Princess Sophia's Precedence Act 1711

The Princess Sophia's Precedence Act 1711 (10 Ann. c. 8) is an act of the Parliament of Great Britain.

Princess Sophia's Precedence Act 1711^[a]

Parliament of Great Britain
Long title	An Act for settling the Precedence of the most Excellent Princess Sophia Electress and Dutchess Dowager of Hanover of the Elector Her Son and of the Electoral Prince the Duke of Cambridge.
Citation	10 Ann. c. 8[b] 10 Ann. c. 4[c]
Territorial extent	Great Britain
Dates
Royal assent	9 February 1712
Commencement	7 December 1711[d]
Other legislation
Relates to	Act of Settlement 1701
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Text of the Princess Sophia's Precedence Act 1711 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

It reiterated the Act of Settlement 1701 (12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) that the line of succession to the British throne, in the absence of any children of Queen Anne, passed directly to Electress Sophia of Hanover and "the heirs of her body being Protestants". As such, Sophia was heir presumptive, followed by her children.

This being so, it provided that the formal order of precedence be modified to reflect this; Sophia was given precedence after Queen Anne, followed by her son George; any other Protestant heirs of Sophia were to take precedence before the Archbishop of Canterbury, the great officers of state, and the nobility, effectively ranking them with the royal family.

As of 2025^[update], the was wholly in force in Great Britain.^[1]

Notes

1. The citation of this act by this short title was authorised by section 1 of, and the first schedule to, the Short Titles Act 1896. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
2. This is the citation in The Statutes of the Realm.
3. This is the citation in The Statutes at Large.
4. Start of session.