Kate and William's second child will change the line of sucession, including Prince Harry's position - but who else will be affected?
The new Royal baby has now become the fourth in line to the throne,bumping Prince Harry one place down in the pecking order
And it is far from impossible that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's second child could one day wear the crown herself, particularly if her brother, Prince George, fails to have children.
If she does become queen, the new baby will be the first to claim the throne since the law relating to the line of succession was changed in 2013.
Under the Succession to the Crown Act, princes no longer take precedence over their sisters, bringing an end to the system of male preference primogeniture which had been in place since the Act of Settlement of 1701.
That means the new princess will remain fourth in line to the throne regardless of whether or not her parents go on to have another son.
Versions of the Act were adopted by all 16 Commonwealth realms over which the Royal Family reigns.
As the change in the law was not retrospective, meaning the Princess Royal remains behind her younger brothers the Duke of York and Duke of Wessex in the line of succession, the first members of the family to be affected by the move were the children of Lady Davina Lewis, whose father, the Duke of Gloucester is the Queen’s first cousin.
Her son Tāne, who was born in 2012, is 29th in line to the throne while his sister Senna, born in 2010, is 28th.
By giving birth to a second child, the Duchess of Cambridge has now fulfilled her quasi-constitutional duty of providing an “heir and a spare”.
She is the first Royal princess to be born within the direct line of succession since the Princess Royal in 1950, and is likely to one day inherit the title, which is traditionally given to the oldest daughter of the monarch.
As the child of a Royal “spare,” the Queen herself was thought unlikely to reign until her uncle, King Edward VII, abdicated in favour of her father in 1936, whereupon he became King George VI and she the heir to the throne.
Here is how the line of succession will look from now on.
1. The Prince of Wales
Heir to the throne and the next king of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms. The Prince of Wales, 66, already holds the record for the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, having been in the position since 1952. He will also be the oldest person to be crowned in British history when he eventually succeeds the Queen.
2. The Duke of Cambridge
(EPA/FRED DUFOUR)
As the eldest son of the heir, the Duke of Cambridge will one day succeed his father the Prince of Wales. At the age of 32, he may have 30 or so years to wait, if his father enjoys the longevity of other members of the Royal family.
3. Prince George
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first-born son will one day be King George VII, meaning that anyone alive today is unlikely to see another Queen on the throne in their lifetime once Elizabeth II's reign is over.
4. The new royal baby
Prince George's brother or sister will be the "spare to the heir", and will face the same problems as Prince Harry and the Duke of York in trying to find the right role for themselves during a lifetime constrained by their royal title. They would only become king or queen if Prince George predeceased them without having any living children. Recent changes in the laws of succession mean the sex of the baby will be irrelevant to his or her place in the succession.
5. Prince Harry
(Max Mumby)
The all-action Prince has spent most of his life being the third in line to the throne, behind his brother Prince William, but has quickly found himself being bumped down to fifth, and could fall still further down the line of succession if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have any more children.
6. The Duke of York
(PA)
Once second in line to the throne, Prince Andrew, 55, is now so far down the list that he is no longer part of the "core" Royal family that will share the burden of official engagments in the future. His daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, are no longer entitled to police bodyguards, which now have to be funded by Prince Andrew.
7. Princess Beatrice
(Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)
Princess Beatrice has struggled desperately with the problem of how to combine a royal title with a need to find work. After quitting her £20,000-a-year job with Sony Entertainment Pictures in December, she treated herself to four holidays in the space of a little over a month - two in the Caribbean and two skiing in Verbier. The 26-year-old is expected to be back in work again soon.
8. Princess Eugenie
(Ian Jones)
The Duke of York's younger daughter, who is 25, shrewdly moved to New York to work as an auctions manager in 2014 after taking a degree in English Literature and History of Art at Newcastle University. She undertakes occasional public duties but her life in New York has given her a level of normality that other members of the Royal family often crave.
9. The Earl of Wessex
(Reuters)
Having failed to complete his Royal Marines commando training, the Earl, 50, became a case study in the pitfalls of trying to earn a living when your mother is the Queen. He organised the cringe-making Grand Knockout Tournament (better known as It's a Royal Knockout) in 1987, then carried on with his TV production career, but incurred the fury of his brother the Prince of Wales when a camera crew employed by him unwittingly broke the terms of an agreement to leave Prince William alone during his time at university. He is now a full-time working royal. His seven-year-old sonViscount Severn is 10th in line to the throne, with 11-year-old daughterLady Louise Windsor 11th.
12. The Princess Royal
The Princess Royal with Zara and Mike Tindall (Eddie Mulholland/The Telegraph)
Because the 2011 law change on the succession did not apply retrospectively, the Princess Royal, 64, remains behind her three brothers in the line of succession despite being the Queen's second-born child.
Often described as the hardest-working member of the Royal family, she carries out hundreds of official engagements each year without receiving much coverage in the national media. Her son Peter Phillips, 37, is 13th in line, with his children Savannah, four, and three-year-old Isla 14th and 15th. The Princess's daughter Zara Tindall, 33, (pictured) is 16th in line, and her one-year-old daughter Mia is 17th.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk