Royal Marriages Act 1772

Royal Marriages Act 1772

Parliament of Great Britain
Long title An Act for the better regulating the future Marriages of the Royal Family.
Statute book chapter 12 Geo 3 c. 11
Territorial extent England and Wales; Scotland
Other legislation
Amendments Criminal Law Act 1967
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Official text of the statute as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database

The Royal Marriages Act 1772 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribes the conditions under which members of the British Royal Family may contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages that could diminish the status of the Royal House. The right of veto vested in the sovereign by this Act provoked severe adverse criticism at the time.[1][2]

Contents

Provisions

The Act said that no descendant of George II, male or female, other than the issue of princesses who had married or might thereafter marry "into foreign families", could marry without the consent of the reigning monarch, "signified under the great seal and declared in council". That consent was to be set out in the licence and in the register of the marriage, and entered in the books of the Privy Council. Any marriage contracted without the consent of the monarch was to be null and void.

However, any member of the Royal Family over the age of 25 who has been refused the sovereign's consent may marry one year after giving notice to the Privy Council of their intention to so marry, unless both houses of Parliament expressly declare their disapproval. There is, however, no instance in which the sovereign's formal consent in Council has been refused.

The Act further made it a crime to perform or participate in an illegal marriage of any member of the Royal Family. This provision was repealed by the Criminal Law Act 1967.

Rationale

The Act was proposed by George III as a direct result of the marriage of his brother, Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, who, in 1771, had married the commoner Mrs Anne Horton, the daughter of Simon Luttrell and the widow of Christopher Horton. Royal Assent was given to the Act on 1 April 1772,[3] and it was only on 13 September following that the King learned that another brother, Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, had in 1766 secretly married Maria, the illegitimate daughter of Sir Edward Walpole and the widow of the 2nd Earl Waldegrave.[4] Both alliances were considered highly unsuitable by the King, who "saw himself as having been forced to marry for purely dynastic reasons".[5]

Couples affected

Broad effects

The Act renders void any marriage wherever contracted or solemnized in contravention of it. A member of the royal family who contracts a marriage that violates the Act does not thereby lose his or her place in the line of succession,[5] but the offspring of such a union are made illegitimate by the voiding of the marriage and thus lose any right to succeed.

The Act applies to Catholics, even though they are ineligible to succeed to the throne.[5] It does not apply to descendants of Sophia of Hanover who are not also descendants of George II, even though they are still eligible to succeed to the throne.

It had been claimed that the marriage of Prince Augustus had been legal in Ireland and Hanover but the Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords ruled (in the Sussex Peerage Case), 9 July 1844, that the Act incapacitated the descendants of George II from contracting a legal marriage without the consent of the Crown, either within the British dominions or elsewhere.

The effects of the law, not always foreseen, remain very much in force. An example is seen in the royal House of Hanover, which descends from Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, a younger son of King George III, who inherited the crown of Hanover according to its semi-Salic order of succession when the British crown went to his niece, Queen Victoria. Although his descendants lost their royal crown in 1866, and their British titles in 1918, as male-line descendants of George II they continue to seek permission for their marriages from the British monarch.

Thus, on 11 January 1999, Elizabeth II issued the following Declaration in Council: "My Lords, I do hereby declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between His Royal Highness Prince Ernst August Albert of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Her Serene Highness Princess Caroline Louise Marguerite of Monaco...". Without this consent, the marriage would have been void in Britain, where the groom's family continues to own substantial property and retains the right to petition for resumption of the dukedom of Cumberland, suspended since World War I (likewise, the Monégasque court officially notified France of Caroline's contemplated marriage to Prince Ernst August and received assurance that there was no objection, in compliance with the 1918 Franco-Monégasque Treaty). (However, as Ernst August married a Roman Catholic, he lost his place in the succession to the British throne under a different piece of legislation, the Act of Settlement 1701).

