How It Works - UK (2020-05)

JigmeSingye

Wangchuck

KingofBhutan

Decidedtostep

downwhilethe

countrywasin

‘stabilityandpeace’.

JuanCarlosI

KingofSpain

Feelinghehad

achievedwhathe

wantedasking

andwithpopularitydeclining,

hepassedthetitletohisson.

AlbertII

Kingof

Belgium

OnBelgium’s

nationalday,Albertbrokethe

newsofabdicationduetoold

ageandill health.

SaudKingof

SaudiArabia

Quithisroleafter

pressurefrom

familytolethis

youngerbrotherattempttoend

thecountry’sfinancialcrisis.

Norodom

Sihanouk

Kingof

Cambodia

Havingenou ,

theCambodiankingretiredto

becomean‘ordinarycitizen’.

http://www.howitworksdaily.com How It Works 067

DID YOU KNOW? King Kuai of Yan (in China) is the first monarch known to have abdicated, in 316 BCE

Losing Harry

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently chose

to step back from their royal duties, but how will

this impact the dynamic of the family? With

Harry being a younger brother, Prince William is

second in line for the throne after Prince

Charles. Now that William and Kate have had

three children, Harry has been pushed further

back in the line, sitting sixth in line to the throne,

so it is unlikely he would ever be king. Harry and

Meghan’s son, Archie, is classed as a royal baby

despite having no title, as he was born into

royalty– butanychildtheyhavefromnowon

won’tofficiallybepartoftheroyalfamilyinthe

sameway.Theroyalsclaimtostrengthen

nationalunity,butmanyquestionhowthiswill

bepossiblewithHarryandMeghan’sdecisionto

dividethefamilyatitsheart.

Global monarchies

There are more than 25 monarchies found across

the globe, but as the queen of 16 commonwealth

countries, Queen Elizabeth II is generally the best

known. While connected by the fact they all have a

form of royal family, each country has its own rules,

with the responsibilities of kings and queens

varying. For example, in countries such as Saudi

Arabia, if you abdicated as king you would

essentially be quitting as prime minister as well.

This is because they have an absolute monarchy.

Other countries with this system include Brunei,

Eswatini,Oman,SaudiArabia,VaticanCityandthe

UnitedArabEmirates.

KingSalmanof

SaudiArabia

is botha king

andpolitician

Harrysitsoutsidethedirectline

ofsuccession

Lineofsuccession

Divorced

Queen

ElizabethII

Diana, Princess

ofWales

Charles, Prince

ofWales

PrinceWilliam,

DukeofCambridge

PrinceGeorge

ofCambridge

PrinceLouis

ofCambridge

PrincessCharlotte

ofCambridge

Catherine, Duchessof

Cambridge

PrinceHarry, Duke

ofSussex

Meghan, Duchess

ofSussex

Archie

Harrison

Camilla, Duchess

ofCornwall

Philip, Duke

ofEdinburgh

ThisroyalfamilytreedescendsfromKingGeorgeVI(1936-1952)

1964 2004 2006 2013 014

EdwardVIII

broadcasting

hisabdication

ontheradio

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Fore

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© Alamy

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© Getty Images

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