If Queen Elizabeth II’s Bloodline Ends, How Is The New Monarch Chosen?

The British monarchy’s rules of succession are set up in such a way that every royal knows his or her place and that there’s no confusion in the pecking order. Next to Queen Elizabeth II is Prince Charles, followed by Prince William and then William’s son, Prince George.

However, royal family fans are not averse to asking hypothetical questions even if their likelihood of occurring is close to zilch. One such question that some fans are asking is what happens next in case all of Queen Elizabeth II’s relatives or all of the Windsors were to die out.

Someone actually posted a similar question on the Q&A site Quora so that more knowledgeable fans can share their thoughts on the matter. The surprising thing is that the answers to the query are pretty diverse.

Quora user James O’Malley thinks that should the unthinkable happen and no one with a valid claim to the throne is left, the monarchy will probably look elsewhere.

“Usually, a new monarch is imported — in a lot of cases this has been a minor foreign prince from another country, perhaps even another monarch, or sometimes someone who has little or no royal connections at all,” O’Malley explained.

While his answer is a bit surprising, he was able to give a few examples to buttress his claim. “James VI of Scotland became James I of England when Elizabeth I died without an heir,” O’Malley wrote. “He was her cousin, though.”

Other examples he gave are George I becoming King of Great Britain after Queen Anne died. Also, William III was a Dutch prince, yet he became the King of Great Britain.

However, the main consensus is that it’s practically impossible for the UK to run out of suitable candidates to the throne. The reason is that it’s not limited to the Windsor line alone.

“The UK line of succession is defined as non-Catholic descendants of Sophie of Hannover,” Mark Harrison explained. “They live in multiple parts of the world,” he added, implying that it would be impossible for them to die all at once.

Indeed, the latest compilation of names included in the line of succession is a rather lengthy one. Compiled last 2011, the list contains more than 5,700 names that it’s impossible for all of them to die short of an extinction-level event.