All European monarchies, and many non-European realms, have laws or traditions requiring prior approval of the monarch for members of the reigning dynasty to marry. But Britain's is unusual because it has not been modified since originally adopted, so that its ambit has grown rather wide, affecting not only Britain's immediate Royal Family, but more distant relatives of the monarch. Moreover, its purview is growing: Whereas in the past British princesses usually married into foreign dynasties, thereby exempting their descendants from the Act, most now marry fellow Britons so that their children become subject in turn to the Act's restrictions, as do their Protestant descendants who marry Britons, and so on potentially without limit. Nor is the law's application confined to those that bear the official style of "princess". For purposes of the Act, that term is deemed to include any legitimate female descendant of George III, since each inherits a claim on the British crown, unless excluded by the Act itself.

Farran exemption

In the 1950s, Charles d'Olivier Farran, B.C.L., M.A., Ph.D., Lecturer in Constitutional Law at Liverpool University, theorised that the Act could no longer apply to anyone living, because all the members of the immediate royal family were descended from British princesses who had married into foreign families.[11]

Many of George II's descendants in female lines have married back into the British royal family. In particular, the Queen and other members of the House of Windsor descend (through Queen Alexandra) from two daughters of George II — (Mary, Landgravine of Hesse and Louise, Queen of Denmark — who married foreign rulers (respectively Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and King Frederick V of Denmark). Moreover The Prince of Wales, his issue, siblings, and their issue descend from yet a third such marriage, that of The Princess Alice, a daughter of Queen Victoria, to Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse.

This so-called "Farran exemption" met with wide publicity, but arguments against it were put forward by Mr Clive Parry, Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge,[12] and Farran's interpretation has since been ignored.[13] Consent to marriages in the Royal Family (including the distantly related House of Hanover) continues to be sought and granted as if none of the agnatic descendants of George II were also his cognatic descendants.

As Clive Parry pointed out the "Farran exemption" theory was further complicated by the fact that all the Protestant descendants of the Electress Sophia of Hanover, ancestress of the United Kingdom's monarchs since 1714, had been entitled to British citizenship under the Sophia Naturalization Act 1705 (if born prior to 1948, when the act was repealed). Thus, some marriages of British princesses to continental monarchs and princes were not, in law, marriages to foreigners. For example, the 1947 marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, by birth a Greek and Danish prince but descended from the Electress Sophia, was a marriage to a British subject even if he had not been previously naturalised in Britain. This would also mean theoretically, for example, that the present royal family of Norway is bound by the Act, for the marriage of The Princess Maud, a daughter of King Edward VII, to the future King Haakon VII of Norway, was a marriage to a "British subject", since Haakon descended from the Electress Sophia.

Exemption of the former Edward VIII

In 1936 His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 specifically excluded Edward VIII from the provisions of this Act upon his abdication, allowing him to marry the divorcee, Wallis Simpson. The wording of the declaration also excluded any issue of the marriage from being subject to the Act.[14]

Proposals to repeal or modify

The Succession to the Crown Bill, a private member's bill, presented to the British Parliament on 9 December 2004, would have repealed this act in its entirety. However, the Bill was withdrawn 15 January 2005 by its sponsor after being told that it would not receive government support.

In October 2011 David Cameron wrote to the leaders of the Commonwealth Realms proposing that the act be limited to the first six people in line to the throne.[15] The leaders approved the proposed change at a summit in Australia.[16]

Other legislation

The Regency Act 1830, which provided for a regency in the event that Queen Victoria inherited the throne before she was eighteen, made it illegal for her to marry without the regent's consent. Her spouse and anyone involved in arranging or conducting the marriage without such consent would be guilty of high treason. This was more serious than the offence created by the Act of 1772, which was equivalent to praemunire. However, the Act never came into force, as Victoria was eighteen when she became queen.

Consents for marriages under the Act

Consents under the Act were entered in the Books of the Privy Council but have not been published. In 1857 it became customary to publish them in the London Gazette and notices appear of consents given in Council at Courts held on the following dates. Not all consents, however, were noted there and gaps in the list have been filled by reference to the Warrants for Royal Marriages in the Home Office papers (series HO 124) in The National Archives[17]:

