The Act of Settlement 1701 and the Line of Succession

[Warren]

Originally Posted by lamonkman

the program rehashed many of the allegations already made about the Queen's late uncle; that he was bisexual ( an affair with Noel Coward has been alleged)

It is no secret that the late Duke of Kent was bisexual, but the "affair with Noel Coward" seems to have been more wishful thinking on Noel Coward's part.
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[kelly9480]

The Duke and Duchess of Kent still live together at Wren House, Kensington Palace. When WH was being renovated last year, they lived in a rented house in London - together. They also purchased a house together in Oxfordshire several years ago. Katharine's flat is for her music students, and she doesn't live there herself. They may not be happily married, but neither seems willing to divorce.

[Queen Mother]

Actually if anyone is interested, there is a wonderful biography on her titled The Ducheess of Kent The Troubled Life of Katharine Worsley by Mary Riddell. It's filled with wonderful pictures and a truly captivating story of her life.

[Emily]

Thank you for the information about the biography. I am fascinated that for so many years (at the Wimbledon prizegiving, at royal engagements, in photos by Norman Parkinson) the Duchess of Kent was such a fragile looking beauty -- always immaculately dressed. And yet in recent years she has emerged, for me at least, as more of a "Steel Magnolia". And as for responses to my earlier post -- I feel I only have part of the picture on the Spanish Royals and Celiac Disease -- if anyone has other information I, top, would love to hear it!

[kelly9480]

The Duchess has denied that she still suffers from the disease. She's said she was cured a while back, but I've never been able to find much info on the illness or when/how this cure came about.

[Emily]

Do you mean she was cured of Celiac Disease? I am curious where you read that. I wonder if she is following the diet and so her symptoms are no longer. I have it on completely reliable authority that there is currently no known cure except to stick with the gluten free diet, in which case - depending on the person and how long they have had the disease - many people experience an absence of symptoms. Research is rapidly progressing on a "cure" but to date there is none.

[tiaraprin]

Originally Posted by Emily

Do you mean she was cured of Celiac Disease? I am curious where you read that. I wonder if she is following the diet and so her symptoms are no longer. I have it on completely reliable authority that there is currently no known cure except to stick with the gluten free diet, in which case - depending on the person and how long they have had the disease - many people experience an absence of symptoms. Research is rapidly progressing on a "cure" but to date there is none.

From what I have read, there is no cure. But if she is following her treatment, her symptoms may have abated or disappeared.

[Harry's polo shirt]

ummm...what is celiac disease? what are the symptoms?

[Warren]

Originally Posted by Harry's polo shirt

ummm...what is celiac disease? what are the symptoms?

Otherwise spelt as 'coeliac': "a digestive disease of the small intestine brought on by contact with dietary gluten".

Gluten is found in most processed wheat products, so for those who have this condition it means no "normal" bread, biscuits, hamburgers, certain breakfast cereals, cakes, pastries, etc etc. They can only eat gluten-free foods, so correct food labelling is very important. These days there is an increasing number of gluten-free foodstuffs available.
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[Harry's polo shirt]

Originally Posted by Warren

Otherwise spelt as 'coeliac': "a digestive disease of the small intestine brought on by contact with dietary gluten".

Gluten is found in most processed wheat products, so for those who have this condition it means no "normal" bread, biscuits, hamburgers, certain breakfast cereals, cakes, pastries, etc etc. They can only eat gluten-free foods, so correct food labelling is very important. These days there is an increasing number of gluten-free foodstuffs available.
.

Thank you so much for that information. I am glad its not like a STD or something because I was like oh no! am I gonna get someone in trouble or offend someone, and so on...I hope I never get it. What would I do with my hamburgers!?

[kelly9480]

She spoke with a writer a few years ago, I can't recall where I read it, either Majesty or perhaps the Telegraph, and denied she still suffered from the illness. The writer described it as a cure.

[Emily]

Kelly, thank you. I really don't know what to think about that -- perhaps the Duchess of Kent meant the absence of active symptoms, perhaps the word "cure" was inaccurate or maybe the initial report I read was inaccurate. I can't remember where I read it but most likely it was either Hello or Majesty. I recall it quite clearly, though, because in the same report they said that Tiggy Legge-Bourke has it also, which accounted for a dramatic weight loss in her as she lived on the restricted diet.

