Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have welcomed their new baby boy, who was born early Monday morning. He comes into the royal family seventh in line for the throne. The baby, whose name has not yet been announced, is Queen Elizabeth's eighth great-grandchild, but he bumps some older cousins — as well as great-uncles and aunts — in the line of succession to the throne. It's a familiar tale for second- and third-born children as they move further and further back in the line of succession — something new dad Harry has experienced himself. Here's a breakdown of how Britain's line of succession works: Who is ahead of the new prince? The line of succession in Britain is a direct line. First in line for the throne is Queen Elizabeth's eldest son, Prince Charles; second in line is Charles's oldest son, Prince William; and third in line is William's oldest son, Prince George. Since George is not yet 6 years old and has no children, his sister Princess Charlotte, 4, follows at fourth in line, and youngest sibling Prince Louis, 1, is fifth. Louis' birth in 2017 put Harry at sixth in line for the throne, and Harry and Meghan's new baby is now seventh. Queen Elizabeth changed the 300-year-old rules in 2012, ahead of Prince George's birth, so there is no longer a preference for boys over girls, which is why Charlotte is now ahead of her younger brother. It was different a generation ago for the Queen's own children — her second-born, Anne, and Anne's children and grandchildren, follow Anne's younger brothers and their families. Who now follows a newborn in the line of succession? The baby has pushed back Prince Andrew, the queen's second-oldest son, who will now be eighth in line for the throne. When he was born, he was second in line. During his time as a tabloid favorite in the 1980s during his marriage to Sarah Ferguson, or Fergie, he was fourth in line for the throne. Following Andrew are his and Sarah's daughters: Princess Beatrice is now ninth and the recently-married Princess Eugenie is tenth. Next in line is Queen Elizabeth's youngest child, Prince Edward. Since his two children were born before Queen Elizabeth changed the rules to equalize boys and girls, his 11-year-old son James, Viscount Severn, is 12th in line for the throne and his 16-year-old daughter, Lady Louise, is 13th. The last of Elizabeth's children in the line of succession is her second-born, Anne, Princess Royal, who is now 14th in line for the throne. Anne's son, Peter Phillips, is 15th in line. Following Peter are his two young daughters, 8-year-old Savannah is 16th and 7-year-old Isla is 17th in line for the throne. Peter's sister, Zara Tindall, is 18th and her daughters —5-year-old Mia, and Lena, who will turn 1 in June — are 19th and 20th. Those are all of the direct descendants of Queen Elizabeth. Twenty-first in line for the throne is Elizabeth's nephew, David Armstrong-Jones, Viscount Linley — the son of the queen's late sister, Princess Margaret. Why do some of the Queen's children and grandchildren have titles while others don't? In some instances, it comes down to personal preference. Anne, Princess Royal, and her now ex-husband, Captain Mark Phillips, chose not to take titles when they married or for their children. Peter and Zara's children then do not have titles. As for whether the new royal baby will have a title, all signs point to yes. Harry and Meghan took titles when they got married — they are now officially the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But the baby may need a special decree from Queen Elizabeth to be styled as a prince or princess. According to BBC News, the rules previously stated the title prince or princess only extended down to the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (currently Prince George). Queen Elizabeth changed the rules in 2012 ahead of George's birth so that all of his children would be princes or princesses.<doc-sep>Advertising Read more London (AFP) Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's newborn baby, whose name is set to be revealed on Wednesday, is seventh in line to the British throne. The baby's arrival means Prince Andrew, Harry's uncle, dropping down to eighth in line. The immediate line of succession to the throne includes Queen Elizabeth II's four children and their descendants: 1. PRINCE CHARLES, PRINCE OF WALES -- Born 1948, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth 2. PRINCE WILLIAM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE -- Born 1982, Charles's eldest son 3. PRINCE GEORGE OF CAMBRIDGE -- Born 2013, William's eldest son 4. PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF CAMBRIDGE -- Born 2015, William's daughter 5. PRINCE LOUIS OF CAMBRIDGE -- Born 2018, William's second son 6. PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX -- Born 1984, Charles' second son 7. ROYAL BABY -- Born on Monday at 5:26am (0426 GMT) 8. PRINCE ANDREW, DUKE OF YORK -- Born 1960, Queen Elizabeth's second son 9. PRINCESS BEATRICE OF YORK -- Born 1988, Andrew's eldest daughter 10. PRINCESS EUGENIE OF YORK -- Born 1990, Andrew's second daughter 11. PRINCE EDWARD, EARL OF WESSEX -- Born 1964, Queen Elizabeth's third son 12. JAMES, VISCOUNT SEVERN -- Born 2007, Edward's son 13. LADY LOUISE WINDSOR -- Born 2003, Edward's daughter 14. PRINCESS ANNE, PRINCESS