Date Applicant Spouse Gazetted
28 September 1791 HRH Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany HRH Princess Frederica of Prussia London Gazette: no. 13347. p. 541. 27 September 1791. HO124/1.
17 December 1794 HRH George, Prince of Wales HRH Princess Caroline Amelia of Brunswick not gazetted; HO124/2.
3 May 1797 HRH Charlotte, Princess Royal HSH Frederic, Hereditary Prince of Württemberg not gazetted; HO124/3.
15 August 1814 HRH Prince Ernest, Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale Frederica, Dowager Princess of Solms not gazetted; HO124/4.
9 March 1816 HRH Princess Charlotte Augusta HSH Leopold, Duke of Saxe-Coburg not gazetted; HO124/5.
2 April 1816 HRH The Princess Mary and HRH Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh not gazetted; HO124/7
8 June 1816 HRH The Princess Elizabeth HSH Frederick VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg not gazetted; HO124/6.
22 April 1818 HRH Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge HRH Princess Augusta of Hesse not gazetted; HO124/8.
11 May 1818 HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn HRH Viktoria, Dowager Princess of Leiningen not gazetted; HO124/9.
7 July 1818 HRH Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews HRH Princess Adelaide of Saxony not gazetted; HO124/10.
13 June 1842 HRH Prince George, Crown Prince of Hanover HRH Princess Marie of Saxe-Altenburg copy in HO45/8927.
2 November 1842 HRH Princess Augusta of Cambridge Prince Frederick, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg HO124/11.
16 May 1857 HRH Victoria, Princess Royal HRH Prince Frederick of Prussia London Gazette: no. 22003. p. 1768. 19 May 1857.
30 April 1861 HRH The Princess Alice HGDH Prince Ludwig of Hesse London Gazette: no. 22507. p. 1889. 3 May 1861.
1 November 1862 HRH Albert Edward, Prince of Wales HRH Princess Alexandra of Denmark London Gazette: no. 22677. p. 5201. 4 November 1862.
5 December 1865 HRH The Princess Helena HSH Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein London Gazette: no. 23046. p. 6451. 5 December 1865.
19 May 1866 HRH Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge HSH Francis, Prince of Teck London Gazette: no. 23118. p. 3065. 22 May 1866.
24 October 1870 HRH The Princess Louise John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne London Gazette: no. 23682. p. 5215. 25 November 1870., in substitution of London Gazette: no. 23671. p. 4593. 25 October 1870.
17 July 1873 HRH Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh HIH Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia London Gazette: no. 24000. p. 3449. 22 July 1873. in substitution of London Gazette: no. 23999. p. 3379. 18 July 1873.
16 May 1878 HRH Prince Alfred, Duke of Connaught HRH Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia London Gazette: no. 24583. p. 3161. 21 May 1878. HO124/17.
27 November 1878 HRH Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover HRH Princess Thyra of Denmark London Gazette: no. 24653. p. 6987. 6 December 1878.
18 March 1880 HRH Princess Frederica of Hanover Baron Alfons von Pawel Rammingen London Gazette: no. 24824. p. 2133. 19 March 1880. HO124/19.
29 November 1881 HRH Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany HSH Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont London Gazette: no. 25043. p. 6459. 29 November 1881.
London Gazette: no. 25044. p. 6463. 2 December 1881.
27 January 1885 HRH The Princess Beatrice HRH Prince Henry of Battenberg London Gazette: no. 25436. p. 357. 27 January 1885.
5 July 1889 HRH Princess Louise of Wales The Rt Hon Alexander Duff, Earl Fife London Gazette: no. 25953. p. 3765. 12 July 1889.
3 July 1891 HH Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein HH Prince Aribert of Anhalt London Gazette: no. 26179. p. 3593. 3 July 1891.
London Gazette: no. 26180. p. 3595. 7 July 1891.
12 December 1891 HRH Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale HSH Princess Victoria Mary of Teck London Gazette: no. 26233. p. 6911. 15 December 1891. He died before they could marry, and she later married his brother — see below
28 June 1892 HRH Princess Marie of Edinburgh HRH Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Romania London Gazette: no. 26303. p. 3784. 1 July 1892.
16 May 1893 HRH Prince George, Duke of York HSH Princess Victoria Mary of Teck London Gazette: no. 26404. p. 2897. 19 May 1893.
29 January 1894 HRH Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse London Gazette: no. 26480. p. 584. 30 January 1894.
19 October 1894 HSH Prince Adolphus of Teck The Lady Margaret Grosvenor London Gazette: no. 26562. p. 5859. 19 October 1894.
