Prince Harry, The Line To The Throne & Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

The British Royal Family does things very differently to the rest of the world, so there seems to be confusion about Prince Harry.

At the moment, there’s talk by both mainstream and bloggers that former Prince Andrew should step down from his place in line to the throne. Read on to find out how it works and changes things for others in the family.

The Succession Line & Andrew

A week ago, The Daily Mail reported that a meeting in London would focus on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s future in the line of succession.

Well, rumors grow very strong that the head of the household visited Andrew recently and stayed there for some hours. You might have also heard that Parliament might try and remove Andrew.

Either way, it looks like Andrew is toast. So, how does that affect others in line to sit on the throne?

Imagine A Line At A Takeout

Probably, the easiest way to explain it to those of you who live in America, is to compare it to getting some food at a takeout.

Imagine you were, for example, Prince Harry and you suddenly decided you were hungry. Well, the urgent need for food means that you get a ticket and stand in line.

In front and behind you are others also lining up. In Harry’s case, Charles, his dad would be getting his burger flipped already. So, he doesn’t need a ticket.

Behind Charles

Standing in the line to get served next, will be Prince William, and he holds ticket number 1. Then, he’s followed by Prince George, 2, then Charlotte, 3, and little Louis, 4.

Meanwhile, Harry’s still standing there clutching his ticket that is number 5, behind Louis. Now, behind him in the queue is Archie, 6 and then Princess Lilibet at 7.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is next with ticket number 8 and behind him, are his daughters and grandkids.

What Happens If Andrew leaves?

Now imagine that Andrew gets fed up with it and drops out: then those behind him shuffle up one point. With her dad out the way, Beatrice goes to place number 8.

Behind her, her daughter, Sienna Mapelli Mozzi takes over ticket 9. Her younger sister, Athena Mapelli Mozzi stands 10th in the line. And after her, is Eugenie at 11.

And that’s enough for you to know right now. This is what it will look like in simple format to inherit the crown if Andrew goes.

1. Prince William
2. Prince George
3. Princess Charlotte
4. Prince Louis
5. Prince Harry
6. Prince Archie
7. Princess Lilibet
8. Princess Beatrice
9. Sienna Mapelli Mozzi
10. Athena Mapelli Mozzi
11. Princess Eugenie

What About Anne?

If you hoped that Princess Anne might be in the running, well, she’s in the line around the block at 18 after a range of others in the family. And as for Charlotte? She wouldn’t have had that ticket number 3 back in the olden days. Instead she would have had to step aside for Louis.

However, that changed when the royal family finally dumped the rule that a male must inherit the line unless there was simply no other option.

If they had removed the discrimination decades ago, then Anne would have been next after Charles. Actually, as she’s well-respected, that seems rather unfortunate for her.

Nothing Changes For Harry

In the case of Prince Harry, nothing changes. At one stage, as you know from his book, he was the spare to the heir until William’s kids came along. So, unless William and all of his kids decide they also want out, or something bad happens to them all at the same time, Harry will just carry on as normal. 

In other words, if Andrew goes, it will be big news in the media. But for Prince Harry, it changes nothing. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below, and remember to come back here often for all your royal family news and updates.