[Passed 9-0, Royal Assent: October 5th, 2016]
An ACT to Regulate the Succession to the Royal and Imperial Throne of the Kingdom of Scone and of the Glennains.
Whereas according to Article IV, Section 8 of the Charter of Scone Act 2014, Parliament is empowered and expected to determine in Law the orderly succession to the Throne of this Kingdom:
BE IT ENACTED, therefore, by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords and Burgesses in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1. SHORT TITLE
This Act may be cited for all purposes as “The Succession to the Throne Act 2016.”
2. THE DURATION OF THE REIGN OF THE SOVEREIGN
The reign of the Sovereign is hereby declared to persist for the duration of his natural life, unless and until he shall, of his own free will, put his hand to an instrument of abdication, or be removed due to permanent incapacitation, according to the prescriptions of the law.
3. THE NATURE OF THE SUCCESSION
a. Succession to the Throne of the Kingdom of Scone and of the Glennains is hereby declared to be ordinarily appointive, and extraordinarily elective, in nature.
b. Succession to the Throne of the Kingdom of Scone and of the Glennains is not to be determined by heredity in any respect.
c. The task of the appointment of an heir-apparent to the Throne of the Kingdom of Scone and of the Glennains belongs to the Sovereign, alone, during the course of his lawful reign.
d. The task of the election of a new Sovereign when there is no heir-apparent belongs to Parliament, or to the Government, according to the prescriptions of Article IV, Section 9 of the Charter of Scone Act 2014, and by means of such internal procedures for the fulfillment of the same as may be devised by either at the time.
4. THE APPOINTMENT OF AN HEIR-APPARENT TO THE THRONE BY THE SOVEREIGN
a. The Peers of the Realm, as a body, shall have the right to be consulted concerning the Sovereign’s choice of an heir-apparent to the Throne prior to that person’s formal appointment as such; they shall not, however, be empowered to compel His Majesty to yield to their advice in the matter.
a. Whenever the Sovereign shall designate an heir-apparent to the Throne, Parliament shall, as soon as it is able, deliberate on the designation. If Parliament is in session, the consideration of the heir-apparent shall take precedence over any other Parliamentary business, excepting the opening or dissolution of a Parliament. In the event Parliament is not sitting, Parliament shall consider the appointment as its first item of legislative business upon the resumption of Parliament. The Prime Minister shall then put forward a resolution declaring Parliament’s assent of the Sovereign’s designated heir-apparent to be the lawful successor to the Throne.
b. The Sovereign may, at any time during his lawful reign, elect to nominate to the Peers of the Realm, as a body, an individual of his choosing, male or female, Sconnish or otherwise, to be formally recognized and appointed heir-apparent to the Throne, with right of succession to the Throne in the event of the Sovereign’s death, abdication, or removal due to permanent incapacitation, according to law.
c. The Sovereign, having permitted the Peers of the Realm, as a body, to deliberate for up to 30 days concerning his choice of an heir-apparent and to tender to His Majesty their collegial advice concerning the same, may subsequently appoint his nominee, in Council, by the elevation of his nominee to the style, title, and dignity of “Prince (or Princess) Royal,” by Letters Patent under the Great Seal.
c. Parliament shall debate the resolution providing Parliament’s assent to the designation of the nominated individual as heir-apparent of the Kingdom of Scone. If the resolution is adopted by Parliament, the Sovereign may subsequently appoint his nominee, in Council, by the elevation of his nominee to the style, title, and dignity of “Prince (or Princess) Royal,” by Letters Patent under the Great Seal. If the resolution is rejected by Parliament, that individual may not be designated as the heir-apparent unless Parliament later adopts a resolution providing its consent.
d. The formal elevation of the Sovereign’s heir-apparent to the style, title, and dignity of “Prince (or Princess) Royal” shall in no wise constrain His Majesty from honouring the heir-apparent aforesaid with such additional degrees, styles, titles, and dignities as he shall think fit to honour him (or her) with.
e. In the event that the Sovereign shall nominate an individual to succeed him who is not a Sconnish subject, such a nominee shall become a citizen of the Kingdom of Scone automatically, without need of further formality, upon his (or her) formal appointment as His Majesty’s heir-apparent by Letters Patent under the Great Seal as prescribed above.
f. In no wise shall a foreign person who is not capable of being a subject of His Majesty, such as the sovereign of another realm, be eligible to be named or appointed as His Majesty’s heir-apparent, unless and until he (or she) shall first abdicate his (or her) external sovereignty, or otherwise entirely eradicate any other known legal impediment whatsoever to his (or her) nomination and appointment.
g. In the event that the King-in-Parliament should one day elect to gift the Kingdom of Scone (and her imperial possessions) to a foreign sovereign, thereby abdicating his own sovereignty and that of this Kingdom to that foreign sovereign, the same shall be by a wholly separate Act of Parliament, the provisions of which shall not be related to or be in anywise constrained by the provisions of this Bill.
