page_title: Monarchy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
section_title: Succession
hierarchical_section_title: Monarchy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines / International and domestic aspects / Succession
caption_attribution_description: English: Charles, Prince of Wales outside the White House on an official visit to the United States in 2005. Español: Carlos, Príncipe de Gales fuera de la Casa Blanca, en una visita oficial a Estados Unidos
context_page_description: The monarchy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, forming the core of the country's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The Crown is thus is the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Vincentian government. While Royal Assent and the royal sign-manual are required to enact laws, letters patent, and orders in council, the authority for these acts stems from the Vincentian populace, and, within the conventional stipulations of constitutional monarchy, the sovereign's direct participation in any of these areas of governance is limited, with most related powers entrusted for exercise by the elected and appointed parliamentarians, the ministers of the Crown generally drawn from amongst them, and the judges and Justices of the Peace.
  The Vincentian monarchy has its roots in the French and British crowns, from which it has evolved over numerous centuries to become a distinctly Vincentian institution represented by unique symbols.
context_section_description: Succession is by male-preference primogeniture governed by both the Act of Settlement, 1701, and Bill of Rights, 1689, legislation that limits the succession to the natural (i.e. non-adopted), legitimate descendants of Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and stipulates that the monarch cannot be a Roman Catholic, nor married to one, and must be in communion with the Church of England upon ascending the throne. Though, via adopting the Statute of Westminster, these constitutional laws as they apply to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines now lie within the full control of the Vincentian parliament, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines also agreed not to change its rules of succession without the unanimous consent of the other realms, unless explicitly leaving the shared monarchy relationship; a situation that applies symmetrically in all the other realms, including the United Kingdom, and has been likened to a treaty amongst these countries. Thus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' line of succession remains identical to that of the United Kingdom; however, the rules for succession are not fixed, but may be changed within Saint Vincent and the Grenadines by a constitutional amendment by the Vincentian parliament.
  Upon a demise of the Crown (the death or abdication of a sovereign), the late sovereign's heir immediately and automatically succeeds, without any need for confirmation or further ceremony – hence arises the phrase "The King is dead. Long live the King!." Following an appropriate period of mourning, the monarch is also crowned in the United Kingdom in an ancient ritual, but one not necessary for a sovereign to reign. After an individual ascends the throne, he or she typically continues to reign until death, being unable to unilaterally abdicate per the tenets of constitutional monarchy.
caption: Charles, Prince of Wales, is the heir apparent to the Vincentian throne.
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