[james]

The Duke of Kent can no longer be in line to the throne now his wife is Catholic and that is a fact. The Act of Succession is one of the most unambiguous laws in British history and it absolutley prohibits anyone with a Catholic spouse (however the situation may have come about) from ascending to the throne. It has been suggested that since the Duchess converted after her marraige it didn't impact on the Duke but this clause simply dosn't exist. It has been trotted out as the official line because the Royal Family want to shy away from acknowledging his situation as it would provoke yet more negative comment about them.

[Incas]

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page389.asp
According to BRF official site, Duke of Kent is 22nd in line of succession.

[Mapple]

Originally Posted by james

The Duke of Kent can no longer be in line to the throne now his wife is Catholic and that is a fact. The Act of Succession is one of the most unambiguous laws in British history and it absolutley prohibits anyone with a Catholic spouse (however the situation may have come about) from ascending to the throne. It has been suggested that since the Duchess converted after her marraige it didn't impact on the Duke but this clause simply dosn't exist. It has been trotted out as the official line because the Royal Family want to shy away from acknowledging his situation as it would provoke yet more negative comment about them.

Have you actually read the Act of Settlement?

Originally Posted by William III

...all and every person and persons that then were, or afterwards should be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with the see or church of Rome, or should profess the popish religion, or marry a papist, should be excluded...

The Duke did marry a member of CofE in 1961. If the Act had been phrased as 'be married to a papist', then the Duke would have been excluded from the line of succession. But he is not.

[Elspeth]

Originally Posted by james

The Duke of Kent can no longer be in line to the throne now his wife is Catholic and that is a fact. The Act of Succession is one of the most unambiguous laws in British history and it absolutley prohibits anyone with a Catholic spouse (however the situation may have come about) from ascending to the throne. It has been suggested that since the Duchess converted after her marraige it didn't impact on the Duke but this clause simply dosn't exist. It has been trotted out as the official line because the Royal Family want to shy away from acknowledging his situation as it would provoke yet more negative comment about them.

Do you mean to say that if Diana had followed through with one of her interests and actually converted to Catholicism, it would have automatically barred Charles from the succession? Considering the state of affairs between them, if that had been the case I'd have thought she'd have done it just to spite him.

I seem to remember at the time when people were wondering if she was going to convert, it was stated (although I don't remember by whom) that conversion of a spouse after marriage didn't require a person to be removed from the line of succession.

The wording of the act is "marry a papist," not "be married to a papist."

http://www.worldfreeinternet.net/par...settlement.htm

I think that a person arguing for the removal of an heir whose spouse converts to Catholicism would have a hard time making it stick.

[Marengo]

Why doesn't anybody in the british parlament raise questions over this law anyway? I do not think it is in accordance to present day policy of non-discrimination anymore and horribly out of date. What is needed to change this law? Just consent of parlament?

[Jackswife]

I'm a little bit confused here. The Duke and Duchess of Kent are both Anglican. Prince Michael of Kent married Princess Michael (the former Marie-Christine von Reibnitz) and is out of the sequence of succession. I don't know if there was a change now to the Succession Laws, if it would be retroactive to the Prince's marriage and how that would affect his position. Either way, it always seemed to me that Michael was perfectly happy with his decision, and that he was not terribly concerned about his place in the succession. That's jusy my opinion.

[Oppie]

The Duchess of Kent converted to Catholic in the 1990's (I'm not sure of the when) Since the Duke of Kent did not marry a Catholic he can stay in the line of succession (again nothing about being married to a Catholic) in some ways it seems like a loop hole. If he converted then he would lose his place.

Prince Michael married a Catholic and is no longer in line although his two children still are.

[james]

"Marry a Papist" clearly also equates to anyone married TO a Papist as the whole premise of the law is to stop anyone with a Catholic spouse becoming King/Queen.

Following this logic how can a Monarch with a Catholic consort ever be allowed whether that consort was a Catholic before marraige or converted after the event?