66 66 [by the Conquest, resided. She married Malcolm of Scotland. The royal family of Scotland, from that time downwards, were the offspring of Malcolm and Margaret, of which royal family King James the First of England was the direct lineal heir. James the First, therefore, united in his person every possible claim by hereditary right to the English as well as to the Scottish throne ; and it was in virtue of this claim that he succeeded to the throne, notwithstanding that Henry VIII. had, under the above-mentioned Act of 1543, purported to exclude the line of Margaret. And the English parliament did, accordingly, by the 1 Jac. I. (1604), c. 1, "recognize and "acknowledge, that immediately upon the dissolution and "decease of Elizabeth, late Queen of England, the imperial crown of the realm of England did by inherent birthright, and lawful and undoubted succession, descend "and come to your most excellent Majesty, as being "lineally, justly, and lawfully, next and sole heir of the "blood royal of this realm" (a). The hereditary rights which had so centred in James the First were transmitted to his son and heir, King Charles the First; and from him they descended to King Charles the Second, on whose Restoration in 1660 it was declared by both Houses of Parliament, "that according to their duty and allegiance "they did heartily, joyfully, and unanimously acknowledge "and proclaim, that, immediately upon the decease of our "late sovereign lord, King Charles, the imperial crown of "these realms did, by inherent birthright and lawful and "undoubted succession, descend to his most excellent majesty, Charles the Second, as being lineally, justly, and "lawfully, next heir of the blood royal of this realm (y).” 66 (r) Elizabeth of York, the mother of Queen Margaret of Scotland, was heiress of the House of Mortimer. And Mr. Carte observes, that the house of Mortimer, in virtue of its descent from Gladys, only sister to Llewellin [Thus it clearly appears, that the crown of England hath been ever an hereditary crown, though subject to limitations by parliament; and the remainder of this chapter will be chiefly concerned with those instances wherein, since the restoration, parliament hath asserted or exercised this right of limiting the succession, a right which, as we have seen, had been previously asserted in the reigns of Henry the Fourth, Henry the Seventh, Henry the Eighth, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth. The first instance in point of time, is the famous Bill of Exclusion in the latter end of the reign of Charles the Second, the object of the bill being to set aside the king's brother and presumptive heir, James Duke of York, on the score of his being a papist. But although the bill passed the house of commons, it was rejected in the lords, the king having also declared that he never would consent to it. From this transaction we may collect two things: (1) That the crown was universally acknowledged to be hereditary, and the inheritance indefeasible unless by parliament, and (2) That the parliament could have defeated the inheritance; for the commons acknowledged the hereditary right, and the lords did not dispute the power, but merely the propriety, of the exclusion. However, as the bill took no effect, James the Second succeeded to the throne of his ancestors, and, but for his own infatuated conduct, might have enjoyed it during the remainder of his life. But his own conduct, combining with other circumstances, brought on the Revolution of 1688. The true ground and principle upon which that memorable event proceeded, was an entirely new one in politics, viz., the abdication of the reigning monarch, and the vacancy of the throne thereupon. For in full assembly of the lords and commons, met together upon the supposition of this vacancy, both houses came to this resolution: "That James the Second, having endeavoured to sub"vert the constitution of the kingdom by breaking the 66 ["original contract between king and people, and having, "by the advice of jesuits and other wicked persons, violated the fundamental laws, and having withdrawn "himself out of this kingdom, has abdicated the govern"ment, and that the throne is thereby vacant" (:). Further, on the 12th February, 1689, the two houses proceeded to declare on the basis of such resolution, “that "William and Mary, prince and princess of Orange, be "and be declared king and queen, to hold the crown and royal dignity during their lives, and the life of the "survivor of them; and that the sole and full exercise of "the legal power be only in, and executed by, the said "prince of Orange, in the names of the said prince and princess, during their joint lives; and after their deceases "the said crown and royal dignity to be to the heirs of the body of the said princess: and for default of such issue, "to the Princess Anne of Denmark and the heirs of her "body; and for default of such issue, to the heirs of the body of the said Prince of Orange" (a). And this order of succession took effect accordingly. 66 66 66 Towards the end of King William's reign, on the death of the duke of Gloucester, who was the last surviving child of the Princess Anne, the king and parliament thought it necessary again to limit the succession, in order to prevent another vacancy of the throne. The Bill of Rights, 1689, had already enacted, that every person who should be reconciled to, or hold communion with, the see of Rome, or who should profess the popish religion, or marry a papist, should be excluded from and be for ever incapable to inherit the crown; and the king and parliament now turned their eyes towards the Princess Sophia, electress of Hanover, the most accomplished princess of her age, who was a protestant, and who, as being the youngest daughter of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, daughter of James the First, was the nearest of the antient blood royal, that was (z) Com. Journ. 7th Feb. 1688. (a) Com. Journ. 12th Feb. 1688. [not incapacitated by professing the popish religion. On her, therefore, and the heirs of her body, being protestants, the remainder of the crown, expectant on the death of King William and Queen Anne without issue, was settled by the Act of Settlement, 1701; and it was at the same time enacted, that whosoever should thereafter come to the possession of the crown should join in the communion of the Church of England, as by law established. And it was subsequently enacted, by the Succession to the Crown Act, 1707, that if any person should maliciously advisedly and directly maintain, by writing or printing, that the kings of this realm are not able (with the authority of parliament) to make laws to bind the crown and the descent thereof, he should be guilty of treason; and that if he should maintain the same by advised speaking, he should incur the penalties of a præmunire. The Princess Sophia died before Queen Anne, and the inheritance thus limited descended on the former's son and heir, George the First. From him it descended to George the Second; from him to his grandson and heir, George the Third ;] from him to his son George the Fourth, who was succeeded by his brother William the Fourth; and from the monarch last mentioned, the crown descended to his heiress, the daughter of his brother Edward Duke of Kent, her late Majesty Queen Victoria, and in the year 1901 from her to her son Edward the, Seventh, our present king. CHAPTER IV. OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. [IT is to be observed, that when a female sits on the throne of these realms in her own right, she is styled queen regnant; and a queen regnant has the same powers, prerogatives, rights, dignities, and duties as if she were a king, as was expressly declared by the 1 Mary I. (1554), sess. 3, c. 1. On the other hand, the wife of a reigning king is styled merely the queen consort; but she is, by virtue of her marriage, participant of divers prerogatives above other women (a). For, first, the queen consort is a public person, exempt and distinct from the king; and she is, and always has been, of ability to purchase lands and to convey them, to make leases, to grant copyholds, and to do other acts of ownership without the concurrence of her lord (b), a privilege as old as the Saxon era (c). She is also capable at common law of taking a grant from the king (d), in which particular she agrees with the Augusta of the Roman laws, who, according to Justinian, was equally capable of making a grant to, and of receiving one from, the emperor (e). Moreover, the queen consort of England hath separate courts and offices distinct from those of the king, in matters not only of ceremony but of law; and her attorney and solicitor-general are entitled to a place within the bar of his majesty's courts, together with the king's counsel (ƒ). She may also enter into (a) Finch, L. 86. (b) 4 Rep. 23. (c) Seld. Jan. Ang. 1, 42. (d) 32 Hen. 8 (1540), c. 51; the Crown Private Estate Act, 1800. (e) Cod. 5, 16, 26. (f) Seld. Tit. Hon. 1, 6, 7. |