21 November 1895 HRH Princess Maud of Wales HRH Prince Carl of Denmark London Gazette: no. 26692. p. 7425. 24 December 1895., in substitution of consent dated 12 November 1895 published London Gazette: no. 26691. p. 7365. 20 December 1895.
12 December 1895 Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Ernest, Hereditary Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg London Gazette: no. 26692. p. 7425. 24 December 1895., in substitution of notice published London Gazette: no. 26691. p. 7365. 20 December 1895.; HO124/30.
15 May 1900 HRH Princess Marie Louise of Hanover HGDH Prince Maximilian of Baden London Gazette: no. 27203. p. 3811. 19 June 1900.
16 November 1903 HRH Princess Alice of Albany HSH Prince Alexander of Teck London Gazette: no. 27616. p. 7013. 16 November 1903.
London Gazette: no. 27617. p. 7015. 17 November 1903.
7 March 1904 HRH Princess Alexandra of Hanover HRH Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg London Gazette: no. 27654. p. 1517. 4 March 1904.
London Gazette: no. 27655. p. 1521. 8 March 1904.
27 February 1905 HRH Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha HH Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein London Gazette: no. 27769. p. 1493. 28 February 1905.
20 March 1905 HRH Princess Margaret of Connaught HRH Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Scania London Gazette: no. 27776. p. 2167. 17 March 1905.
London Gazette: no. 27777. p. 2169. 21 March 1905.
17 March 1913 HRH Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover HRH Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia London Gazette: no. 28700. p. 2053. 17 March 1913.
12 August 1913 HRH Prince Arthur of Connaught HH Princess Alexandra, Duchess of Fife London Gazette: no. 28745. p. 5729. 12 August 1913.
11 February 1919 HRH Princess Patricia of Connaught Commander the Hon Alexander Ramsay London Gazette: no. 31174. p. 2147. 11 February 1919. HO124/38 wanting, see C188/3 for Warrant for Royal Marriage.
22 November 1921 HRH The Princess Mary Henry Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles London Gazette: no. 32529. p. 9459. 25 November 1921.
12 February 1923 HRH Prince Albert, Duke of York The Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon London Gazette: no. 32795. p. 1063. 13 February 1923.
26 June 1923 HH Princess Maud of Fife Charles Carnegie, Lord Carnegie London Gazette: no. 32837. p. 4417. 26 June 1923.
7 October 1931 The Lady May Cambridge Capt Henry Abel Smith London Gazette: no. 33761. p. 6451. 9 October 1931.
5 October 1934 HRH The Prince George HRH Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark London Gazette: no. 34093. p. 6241. 5 October 1934.
3 October 1935 HRH Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester The Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott London Gazette: no. 34204. p. 6199. 4 October 1935.
26 December 1937 HRH Princess Frederica of Hanover HRH Prince Paul of Greece and Denmark London Gazette: no. 34468. p. 8169. 31 December 1937.
29 January 1941 The Lady Iris Mountbatten Hamilton Joseph Keyes O'Malley not gazetted; HO124/46.
31 July 1947 HRH The Princess Elizabeth Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten RN London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 38030. p. 3589. 29 July 1947.
28 July 1949 The Rt Hon George Lascelles, Earl of Harewood Maria Stein London Gazette: no. 38677. p. 3693. 29 July 1949.
1 August 1951 HRH Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover HRH Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg not gazetted; HO124/49.
27 June 1952 The Hon Gerald Lascelles Angela Dowding London Gazette: no. 39584. p. 3517. 27 June 1952.
1 June 1956 James Carnegie, Lord Carnegie The Hon Caroline Dewar London Gazette: no. 40795. p. 3227. 1 June 1956.
19 August 1956 Alexander Ramsay Flora Fraser, Mistress of Saltoun London Gazette: no. 40860. p. 4799. 21 August 1956.
31 July 1957 Anne Abel Smith David Liddell-Grainger London Gazette: no. 41141. p. 4563. 2 August 1957.
14 September 1959 Capt Richard Abel Smith Marcia Kendrew London Gazette: no. 41816. p. 5797. 15 September 1959.
16 March 1960 HRH The Princess Margaret Antony Armstrong-Jones London Gazette: no. 41986. p. 2025. 18 March 1960.
3 August 1960 HRH Prince Welf Heinrich of Hanover Princess Alexandra of Ysenburg and Budingen not gazetted; HO124/55.
24 March 1961 HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Katharine Worsley London Gazette: no. 42314. p. 2345. 28 March 1961.
19 December 1962 HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent The Hon Angus Ogilvy London Gazette: no. 42864. p. 9981. 21 December 1962.
