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Princess Eugenie: Will royal baby be in line to the throne?

 (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Princess Eugenie has shared the first photo of her and husband Jack Brooksbank's first child after giving birth on 9 February.

The royal, who revealed she was pregnant in September and had a due date set in early 2021, announced the birth on Instagram, where she shared a black-and-white photo of both her and her husband's hands holding the baby's hand.

In an announcement shared by Buckingham Palace, the royal family expressed their excitement over the birth, with the statement reading: "Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie was safely delivered of a son today, 9th February 2021, at 0855hrs at The Portland Hospital. Jack Brooksbank was present.

"The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of York, Sarah, Duchess of York, and Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank have been informed and are delighted with the news."

When a royal baby is born into the royal family, this sometimes indicates a change to the line of succession to the throne.

So will the birth of Princess Eugenie’s first child change the order in which members of the royal family would succeed to the throne?

Where is Princess Eugenie on the line of succession?

Princess Eugenie is currently 10th in line to the throne.

First in line to the throne is Charles, the Prince of Wales, the Queen’s eldest son.

He is followed by his eldest son, the Duke of Cambridge, and the duke’s three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

After the three Cambridge children comes the Duke of Sussex, followed by his son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor.

In eighth place comes the Duke of York, the Queen’s second eldest son, who is then followed by his two children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

Will Princess Eugenie’s baby be in line to the throne?

With the birth of Princess Eugenie’s son, the child falls in 11th place on the line of succession, one place behind his mother.

This means that the Queen’s third eldest child, Prince Edward, shifts from 11th to 12th place.

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son Archie was born in May 2019, his birth resulted in the Duke of York moving from seventh to eighth place on the line of succession.

How have the laws of succession changed in recent years?

In 2013, a new parliamentary act, the Succession to the Crown Act, came into effect.

The passing of the act changed the rules regarding the line of succession, which previously dictated that if a male royal baby with an older sister was born, the boy could displace his female sibling on the line of succession, even if she was older than him.

The rule of male primogeniture no longer applies for royal babies born after 28 October 2011.

This means that if Princess Eugenie had first had a daughter and then later has a son, her daughter would not have been displaced on the line succession by a younger brother.

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