ROYAL -- Born 1950, Queen Elizabeth's daughter 15. PETER PHILLIPS -- Born 1977, Anne's son 16. SAVANNAH PHILLIPS -- Born 2010, Phillips' eldest daughter 17. ISLA PHILLIPS -- Born 2012, Phillips' second daughter 18. ZARA TINDALL -- Born 1981, Anne's daughter 19. MIA TINDALL -- Born 2014, Tindall's eldest daughter 20. LENA TINDALL -- Born 2018, Tindall's second daughter Queen Elizabeth's descendants are followed by the six of her late sister princess Margaret, her only sibling. The descendants of their father king George VI's siblings then follow. There are more than 70 living people descended from his father, king George V, who died in 1936. Only people descended from Sophia of Hanover (1630-1714) can inherit the throne, according to the 1701 Act of Settlement. The monarchy's website goes down as far as Zara Tindall, though some counts list more than 5,700 living descendants of Sophia, including Roman Catholics, who cannot inherit. The highest excluded person is 30-year-old Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick, a first cousin twice removed of the queen, who converted to Catholicism. He would otherwise be 39th in line. In changes to the succession laws which came into effect in 2015, males born after October 28, 2011 no longer take precedence over their older sisters. Also people married to Catholics are no longer excluded, with Downpatrick's father George Windsor, the Earl of St Andrews, the highest person restored to the line. The line is a vast tangle of nobility and ordinary, untitled people from all corners of Europe. Several other European monarchs feature. King Harald V of Norway, like Queen Elizabeth a great-grandchild of king Edward VII, is the highest on the list, coming within the top 100. Besides Britain, this is also the line of succession to the thrones of 15 other Commonwealth realms. ? 2019 AFP<doc-sep>Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their new baby boy into the world on May 6, Kensington Palace announced on Monday. It is the couple’s first child. Harry and Meghan married in May 2018, becoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Now, the question is where the new arrival will fit into the line of succession of the British royal family. The answer is seventh in line. The new baby bumps Prince Andrew, the second son of the Queen, into eighth place. But the youngster is behind his cousins Prince George and Princess Charlotte, by virtue of their father — Prince William — being older than Harry and second in line to the throne. The good news for the new baby is that its gender didn’t come into consideration in the line of succession, unlike in times gone by. See where Baby Sussex fits into the mix. Jennifer Prandato In 2013, the U.K. Parliament passed a law allowing succession of siblings to be decided by age, rather than gender. The previous rules meant that an older sister would come further down the pecking order than her younger brother. The new royal baby is seventh in line for the throne. Jen Prandanto The new baby also bumps Princess Eugenie, who got married last October, into tenth in line to the throne. The new line of succession is as follows: Prince Charles Prince William Prince George Princess Charlotte Prince Louis Prince Harry Harry and Meghan’s new baby Prince Andrew Princess Beatrice Princess Eugenie Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com and Billy Perrigo at billy.perrigo@time.com.<doc-sep>
The newest royal baby is here! The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have given birth to a healthy baby boy on May 6. Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor is the newest royal, and the little one changes the line of succession for the British throne. The baby is officially the seventh in line, coming in right after his dad Prince Harry. That means, he has bumped Queen Elizabeth's son Prince Andrew, and his two daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, down the line. Succession to the British throne: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales Prince William, Duke of Cambridge Prince George of Cambridge Princess Charlotte of Cambridge Prince Louis of Cambridge Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor Prince Andrew, Duke of York Princess Beatrice of York Princess Eugenie of York Does that mean the new royal baby has a title? As of right now, laws state that the oldest male heir would inherit the “Duke of Sussex” title from his dad. But Meghan and Harry's announcement of their baby's name shows that the baby won't have a title. At the end of the day, it’s really up to the queen to determine whether her great-grandchildren receive a HRH. Before both Charlotte and Louis were born, the Queen stepped in to grant them (and any other future siblings) the formal distinction. Does it matter that the baby's a boy? Nope! In fact, Princess Charlotte's birth was historic, because it took place after all the prime ministers in the 16 Commonwealth realms (including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) met and agreed to change the rules. The Succession to the Crown Act took effect in 2013, and made it so a royal’s sex won’t determine their place. For example, in the past Prince Louis would have skipped ahead of Princess Charlotte’s spot. But now, his big sis gets to remain as number four.