26 February 1965 Elizabeth Abel Smith Peter Wise London Gazette: no. 43590. p. 2147. 2 March 1965.
28 July 1967 The Rt Hon George Lascelles, Earl of Harewood Patricia Tuckwell London Gazette: no. 44375. p. 8327. 28 July 1967.
4 February 1972 HRH Prince Richard of Gloucester Birgitte van Deurs London Gazette: no. 45601. p. 2005. 17 February 1972.
29 March 1973 The Hon James Lascelles Fredericka Duhrssen London Gazette: no. 45947. p. 4481. 6 April 1973.
24 July 1973 HRH The Princess Anne Capt Mark Phillips London Gazette: no. 46036. p. 8761. 26 July 1973.
1 August 1979 HRH Prince Michael of Kent Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz formerly Mrs Thomas Troubridge not gazetted; HO124/62.
15 November 1978 The Hon Gerald Lascelles Elizabeth Evelyn Collingwood not gazetted; HO124/63 lost while on loan to government department.
6 February 1979 David Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles Margaret Messenger London Gazette: no. 47770. p. 1994. 13 February 1979.
26 June 1979 Henry Lascelles Alexandra Morton London Gazette: no. 47892. p. 8129. 28 June 1979.
13 February 1980 Katharine Fraser, Mistress of Saltoun Capt Mark Nicholson London Gazette: no. 48099. p. 2573. 18 February 1980.
28 July 1980 Katharine Abel Smith The Hon Hubert Beaumont London Gazette: no. 48264. p. 10715. 29 July 1980.
1981 undated Feb–July HRH The Prince of Wales The Lady Diana Spencer
10 June 1981 HRH Ernst August, Prince of Hanover HSH Countess Monika of Solms-Laubach London Gazette: no. 48638. p. 7956. 12 June 1981.
10 June 1981 HRH Prince Ernst August of Hanover Chantal Hochuli London Gazette: no. 48638. p. 7956. 12 June 1981.
16 May 1986 HRH The Prince Andrew Sarah Ferguson London Gazette: no. 50524. p. 6909. 22 May 1986.
London Gazette: no. 50533. p. 7279. 30 May 1986.
10 February 1987 David Carnegie, Earl of Macduff Caroline Bunting London Gazette: no. 50833. p. 1951. 13 February 1987.
15 September 1987 HRH Prince Ludwig Rudolph of Hanover HSH Countess Ysabelle of Thurn and Valassina-Como-Vercelli London Gazette: no. 51069. p. 11789. 23 September 1987.
23 March 1988 James Ogilvy Julia Rawlinson London Gazette: no. 51318. p. 4957. 26 April 1988.
24 July 1990 The Hon Alice Ramsay of Mar David Ramsey London Gazette: no. 52252. p. 13701. 23 August 1990.
11 February 1992 The Lady Helen Windsor Timothy Taylor London Gazette: no. 52856. p. 4173. 9 March 1992.
1992 undated HRH Anne, Princess Royal Cdr Tim Laurence London Gazette: no. 53133. p. 20898. 11 December 1992.
1993 undated David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley The Hon Serena Stanhope London Gazette: no. 53385. p. 12599. 28 July 1993.
22 June 1994 The Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones Daniel Chatto London Gazette: no. 53715. p. 9221. 27 June 1994.
13 April 1999 HRH The Prince Edward Sophie Rhys-Jones London Gazette: no. 55474. p. 4929. 4 May 1999.
11 April 2001 Lady Alexandra Carnegie Mark Etherington Privy Council Orders for 11 April 2001
11 December 2001 Charles Liddell-Grainger Eugenie Campagne Privy Council Orders for 11 December 2001
17 April 2002 Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster Claire Booth London Gazette: no. 56545. p. 4888. 22 April 2002.
Privy Council Orders for 17 April 2002
10 December 2003 Henry Lascelles Fiona Wilmott Privy Council Orders for 10 December 2003
20 July 2004 The Lady Davina Windsor Gary Lewis Privy Council Orders for 20 July 2004
2 March 2005 HRH Charles, Prince of Wales Mrs Camilla Parker-Bowles Privy Council Orders for 2 March 2005
10 October 2006 Lord Nicholas Windsor Paola Doimi de Lupis Frankopan Privy Council Orders for 10 October 2006
2 May 2007 Amelia May Beaumont Simon Peregrine Gauvain Murray Privy Council Orders for 2 May 2007
12 December 2007 The Lady Rose Windsor George Edward Gilman Privy Council Orders for 12 December 2007
12 February 2008 Emily Lascelles Matthew Shard Privy Council Orders for 12 February 2008
9 April 2008 Peter Phillips Autumn Kelly London Gazette: no. 58674. p. 6078. 21 April 2008.
Privy Council Orders for 9 April 2008
9 October 2008 Charles Montagu Liddell-Grainger Martha Margaretha de Klerk Privy Council Orders for 9 October 2008
11 February 2009 Benjamin George Lascelles Carolina Velez Privy Council Orders for 11 February 2009
10 June 2009 Lord Frederick Windsor Sophie Winkleman Privy Council Orders for 10 June 2009
9 February 2011 HRH Prince William of Wales Catherine Middleton Privy Council Orders for 9 February 2011
10 May 2011 Zara Phillips Mike Tindall Privy Council Orders for 10 May 2011
10 May 2011 Mark Lascelles Judith Kilburn Privy Council Orders for 10 May 2011

