate with each reign.  So if
the Throne were considered to be in abeyance, the succession might go
like this:

        Elizabeth
                        Margaret
        Charles
                        David (Linley)
        William
                        ...

Meanwhile, your idea of dividing the throne reminds me of an idea I had
in 1986 when Andrew was made duke of York.  Since Tudor times that title
has been created about ten times, but none of its holders has managed to
pass it on: each either died without sons or became king himself, and in
either case the title died.  I thought, does this mean Andrew will be
king, and how can that happen (given that Charles has two children)?
Well, Scotland could become independent, and Charles could abdicate his
English rights, to become king of Scotland.

Combine that with the abeyance idea, and there's a constitutional crisis
a few generations down the road.  (Hm, I haven't read much if any
alternate history fiction set in the future!)  There are now three
rotating claims, but do they go Margaret-Beatrice-Eugenie or M-B-M-E ?

I have much in common with Andrew, by the way: we're the same age
and we each reside with a red-haired ex-wife, in a house bought with
mother's money.  (No wee lassies here, though.)


--
Anton Sherwood  --  http://www.ogre.nu/