5. THE FAILURE OF THE SOVEREIGN TO APPOINT AN HEIR-APPARENT TO THE THRONE
There shall be no heir-presumptive; in the event that the Sovereign shall fail to appoint an heir-apparent prior to the lawful conclusion of his reign, the prescriptions of Article IV, Section 9 of the Charter of Scone Act 2014 shall be observed and followed.
6. THE PRINCE (OR PRINCESS) ROYAL, THE ROYAL HOUSE, AND THE SUCCESSION
a. Upon his (or her) formal elevation to the style, title, and dignity of Prince (or Princess) Royal, the heir-apparent shall subscribe to the affirmation posted in the schedule hereto in the presence of the Sovereign-in-Parliament.
b. Upon his (or her) formal elevation to the style and title of Prince (or Princess) Royal, the heir-apparent to the Throne shall at once be understood to be an adopted member of the Royal House of which the Sovereign is the head and be subject to the internal statutes of the same, if indeed there be a Royal House, and if he (or she) is not already a member of that Royal House.
c. The name, composition, and statutes of the Royal House of the Kingdom of Scone and of the Glennains may be proclaimed from time to time by the Sovereign as His Majesty shall think fit.
d. Statutes of the Royal House which contradict this legislation or any other legislation of the Crown-in-Parliament shall be null and void.
e. In no wise shall the membership of the Royal House, or the family of the Sovereign or the Prince (or Princess Royal), be understood to constitute an order of succession to the throne.
f. The impossibility of the extension of an order of succession to the Throne beyond the heir-apparent notwithstanding, the Sovereign shall in no wise be constrained from decreeing or otherwise publishing orders of precedence from time to time as he shall think fit.
g. The Prince (or Princess) Royal shall always be understood to rank in precedence in these Realms immediately behind the Royal Consort, or if there be no Royal Consort, behind the Sovereign, himself, and shall be accorded all due honour and deference as is properly accorded the heir-apparent to the Throne.
h. The Prince (or Princess) Royal, as a citizen of the Kingdom of Scone, shall be entitled to a seat, a voice, and a vote in Parliament. In the event that the Peers of the Realm shall sit in a house of their own separate from the Burgesses, the Prince (or Princess) Royal shall take his (or her) seat with the Burgesses unless and until he (or she) is elevated to the Peerage by the Sovereign.
h. The Prince (or Princess) Royal, as a citizen of the Kingdom of Scone, shall be entitled to a seat, a voice, and a vote in Parliament. The Prince (or Princess) Royal shall also be able to observe the proceedings of the House of Peers even if he (or she) is not a Peer. In the event the Prince (or Princess) Royal is not a peer, he (or she) shall have no vote or voice in the House of Peers unless he (or she) shall serve as Prince (or Princess) Regent. If he (or she) shall serve as Prince (or Princess) Regent, he (or she) shall have the ability to participate in debate and create new topics within the House of Peers for discussion, but not to vote.
i. A Prince (or Princess) Royal, once lawfully appointed, may not be deprived of his (or her) title and inheritance except by an Act of Parliament to that effect, or by voluntarily disclaiming that title in a letter presented to His Majesty the King, a copy of which shall be submitted to His Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council.
7. TERMINOLOGY
Every reference in this Bill to “The King,” and to “His Majesty” shall, unless the context requires otherwise, be deemed to include a reference to His Majesty’s lawful heirs and successors, of either sex.
8. COMMENCEMENT
This legislation and all the provisions therein shall come into force upon receiving the Royal Assent.
SCHEDULE
The Solemn Affirmation of the Prince (or Princess) Royal and Imperial:
“I, N.N., do this day, in the presence of Your Majesty and Your Majesty’s Parliament, declare and profess that I am become your liege man (or woman) of life and limb, here to do You homage, and to profess unto Your Majesty my perfect loyalty and obedience.
I do solemnly and sincerely affirm before Your Majesty that I will observe and faithfully adhere to the Laws enacted by Your Majesty in this Your Parliament and in Your Council Royal, and that I shall, at all times, conduct myself in a manner befitting the heir to a Throne so august and revered as that of Your Most Sacred and Excellent Majesty.”
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