Could I have a rightful claim to the Scottish throne?

Question

I am a direct descendant of Mary Queen of Scots, King James I, Charles I, and Charles II, but of course, this is through an illegitimate line. However, there have been many people who have had been said to have had a rightful claim to the Scottish throne even though their line was illegitmate seeing as how the Royal Stuart line went extinct, legitimately-wise, but has lived on through illegitimate lines. An example of a person who had Royal Stuart ancestry is Princess Diana.

Answer 1

You can try to claim the throne if you'd like, but you have to take it by force of arms.

Answer 2

Legitimate claims to the throne through the Stuart line were made by the Old Pretender James Stuart, the legitimate son of James II by his second marriage. James Stuart was the half brother of Queens Mary II and Anne. His legitimate son was the Young Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie. Neither of them had any real claim to the English throne as they were Catholics and the Act of Succession forbade Catholics or anyone married to a Catholic from taking the throne.

If legitimate Stuarts are not in line, no illegitimate Stuart is. The last illegitimate Stuart to have a go at taking the throne was Charles II's son, the Duke of Monmouth. He lost his head.

Answer 3

Children born illegitimate are not eligible to inherit any throne. Since the thrones were unified under James I and VI only legitimate heirs can inherit (as long as they're not Catholic). George I was a direct legitimate great-grandson of James I and VI.

According to the Act of Settlement only descendants of Sophia, Electress of Hanover can inherit the British throne (includes Scotland). The last legitimate Stuart heir was a Cardinal and therefore died childless.

Answer 4

Both Diana, Princess of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall are both direct descendants of Charles II through an illegitimate line, but they do no hold any claims to the British throne simply because illegitimate offspring of a monarch are not recognized through the eyes of the Church of England as rightful heirs.

Queen Anne, was the last monarch of the House of Stuart and the Stuarts were followed by the House of Hanover, under the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701. The line of succession to the British Throne is an ordered list of the people in line to succeed to the throne of the United Kingdom. The succession is regulated by the Act of Settlement 1701, which limits it to the heirs of the Electress Sophia of Hanover, as determined by male-preference primogeniture, religion, and legitimate birth:

- A person is always immediately followed in the succession by his or her own legitimate descendants (his or her "line"). Birth order and gender matter: older sons (and their lines) come before younger sons (and theirs); a person's sons (and their lines), irrespective of age, all come before his or her daughters (and their lines).

- The monarch must be a Protestant at time of accession, and enter into communion with the Church of England after accession.

- Anyone who is Roman Catholic, becomes Roman Catholic, or marries a Roman Catholic is permanently excluded from the succession.

- A person born to parents who are not married to each other at the time of birth is not included in the line of succession. The subsequent marriage of the parents does not alter this.

Answer 5

No. Scotland has a monarch already,Queen Elizabeth II,daughter of the Scottish Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon,the late Queen Mother.

Answer 6

I can also claim the Scottish Throne, I am a descendant of 21 generations of kings in scotland, plus at least 2 earls of wemyss.

Answer 7

As long as we're going to extremes to announce our somewhat ludicrous links with royalty, ever since I discovered through Ancestry.com that my paternal grandmother was an 8th cousin, twice removed, of Queen Elizabeth by way of the Queen Mum, I've felt a certain protective kinship towards her. If you try to overthrow the British throne, you'll have to mess with her distant Texas cousin. Besides, on her Mum's side at least, Queen Elizabeth is a Scot!

Answer 8

My father in law researched his roots extensively and there is proof that his Grandfather was the King of Scotland 7 generations back. My father in law has since passed but I am married to his eldest son. Just a shot in the dark and curious to see what the answer will be. Thankyou.

Answer 9

You could, but good luck trying since the Act of Union has been in effect for a few hundred years now.

Plus I think you would be overuled by the Jacobite pretender to the throne, (should he ever choose to lodge such a claim) along with anyone else that my have a legit case to be made like them.

Answer 10

Im truly sorry to let you know this,but unfortunately no,You nor anyone except the Royal familt can have entitlement to the throne.
Only the Royal family can have entitlement to the throne,such as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.Bye the way Scotland does not have a Monarch just like Northern Ireland,Scotland is ruled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Her Government.No one other then Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth can rule England,Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Answer 11

If your descent is illegitimate, then you have no claim. No monarchy in the world recognizes illegitimate offspring as acceptable claimants to the throne.