Constitutional chaos.

[TheSuggestedAmendment]

Kate is ill (reasons plural - physical and mental etc) but what if that isn’t the main story.

What if the rumours are true and Rose Chum’s third child is William’s? Born 2016, she’s older than Louis.

Massive constitutional headache. Does Daughter Chum enter the line of succession ahead of Louis? Illegitimate but maybe people would demand William treat her as an equal child. Maybe this is what Rishi Sunak has been grappling with.

There would be huge public/social splits on the issue. Church of England issues filling the papers, endless ‘Well, what is the point of marriage’ op-eds from lawyers, and so on. Plus KC3 with health looking shaky….

And what about Kate? Stay or go?

Big ole mess.

Monaco is a tiny city-state of 36,000 people though.

I'm not convinced it's a useful comparison.

Well, if you’re having a theoretical discussion a lawyer would normally start with an analysis. For example: “Here’s what the position is currently. Should that be changed? Imagine how it would operate in this hypothetical situation - is it fit for purpose if that happens?” Etc.

Not “Massive constitutional headache. Does Daughter Chum enter the line of succession ahead of Louis?” As the OP actually asked.

@Maireas if there is an eldest child older than the current heir how would this be accepted by the public, especially if that child is the result of an affair. The other issue here is that the monarch is head of the Church of England, could a child be recognised and titles given in this situation? If Camilla and Charles had not been married when QE2 died, would she be Queen?

Why so snarky?
I've read it all and I'm just going to say that there will be no constitutional crisis, even if this fictional child turns up.

It wasn't meant snarkily. Just don't have time to repeat what is already posted.

Monaco and Belgium are real life current examples that disprove your assertion though. You may not find them persuasive. Others will disagree.

What happened in Belgium?

Good questions. The legal wife of the King is the Queen. If Camilla wasn't married to Charles, she wouldn't be the Queen.
If another child of Charles or William turned up, it would make no difference. I think people are suggesting that illegitimacy could be overturned but that surely would be a matter for Parliament.
Parliament is sovereign.

@Serenster monarchs in Monaco and Belgium don't have the same religious status as UK monarchs. They are both Catholics where our monarch is head of the Anglican Church( which incidentally has bishops who sit inThe House of Lords )

Thanks Henry VIII !

I have read the thread and I was not asking for anything to be repeated.
It was a rhetorical question.

?????

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Delphine_of_Belgium

Princess Delphine and her descendants are not in the line of succession for the throne in Belgium.

@Maireas I think the constitutional position may lead to calls for disestablishment of the Anglican Church. That position looks increasingly anachronistic in the 21st Century and there's precedent as the monarch is not head of the Church of Scotland.
It would be a good look for an incoming Labour government too as they promised to reform the HOL and that's a quick win.

Yes, I think you're right, @ismu , although it's a puzzler to me why we still have an established church, and I do wonder how long it can continue.
I think this is the only nation to have clerics sitting by right (in the HoL) apart from Iran. Plus there's the whole excluding Catholics issue.

One thing threads like this does show us - just how readily people are to believe rumours and try to stir up controversy despite there being no evidence. It’s perfectly clear now how James II’s “baby in the warming pan” scandal caused the 1688 Revolution. 🤣🤣

Sorry op that you are being given a tough time. I am a constitutional crisis expert with specialisation on monarch affairs and their solutions.

In the case that you present, Rishi Sunak would appoint a small Gambian or Malawian woman to be Queen. This would among others guarantee a virgin birth after which there would be no confounding issues of paternity and legitimacy of the children

Thanks for the link.

Interesting reading. Apparently the ex-king was forced to abdicate in part because of the accusations of having a child out of wedlock, and he was then taken to court and forced to provide DNA. The "illegitimate" relatives are now princes and princesses and considered part of Belgium's royal family.

So, it was a very big deal and took a lot of legal wrangling to resolve. It caused a constitutional crisis, in other words.

William III IIRC pretty much admitted that he knew that wasn't true; but it was a very handy destabilising rumour that fed into 17c British fears of Catholicism and advanced his real agenda. Successfully, in that case.

It was definitely scandalous gossip in Belgium, but it wasn’t why the King abdicated. He was 80 and in poor health, and the Belgian Prime Minister said he had discussed the possibility of an abdication with Albert several times before the accusations arose. The PM had each time persuaded him not to.

Quite. However, if you make such a claim and couple it with a proclaimed interest in the constitution, it does seem a little strange that you don't know the basics about royal inheritance and legitimacy, but hey ho.

It’s William the Bastard for whom I feel sorry, he’s getting no respect on this thread for he conquered and accomplished. Bastards of the world unite!

That's very good. How are you feeling at work?
Your profession is extremely demanding, both physically and mentally.
Fellow neurosurgeon here.🤓😀

Yes, it wasn't the official reason given, unsurprisingly. But it's safe to say it played a significant part in his timing.

Also, Albert’s own father Leopold III had abdicated as King in the 1950s, so an abdication wasn’t unprecedented in Belgium.

(They have far bigger constitutional problems to worry about in Belgium in any event - the country went 541 days without a government in 2010-2011 and more nearly two years between 2018 and 2020, in part due to deep divisions between different parts of the country).