King Charles III succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth II as British monarch last week, after an unprecedented 70 years on the throne. Yet if the UK had succession laws that skipped females like the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon (as has been the case in some real-life monarchies) then Grace Kelly’s relative would be next in line.
When Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, she was the firstborn of her late father, the Duke of Kent, who in turn was the next younger brother of King William IV who had no legitimate heir.
However, the new monarch lost her rule over Hanover in Germany. This title had gone right back to King George I, a non-English speaking aristocrat, who was invited to succeed Queen Anne after a number of eligible Catholics in the line of succession were blocked.
The reason Victoria lost this right was that the royal law in Hanover skipped females just like in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. The most obvious example from the latter show is Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, who is known as The Queen Who Never Was.
As a result, the next younger brother of Victoria’s father, Ernest Augustus became King of Hanover. Yes had we had such German laws like the Iron Throne that skipped females, he would have been King of England and she would have been the real-life Queen Who Never Was.
Now if we follow Ernest Augustus’ line down to today, the current head of the House of Hanover is Prince Ernst August of Hanover.
Born in 1954, the 68-year-old is married to (but separated from) his second wife Princess Caroline of Monaco.
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Princess Caroline is the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco and his wife Hollywood star Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco. This means that, in another world, Prince Ernst August – the son-in-law of Princess Grace – could have been King instead of Charles III.
However, the Hollywood star’s grandson wouldn’t be Prince of Wales in this hypothetical situation. This is because the next in line, also called Prince Ernst August, is the son of his father’s first wife Chantal Hochuli.
