:flower: Let me help enlighten some members of this group as to what the laws have to say about whom Prince William can, and can not marry. There are three laws which govern who he can marry. First is the Bill of Rights of 1689, the second is the Act of Settlement of 1701, third is the Royal Marriages Act of 1772
To briefly summerize what they stipulate is as follows:
No person can succeed to the throne of the UK if they are a Roman Catholic or if they are married to a member of the Roman Catholic faith. Also, any person in the line of succession to the throne is also prohibited from being a Roman Catholic or marrying a Roman Catholic. If any such person does this, they then forfeit their right to succeed.
Having said that, Prince William CAN marry any woman he wants to as long as she is NOT a Roman Catholic. She can be of any other religion. She can be a Muslim, she can be Greek Orthodox, she can be agnostic, she can even be an atheist. The laws DO NOT require her to convert to the Anglican faith. They just simply exclude any Roman Catholics.
The third law stipulates that Prince William must ask for the permission of the Sovereign to marry anyone. If the Sovereign does not grant Royal approval, then Prince William could inform Parliament that he intends to marry. After the mandatory one year waiting period, he would be free to marry anyone. If he went ahead and married a Roman Catholic woman he would then have to give up his right to succeed to the throne.
I hope this helps. :flower:
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