The English Act of Succession was first passed on March 23, 1534, whereby the parliament decided the heir to the Crown of England from the children of King Henry VIII. The Act made Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, the true successor to the Crown by declaring Princess Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, a bastard. The Act also required all subjects, if commanded, to swear an oath to recognize this Act as well as the King's supremacy. Any one who refused to take an oath was subject to a charge of treason.
This Act was overridden by the Act of Succession, 1536, whereby Edward, son of Jane Seymour, was recognized as first in line for the throne by declaring all previous marriages of the King unlawful and proclaiming both the Princesses as illegitimate.
The currently applicable law is the Act of Settlement 1701. It specifies conditions to be met in order to succeed, and specifies that it is for Parliament to determine who should succeed to the throne, not the monarch.
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