Is Princess Beatrice’s stepson included in the line of succession?

Princess Beatrice’s husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, has one son from a previous relationship

On Friday 17 July, Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi were married in a private ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor.

The couple, who announced their engagement in September 2019, were originally scheduled to marry on 29 May.

However, in March it was announced that the wedding reception had been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Following the secret nuptials, Princess Beatrice inherited the title of countess from her husband’s family, in addition to becoming a stepmother to Mr Mapelli Mozzi’s son, Christopher Woolf, who was born in 2016.

Mr Mapelli Mozzi shares his son with architect Dara Huang, to whom he was engaged until their separation in 2018.

If Princess Beatrice and Mr Mapelli Mozzi were to have children, then their children would be included in the line of succession for the British throne.

However, the same cannot be said for Princess Beatrice’s stepson.

How is the line of succession determined for the British royal family?

On the royal family’s official website, it explains that the line of succession within the British royal family is determined through descent and “also by Parliamentary statute”.

The 1701 Act of Settlement, which is still in effect, outlines that “only Protestant descendants of Princess Sophia – the Electress of Hanover and granddaughter of James I – are eligible to succeed” to the throne.

A Roman Catholic would not be permitted to ascend to the throne, it states, as the British monarch is head of the Church of England and therefore “must also promise to uphold the Protestant succession”.

In 2013, the Succession to the Crown Act was passed, which altered the laws regarding succession to the British throne.

Before the Act was passed, a female member of the royal family could be displaced by a younger brother within the line of succession.

However, the passing of the Act ended “the system of male primogeniture” for all members of the royal family born after 28 October 2011, meaning that Princess Charlotte’s place on the line of succession did not change following the birth of her younger brother, Prince Louis.

The Act also put an end to the rule that expelled individuals from the line of succession if they married someone who was Roman Catholic.

Where does Princess Beatrice place on the line of succession?

Princess Beatrice is ninth in line to the throne.

She is placed directly above her younger sister, Princess Eugenie, and directly below her father, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.

First in line to the throne is Prince Charles, who is followed by his son, Prince William. After him, the three children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge follow.

Sixth in line to the throne is Prince Harry, who is followed by his son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor.

The royal family’s website features the line of succession up to Zara Phillips, referred to on the list as Mrs Michael Tindall, who is 18th in line to the throne.

Will her stepson be included on the line of succession to the throne?

The members of the British royal family who feature on the line of succession hail from the House of Windsor and are descended from King George V, the grandson of Queen Victoria.

As the line of succession is made up of people born into the royal family, Princess Beatrice’s stepson Christopher is not included.

When Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles on 9 April 2005, the heir apparent became stepfather to the Duchess of Cornwall’s children, Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes.

While Mr Parker Bowles and Lopes are related to the royal family through marriage, they are not included in the line of succession.

Individuals who married into the royal family, including the Duchesses of Sussex and Cambridge, are also not featured on the list.