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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The British royal family tree shows how members of the Royal Family are related; the line of succession is the separate legal order in which people may succeed to the Crown. The official succession list currently places the Prince of Wales first after the Sovereign, followed by Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. This guide maps the main modern branches and explains how to read that order.
How to read the British royal family tree
A family tree records relationships such as parent and child. Succession answers a different question: who stands next in the legally defined order to the throne. The Royal Household defines it as “the sequence of members of the Royal Family in the order in which they stand in line to the throne.” See the Royal Household’s succession page for the current list.
The distinction matters because not every relative appears near the top of the succession list, and a person’s position is not a measure of their working-royal status. The Household’s 2025 list of Royal Family names and titles is a reference for names and styles, not a complete relationship chart.
The modern family’s central branches
The Sovereign and the Wales branch
At the centre of the current succession is the Sovereign, followed by the Prince of Wales and his children. The official order after the Sovereign begins with the Prince of Wales, then Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. This places the Wales family at the start of the published sequence.
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The Sussex branch
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The couple stepped back as working members of the Royal Family in January 2020, but that change in working status did not remove them or their children from the succession list. The Royal Household’s Sussex information page records their status and children; the current order is on its succession page.
Other branches in the official order
After the Sussex children, the succession page lists Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Princess Beatrice and her daughter Sienna, Princess Eugenie and her children, followed by the Duke of Edinburgh’s branch and the Princess Royal’s descendants. The order and titles are subject to change, so use the official list rather than older printed charts or articles when checking a current position.
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Who is next in line to the British throne?
On the Royal Household’s succession page accessed on 8 October 2026, the Prince of Wales is first after the Sovereign. The next three are Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, in that order. The page continues through the Sussex family and the other branches noted above; consult it directly for the full current sequence and exact styles, since the list can change.
Why is Princess Charlotte ahead of Prince Louis?
The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 ended male preference for people born after 28 October 2011. In that cohort, an elder daughter is not displaced by a younger brother. Princess Charlotte was born before Prince Louis, so she remains ahead of him in the official order.
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What rules determine succession?
The Royal Household traces the rules to the Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701. Its succession guidance states that eligible successors are Protestant descendants of Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover; a Roman Catholic is excluded, and the Sovereign must be in communion with the Church of England.
The 2013 Act also ended the disqualification of a person who marries a Roman Catholic. The Royal Household says the changes took effect across all sixteen Realms in March 2015. These rules determine eligibility and order; they are not a complete account of every family relationship.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the modern monarchy developed
The English and Scottish Crowns were distinct until 1603, when James VI of Scotland became James I of England. The Royal Household’s monarchs chronology describes the later constitutional shift: from the late seventeenth century onward, monarchs lost executive power and became increasingly subject to Parliament. This is context for the modern monarchy, not the starting point of the Royal Family’s full genealogy.
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Where to check names and explore further
- For the legal order and current positions, use the Royal Household succession list.
- For a broader roster of names and titles, consult the Household’s 2025 Royal Family list, remembering it is not a kinship chart.
- For historical genealogy, Penguin describes Alison Weir’s Britain’s Royal Families as a genealogy and reference to the heritage of today’s royal family. It is a historical reference, not the official current succession list.
- Dulcie Ashdown’s The Royal Line of Succession is described by its publisher as updated and redesigned for 2018; treat it as older background reading rather than a current chart.
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