Can a roman catholic marry a member of re British royal family ???? Why/ why not ?

by **dickens93** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:09 am

It very 15. Th century type law that should be changed . Because in general British people don't mind why should the royals be so dumb and stuck up?!?!

by **darik2** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:20 am

Because the Monarch is the Head of the Anglican Church but I think you'll find this rule only applies to close members of the Royal Family, not those on the perimeters.

by **hawiovi** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:22 am

Can I a British citizen become President of the United States ?
So who's dumb and stuck up now ?

by **webb** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:32 am

Yes, a Roman Catholic can be a member of the Royal family but only by marriage.

Previously, marrying Catholics would cost members of the royal Family their place in the Lien of Succession (as per Act of Settlement 1702 - an 18th century law, not 15th); however, there have recently been changes to that law, which means that members of the Royal Family are now free to marry Catholics without loosing their place in the succession line. The children of such marriage, however, cannot be raised as Catholics because the Monarch still has to belong to the Church of England.

by oz » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:33 am

Yes, a Roman Catholic can be a member of the Royal family but only by marriage.

Previously, marrying Catholics would cost members of the royal Family their place in the Lien of Succession (as per Act of Settlement 1702 - an 18th century law, not 15th); however, there have recently been changes to that law, which means that members of the Royal Family are now free to marry Catholics without loosing their place in the succession line. The children of such marriage, however, cannot be raised as Catholics because the Monarch still has to belong to the Church of England.

tsI outrageous that this blatant injustice is allowed to continue. Nowhere else in Britain but in the royal family would such discrimination against Catholics be allowed to continue.

by ji » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:41 am

There should be separation fo Church and State. WE are NOT the enemy within!!!!!

WE are 15% in Scotland and 10% in England & Wales, as well as pretty well represented in Northern Ireland!
Was disgusted when that Canadian woman converted to Cof E, to marry Princess Margaret's son. He is so far from the succession !!!!

by **lorimar** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:53 am

Yes, but the royal would have to renounce all claims to the throne in order for it to happen.

Why? You have to understand just the tiniest bit of British (and American) history, to figure that out.

by **laureano97** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:56 am

Royals can marry Catholics without having to lose place in the line of succession. But, since the monarch is also head of the Church of England, the monarch must be Anglican.

The succession to the throne is regulated not only through descent, but also by Parliamentary statute. The order of succession is the sequence of members of the Royal Family in the order in which they stand in line to the throne.

The basis for the succession was determined in the constitutional developments of the seventeenth century, which culminated in the Bill of Rights (1689) and the Act of Settlement (1701).

When James II fled the country in 1688, Parliament held that he had 'abdicated the government' and that the throne was vacant. The throne was then offered, not to James's young son, but to his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange, as joint rulers.

It therefore came to be established not only that the Sovereign rules through Parliament, but that the succession to the throne can be regulated by Parliament, and that a Sovereign can be deprived of his title through misgovernment.

The succession to the throne is regulated not only through descent, but also by statute; the Act of Settlement confirmed that it was for Parliament to determine the title to the throne.

The Act laid down that only Protestant descendants of Princess Sophia - the Electress of Hanover and granddaughter of James I - are eligible to succeed. Subsequent Acts have confirmed this.

Parliament, under the Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement, also laid down various conditions which the Sovereign must meet. A Roman Catholic is specifically excluded from succession to the throne; nor may the Sovereign marry a Roman Catholic.

The Sovereign must, in addition, be in communion with the Church of England and must swear to preserve the established Church of England and the established Church of Scotland. The Sovereign must also promise to uphold the Protestant succession. http://www.royal.gov.uk/ThecurrentRoyalFamily/Successionandprecedence/Succession/Overview.aspx

by **bergh39** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:59 am

Currently they can and have always been able to marry into the royal family but it would mean loosing your place in the succession or if you are the monarch abdicating your throne. However a new law proposes to change the rules and allow members of the family and the monarch to marry Catholics with out loosing their position however they cannot inherit/be the monarch if they them selves are Catholic.

by **eilis** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:01 am

Yes, of course, and some have done that. However, they must remove themselves from the succession, as a Roman Catholic cannot become the Monarch, and the children of an RC mother are considered RC by the Catholic Church.

However, that law is about to be changed. In the change of UK law that allows the first child to inherit the Crown, not the first boy, the laws about not being Roman Catholic are also being changed. This is to equalize the laws across all the 16 Commonwealth Realms, which currently have different laws.

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