SW News: Following the demise of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, September 8, her son Charles, 73, took over the reign as King of England. King Charles III's succession to the throne is regulated not only through descent but also by Parliamentary statute.

The order of succession is the sequence of members of the Royal Family in the order in which they stand in line to the throne. Next in line after King Charles III is his eldest son Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge.

Following William is his eldest child, Prince George of Cambridge, who is 9 years old. After George are the less likely heirs--Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis of Cambridge, 4.

The next in line to the throne would be William’s younger brother Prince Harry, 37. After William and his children and Harry and his children in the line of succession come Prince Andrew, Elizabeth’s middle son, who is also known as the Duke of York.

And, after Andrew is his daughter, Princess Beatrice, and his granddaughter, Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, who was born nearly a year ago. Then it’s Beatrice’s younger sister, Princess Eugenie, and Eugenie’s son, August Brooksbank. Finally, in line after all of Elizabeth’s sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are her second child and only daughter, Princess Anne.

After Andrew and his children and grandchildren are Elizabeth’s youngest son, Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, and his two children, 15-year-old James, and 18-year-old Louise Mountbatten-Windsor.

Elizabeth, who was queen for 70 years, ascended the throne in 1952 after her father King George VI died.

The modern determination for the succession of the United Kingdom’s throne comes from the ‘Succession to the Crown Act of 2013’. According to the Act, the eldest child will become the monarch, regardless of the gender of any siblings. This applies to children born after October 28, 2011. The changes came into force in all sixteen Commonwealth Realms in March 2015.

The Sovereign must, in addition, be in communion with the Anglican Church and must swear to preserve the established Church of England and the established Church of Scotland. The Sovereign must also promise to uphold the Protestant succession.