It was passed in 1701 to amend the english bill of rights, following the death of the last child of the then princess anne. In this case, en princess anne fell farther down the line of succession when her younger brothers, prince andrew and prince edward, were born. Act of settlement 1701 is within the scope of wikiproject australia, which aims to improve wikipedia s coverage of australia and australiarelated topics. On the day of william iiis death, march 8 1702, the line of succession to the english throne was determined by the act of settlement 1701 and his sisterinlaw, anne, second daughter of the deposed king james iivii of england and scotland who had died september 16. The act bans any catholic or any person with a catholic spouse from assuming the british throne. It is perhaps worth considering for a moment how important in consequence the act was. The act of settlement is an act of the parliament of england that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the english and irish crowns on protestants only. King william signed the act of settlement into law on june 12, 1701. Apr 10, 2020 on 12 june 1701, the english parliament began to regulate the succession to the throne of great britain.
The act also strengthened the bill of rights 1689, which had previously. In june 1701 parliament hoped to resolve this problem by passing the act of settlement. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Toward the end of 1700 william iii was ill and childless. Act of settlement, 1701 a printed version of the text can be found on pages 5862 of historical source book by hutton webster whereas in the first year of the reign of your majesty, and of our late most. If the act of settlement 1701 did not pass, who then would have been next of kin after the death of anne of great britain. The act of settlement of 1701 was designed to secure the protestant succession to the throne, and to strengthen the guarantees for ensuring a parliamentary system of government.
Dec 06, 2000 the act of settlement, 1701 wed 6 dec 2000 04. There have been some recent examples where individuals have been removed from the line of succession because they have married a catholic. The kings dangerous control of the courts and judges was finally abolished by the enactment which made judges irremovable except on an address from both houses. The clause states, 83 section 3 of the act of settlement. Act of settlement 1701 wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. Act of settlement article about act of settlement by the. Her death paved the way for the hanoverian succession to the throne of the kingdom of great britain and ireland as, under the terms of the act of settlement of 1701, the lawful descendants of the electress sophia of hanover and her nonroman catholic heirs would. The act also strengthened the bill of rights 1689, which had previously established the order of succession for mary ii.
Act of settlement, june 12, 1701, act of parliament that, since 1701, has regulated the succession to the throne of great britain. On the day of william iiis death, march 8 1702, the line of succession to the english throne was determined by the act of settlement 1701 and his sisterinlaw, anne, second daughter of the deposed king james iivii of england and scotland who had died september 16, 1701, assumed the throne as queen anne. The act of settlement is a piece of english legislation governing the succession to the english crown. Act of settlement 1701 wikisource, the free online library. The act also legislated that, to preserve the protestant succession in case neither anne nor william had any more children, the crown. The act of settlement, 1781 this act was passed with a view to remove the defects in the regulating act. Mar 10, 2015 at the time there was a century old english law that strictly determined the line of succession to inherit the throne. Act of settlement of 1701 provides for the succession of a protestant to the throne at the end of the stuart period in case william iii or queen anne died without leaving a surviving heir. Act of settlement 1700 imperial act 2 date of assent 12 june 1701 commencement 12 june 1701 contents page title 1 preamble 1 princess sophia declared next successor to the crown, after the king and princess anne of denmark and their issue, etc, and the heirs of her body, being protestants 3 2 papists, etc, incapacitated from inheriting the. She had 17 pregnancies, but none of her children survived childhood. The origins of the act of settlement are very interesting. The act was later extended to scotland, as a result of the treaty of union article ii, enacted in the acts of union 1707 before it was ever needed. It was also extended to cover scotland through the treaty of union. Clarification of the act of settlement 1701 house of.
This has often been called the act of settlement or the act of settlement 1701. Her mother, princess elizabeth stuart, had been born in scotland but became famous in history as elizabeth of. Act of settlement 1701 wikipedia republished wiki 2. There are currently no known outstanding effects for the act of settlement 1700. This was a deliberate bypassing the superior hereditary rights of the stuarts. The settlement act of 1781 the act of settlement 1781 this.
The act of settlement is an act of the parliament of england that was passed in 1701 2 to settle the succession to the english and irish crowns and thrones on the electress sophia of hanover a granddaughter of james i and her protestant heirs. The persons inheritable by this act, holding communion with the church of rome, incapacitated as by the former act. With the act of union of 1707, in which england and scotland became great britain, the act was extended to scotland as well. Mid this article has been rated as midimportance on the projects importance scale. Act of unions, all reinforced by the provisions of the. But in criminal trials they were under jurisdiction of supreme court. The act of settlement of 1701, which bars catholics from the throne or marrying the monarch, or princes in the line of succession has become an increasing source of contention, with a. Clause 57 was introduced during a committee of the whole house on 19 january 2010. The act of settlement was introduced in 1701 to outline the rules of royal succession and the powers of the crown and decrees that only the protestant heirs of princess sophia, granddaughter of king james i, can succeed to the english throne. Jul 03, 2015 on the day of william iiis death, march 8 1702, the line of succession to the english throne was determined by the act of settlement 1701 and his sisterinlaw, anne, second daughter of the deposed king james iivii of england and scotland who had died september 16, 1701, assumed the throne as queen anne.
