| After many important reforms like English Civil War, Restoration of the monarchy, Glorious Revolution etc. had taken place in the 17th century,the King began to lose his inherent powers which were taken by the Parliament. King James II was deposed by the Parliament and the foreigner William III was invited to be the new king together with his wife Mary. However, the awkward situation of the absence of the heir of William, Mary and Anne made the Stuarts face a serious succession crisis.In order to prevent James back to the throne and remove the threats of the Catholic France, William and the Parliament enacted a law to make the Princess Sophia of Hanover and her direct descendants become the next King of England.The promulgation and implementation of Act of Settlement in 1701 confirmed the identity of the successor to the throne as well as made great limitations to the subsequent successors. The successors and their mates must be Protestant and the throne must be inherited hereditarily.As one of the most important results of Glorious Revolution, Act of Settlement has its special political and historical background. The order of the succession to the English throne and the removal of the Catholic which gradually influenced and changed the history of England reflected the requirements and characteristics of that time. Meanwhile, Act of Settlement changed the traditional idea of divine right of kings in the form of law. It reflected the distribution of powers between the King and Parliament and the process that the Parliament constantly weakened the kingship which finally left the management of the state's administrative work only. Act of Settlement summed up many principal elements of the succession to the English throne in history, ended the disorder situation in almost a century, and made the House of Hanoverian to be the new successor. It makes the succession to the throne in England back on track and which continues to this day.In the 21st century today, Act of Settlement which is pursued in British Royal Family for centuries faces some serious challenges. The discrimination to the women and Catholics are two big problems in it. But it is not easy to take reformation before some important issues be resolved. Whatever, people will remember the positive contribution which Act of Settlement has made in the history of English constitutionalism. |
