Queen's Grandson Keeps Place In Succession As His Fiancee Converts

Britain's Act of Settlement of 1701 requires the monarch to be a member of the Church of England and excludes from the position of king or queen any member of the royal family who has married a Catholic. Agence France-Presse reports today that Queen Elizabeth II's eldest grandson, Peter Mark Andrew Phillips, can remain as eleventh in line for the throne. His fiancee, Autumn Kelly (who he will marry later this month) has converted from Catholicism to the Church of England. Peter Phillips is the oldest child of Princess Anne from her marriage to Captain Mark Phillips. Today's Scotsman says that this development has renewed calls for repeal of the Act of Settlement. (See prior posting).