The next protestant in line to the throne was the electress sophia of hanover, a granddaughter of james vi of scotland, i of england and ireland. On this day in 1714, anne, queen of great britain died, having suffered a stroke days previously that left her unable to speak. The main aim of this legislation was to ensure a protestant succession to the english throne. Parliament proceeded to pass the act of settlement, which nominated as annes heir the electress sophia of hanover and her offspring. After her the crowns would descend only to her nonroman catholic heirs. Whereas in the first year of the reign of your majesty and of our late most gracious sovereign lady queen mary of blessed memory and act of parliament was made intituled an act for. Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. The removal of judges under the act of settlement 1701 michael nash this paper will consider the operation of the act, the processes adopted, and the consequential outcomes. The act of settlement is an act of the parliament of england that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the english and irish crowns and thrones on the electress sophia of hanover a granddaughter of james vi of scotland and i of england and her nonroman catholic heirs. In 1707, as a result of the act of union, this act was extended to scotland.
An act for the further limitation of the crown and better securing the rights and liberties of the subject. The act of settlement is an act of the parliament of england that was passed in 1701 5 to settle the succession to the english and irish crowns on protestants only. Act of settlement, june 12, 1701, act of parliament that, since 1701, has regulated the succession to the throne of great britain toward the end of 1700 william iii was ill and childless. If you would like to participate, visit the project page. The constitution unit in the department of political science at university college london is the uks leading research body on constitutional change this blog features regular posts from academics and practitioners covering a wide range of constitutional issues in the uk and overseas. The act of settlement, 1701, was introduced in the reign of william iii, to provide for a stable executive branch to the british government the future queen anne was very sickly and had problems producing an heir. The act of settlement 1701 this document is an act of the parliament of england, originally filed in 1700, and passed in 1701, to settle the succession to the english throne on the electress sophia of hanover a granddaughter of james i and her protestant heirs. The act of settlement and the protestant succession.
Act of settlement 1700 ten things to know about the next accession and coronation. But the new act of succession or act of settlement included also a series of clauses dealing with constitutional matters which had been left over by the bill of rights. Settlement, act of, 1701, passed by the english parliament, to provide that if william iii william iii, 16501702, king of england, scotland, and ireland 16891702. B this article has been rated as bclass on the projects quality scale. Reviewing the act of settlement of 1701 the religion. Further provisions for securing the religion, laws, and liberties of these realms. The 1701 act of settlement passed today determined that catholic james iis flight abroad to be an act of a declaration of abdication and as the other stuarts were also roman catholics, it stipulated that no catholics, or even having catholic spouses, could now inherit the throne of england and ireland. In this lesson, we will discuss the 1701 act of settlement, which established the protestant succession of the british throne and offered.
Act of settlement, 1701 a printed version of the text can be found on pages 5862 of historical source book by hutton webster whereas in the first year of the reign of your majesty, and of our late most gracious sovereign lady queen mary of blessed memory, an act of parliament was made, entitled, an act for declaring the rights and. The act of settlement 1701 gave preference to male heirs over female members of the family, meaning that a male would take the place of older female siblings in the order of succession. May 16, 2002 the act of settlement, 1701, was introduced in the reign of william iii, to provide for a stable executive branch to the british government the future queen anne was very sickly and had problems producing an heir. The next protestant in line to the throne was the electress sophia of hanover, a granddaughter of james vi of scotland and i of england. The act of settlement was passed in 1701, reinforcing the bill of rights agreed by william and mary in 1689. Whereas in the first year of the reign of your majesty, and of our late most gracious sovereign lady queen mary of blessed memory, an act of parliament was made, entitled, an act for declaring the rights and liberties of the subject, and for settling the succession of the crown, wherein it was amongst other things enacted, established, and declared that the. Entry for act of settlement 1911 encyclopedia britannica one of 8 bible encyclopedias freely available, this resource contained over 40 million words in nearly 40,000 articles written by 1,500 respected authors. Authorised by the act parliamentary counselalso accessible at. He himself listed a significant number of pieces of legislation that would have to be considered, amended or possibly repealed. The settlement act of 1781 the act of settlement 1781. The act of settlement, 1701 and the hanoverian succession. This affected the eligibility of commonwealth and republic of ireland citizens to sit in the house of lords. Welf, wettin and windsor, but they are all hanoverians, since their succession to the throne of great britain was due, in each case, to their legitimate descent from the body of sophia, electress of hanover, as had been laid down by the act of settlement of 1701. Act of settlement 1911 encyclopedia britannica bible.
Last month robert hazell and bob morris published two reports about the next accession and coronation, which were discussed in a previous blog. This act exempted the persons under the employment of the company or the governor general and council in matters of civil litigations under the jurisdiction of supreme court. It confirmed the provision of the bill of rights that no catholic or person with a catholic spouse could sit on the throne. The clause was introduced after it was suggested that section 18 of the electoral administration act 2006 has introduced some difficulties of interpretation into the provisions of section 3 of the act of settlement 1701. Jul 18, 2014 the 1701 act of settlement passed today determined that catholic james iis flight abroad to be an act of a declaration of abdication and as the other stuarts were also roman catholics, it stipulated that no catholics, or even having catholic spouses, could now inherit the throne of england and ireland. It provides that in default of any further heirs of william iii of. Aug 01, 2016 the last eleven monarchs have borne different surnames.