See also

References

  1. ^ C. Grant Robertson, Select statutes, cases and documents to illustrate English constitutional history(4th edn. 1923) pages 245-7
  2. ^ Lord Mackay of Clashfern, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, ed. Halsbury's Laws of England (4th edn. 1998), volume 21 (1), Page 21
  3. ^ London Gazette: no. 11236. p. 1. 4 April 1772.
  4. ^ Matthew Kilburn, William Henry, Prince, first duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1743–1805), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 18 Dec 2011
  5. ^ a b c Bogdanor, Vernon (1997). The Monarchy and the Constitution. Oxford University Press. p. 55. ISBN 0198293348. http://books.google.com/books?id=HEC6Ivq2JK8C. 
  6. ^ A. Aspinall, ed., The later correspondence of George III, vol. 1 (1966) pages 567-71. The statement in Michel Huberty, Alain Giraud, F. and B. Magdelaine, L'Allemagne Dynastique, vol. 3: Brunswick-Nassau-Schwarzbourg (1981) page 146, that the first marriage was by procuration (or proxy) is incorrect.
  7. ^ This marriage, being invalid, was not morganatic as is frequently stated, e.g. by Michael Thornton, Royal Feud (1985) page 161.
  8. ^ Mollie Gillen, Royal Duke (1976) page 223.
  9. ^ e.g. Compton Mackenzie, The Windsor tapestry (1938) page 344; Michael Thornton, Royal Feud (1985) pages 161-2, and many other authorities.
  10. ^ as stated in Brian Inglis, Abdication (1966) page 265, and many other authorities.
  11. ^ Modern Law Review, volume 14 (1951) pages 53-63;
  12. ^ in 'Further Considerations on the Prince of Hanover's Case' in International & Comparative Law Quarterly (1957) pages 61 etc.
  13. ^ Farran replied to Mr Parry in Appendix I, 'The Royal Marriages Act Today', in Lucille Iremonger, Love and the Princesses' (1958) pages 275-280.
  14. ^ His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 (c.3), full text online at statutelaw.gov.uk
  15. ^ "David Cameron proposes changes to royal succession". BBC News. 12 October 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15282940. Retrieved 12 October 2011. 
  16. ^ "Girls equal in British throne succession". BBC News. 28 October 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15492607. Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  17. ^ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue.

External links