[HPforGrownups] Re: Harry and the Phoenix

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 43538

On 3 Sep 2002 at 2:40, bboy_mn wrote:

> Many people have said that after 1,000 years in the small wizard
> world, there must be drops of Gryffindor blood all over the place. So,
> let's look at the Royal Family of Britain as an example. There are
> cousins and uncles and all kinds of people who can trace the heritage
> back to the roots of the Windsor family, but they are neither the
> descendants of the Royal Family nor the heir to the Royal Family.
> Right now Prince William, the first born, is the crown prince and heir
> to the throne, his younger brother, Prince Henry (Harry) is nothing
> 'to the throne'. The next heir will be the son or daughter of William.
> So even as close as Prince Henry/Harry is, he and his children will
> never be the 'heirs' to the throne.

Actually they are - the distinction is quite important. I'm aware of the legal issues 
involved because I actually have a claim to the British throne - there is no way short 
of major holocaust that somehow leaves the institution intact, that I would ever be 
King (there's an estimated 3000 people closer to the throne than I am), but in terms 
of family trees and genealogy it's interesting (-8

Prince Charles is Heir Apparent to the throne of the United Kingdom. While Prince 
William has a certain right to be King provided he doesn't predecease his father, he 
has no special status - he is neither Heir Apparent nor Heir Presumptive. He is an 
Heir to the throne - and the one with the best claim of any except his father - *but* 
there are a vast number of other heirs. Under British law (the Act of Settlement of 
1701 to be precise) any descendent of Sophie, Electress of Hanover is an heir to 
the throne - unless disqualified by certain criteria. A rough estimate puts the number 
at over 10,000 - the order is typically never worked out to more than 100 places.

Precisely who is an heir is largely a legal decision - and who knows the intricacies of 
wizard law?

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately |webpage: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       |email: drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in
common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter
the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen
to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who:
The Face of Evil | Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia