news

Here’s How Princess Eugenie’s Baby Will Upend the British Line of Succession

ICYMI: Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter, Princess Eugenie, recently announced that she and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, are expecting their first child together. So, how will the royal baby affect the British line of succession?

The newborn’s arrival won’t impact any of the working members of the family, including Prince William and Prince Charles. However, the same can’t be said for everyone else.

When the baby is born, he/she will be 11th in the line of succession. This means Prince Edward (AKA the Earl of Wessex) will be bumped down to the number 12 spot, and so on.

The royals who are most affected by the newborn’s arrival will be Prince Edward (duh) and his two children, James, Viscount Severn (moving from 12th to 13th) and Lady Louise (moving from 13th to 14th). Princess Anne is also included in the mix, along with her son, Peter Phillips, and her two grandchildren: Savannah (moving from 16th to 17th) and Isla (moving from 17th to 18th).

Last (but not least), we’d like to give an honorary mention to Zara Tindall, who will be 19th in line to the throne after the baby is born. Her two children—Mia and Lena—will also be bumped down, but you get the idea.

We first learned about Princess Eugenie’s pregnancy last month when she shared a slideshow of photos on Instagram, featuring extremely tiny koala slippers. She captioned the post, “Jack and I are so excited for early 2021…[baby emoji].”

Confusing, indeed.

Listen to ‘Royally Obsessed,’ the Podcast for People Who Love the Royal Family


Princess Eugenie's Favorites:

Reformation York Coat

328
Buy Now

Elsa Peretti Color by the Yard Necklace

4,700
Buy Now

Monet Smocked Floral Maxi Dress

395
Buy Now

Gianvito Rossi Assymmetric Oil Patent Sandals

795
Buy Now

Greta Heggeness

Senior Editor

Greta Heggeness is a California-based editor at PureWow and has been writing about entertainment since 2015. She covers everything from awards shows to exclusive celebrity...
read full bio

Why You Should Trust Us

PureWow's editors and writers have spent more than a decade shopping online, digging through sales and putting our home goods, beauty finds, wellness picks and more through the wringer—all to help you determine which are actually worth your hard-earned cash. From our PureWow100 series (where we rank items on a 100-point scale) to our painstakingly curated lists of fashion, beauty, cooking, home and family picks, you can trust that our recommendations have been thoroughly vetted for function, aesthetics and innovation. Whether you're looking for travel-size hair dryers you can take on-the-go or women’s walking shoes that won’t hurt your feet, we’ve got you covered.