I'm aware that before the Act of Settlement, succession to the throne of England was quite a malleable material, and that there were several usurpations, successions by force, and examples of arbitrary changes to legislation to suit either the monarchs or their enemies.
Usually, though, there has been some kind of legal wallpapering, whereby the irregularity has been made acceptable retroactively through new legislation.
As has been noted by others, the succession of James I (or any heir of Margaret Tudor) to the throne following the death of Elizabeth I was explicitly against the Third Succession Act. To my knowledge, this act was not modified or appealed before Elizabeth's death, and if the act had been adhered to, a descendant of Mary Tudor would have succeeded. Some wags suggest that there has been no piece of English or British legislation legitimately passed since 1603...
As I say, this kind of jiggery pokery is common enough in the history of the monarchs of England but what strikes me is that there was no attempt to patch this up with legislation. The succession of James I was popular enough but clearly his backers, and the literate public at large, must have realised it was illegal. Was it widely commented on at the time? Was there any significant support for alternatives?
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Usually, though, there has been some kind of legal wallpapering, whereby the irregularity has been made acceptable retroactively through new legislation.
As has been noted by others, the succession of James I (or any heir of Margaret Tudor) to the throne following the death of Elizabeth I was explicitly against the Third Succession Act. To my knowledge, this act was not modified or appealed before Elizabeth's death, and if the act had been adhered to, a descendant of Mary Tudor would have succeeded. Some wags suggest that there has been no piece of English or British legislation legitimately passed since 1603...
As I say, this kind of jiggery pokery is common enough in the history of the monarchs of England but what strikes me is that there was no attempt to patch this up with legislation. The succession of James I was popular enough but clearly his backers, and the literate public at large, must have realised it was illegal. Was it widely commented on at the time? Was there any significant support for alternatives?
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