...I wouldn't say that finding a Protestant heir was hard so much as they had to exclude a lot of Catholics first (50+), who were higher in the succession. Sophie of Hanover was actually the granddaughter of the Elizabeth that you mentioned.
true.. but it should also be noted that Electress Sophia was not the senior most protestant descendant of King James I.. the eldest surviving child of Elizabeth Stuart was Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine.. therefore, the senior most protestant heir to King James I was Raugravine Karoline of the Palatinate and not her aunt Electress Sophia of Hanover.. also, based on this, George I should have not been king, but rather it was Raugravine Karoline's daughter, Frederica Mildmay, Countess of Mértola who should have been queen.. so if we would follow this line, the current monarch of the UK until early this year would have been Diana Miller, 11th Countess of Mértola or Queen Diana so to speak.. lol.. here is the line..
James VI of Scotland and I of England
Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia
Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine
Raugravine Karoline of the Palatinate
Frederica Mildmay, Countess of Mértola
Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness
Amelia Osborne, Marchioness of Carmarthen
George Osborne, 6th Duke of Leeds
Lady Charlotte Mary Anne Georgiana Osborne
Sackville Lane-Fox, 12th Baron Conyers
Marcia Pelham, Countess of Yarborough
Sackville Pelham, 5th Earl of Yarborough
Diana Miller, 11th Countess of Mértola
also, i guess its just right to mention the Diana is also a legitimate descendent of Elector Charles Louis I through her grandmother Lady Cynthia Hamilton, Countess Spencer..
such things have happened before.. remember, King James I would have never been king based on the will of Henry VIII and the Third Succession Act which barred the descendants of Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots to inherit the English throne.. Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I, the heir presumptive to the English throne was Anne Stanley, Countess of Castlehaven, daughter of Alice Spencer, herself daughter of Sir John Spencer of Althorp..
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