Hereditary Monarchy: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:28, 11 January 2017

Form of monarchy in which "all the monarchs come from the same family, and the crown is passed down from one generation to the next" (Economic Expert). The crown is usually given to the oldest son of the sovereign. Sons always have precedence over daughters, but daughters over the sons of the sovereign´s brothers (Aspects of Britain 18). Since the Act of Settlement of 1701 only Protestants are eligible to succeed to the throne (ibid. 16). The Act of Settlement indicates the control Parliament has over the laws of succession, nevertheless, the hereditary principle was not abandoned (Nenner 10).

Sources:

Aspects of Britain. The Monarchy. London: HMSO, 1991.

Economic Expert: Hereditary Monarchy. http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Hereditary:monarchy.htm

Nenner, Howard. The Right to be King. The Succession to the Crown of England, 1603-1714. Houndmills: Macmillan Press, 1995.

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 Form of monarchy in which "all the monarchs come from the same family, and the crown is passed down from one generation to the next" (Economic Expert).
-The crown is usually given to the oldest son of the sovereign. Sons always have precedence over daughters, but daughters over the sons of the sovereign´s brothers (Aspects of Britain 18).
+The crown is usually given to the [[Primogeniture|oldest son]] of the sovereign. Sons always have precedence over daughters, but daughters over the sons of the sovereign´s brothers (Aspects of Britain 18). Since the [[Act of Settlement]] of 1701 only [[Protestantism|Protestants]] are eligible to succeed to the throne (ibid. 16). The Act of Settlement indicates the control [[Parliament]] has over the laws of succession, nevertheless, the hereditary principle was not abandoned (Nenner 10).
-'''Hereditary Monarchy an illusion?'''
-By what right did an English monarch ascend the throne? Not even Henry IV was sure of that: “With what right I got it, God only knows!” (ibid. 1).
-In theory England has of course a hereditary monarchy, but in reality there are no regularities. Monarchs in Britain succeeded to the throne by hereditary right or not, they legitimated their way to the throne by conquering or not, they got the right to be king from the parliament or not (ibid.).
-Beginning with the reign of John, nearly every succession raised questions about the principle of succession. There had been a lot of violent changes, e.g. Henry VI´s and Edwards IV`s exchanging or Henry VII`s victory at Bosworth. That raises the idea of a de facto kingship: “the right to be king belonged to whoever was king” (ibid. 2).
-Sources
+Sources:
-Aspects of Britain. The Monarchy. London: HMSO, 1991.
+''Aspects of Britain. The Monarchy''. London: HMSO, 1991.
 Economic Expert: Hereditary Monarchy. http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Hereditary:monarchy.htm
-Nenner, Howard. The Right to be King. The Succession to the Crown of England, 1603-1714. Houndmills: Macmillan Press, 1995.
+Nenner, Howard. ''The Right to be King. The Succession to the Crown of England, 1603-1714''. Houndmills: Macmillan Press, 1995.