Yes, Prince Harry can be king. He is fifth in the line of succession to the British throne, and neither his 2020 decision to step back as a working royal nor his move to the United States has changed his legal eligibility. The scenario that would actually place the crown on his head is remote, but the law keeps him in the queue.
Where Harry Sits in the Line
Succession is an ordered list of people eligible to inherit the throne after the reigning monarch. King Charles III is the current sovereign. Ahead of Harry are his brother Prince William, Prince of Wales, and William’s three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Harry follows them in fifth place. His own children come next: Prince Archie is sixth and Princess Lilibet seventh.1The Royal Family. Succession
That order is set by statute, not by the personal preferences of the monarch or the royal household. Parliament decides who is eligible and in what order, which is why family disagreements, public criticism, or a decision to leave royal duties do not shift anyone’s place.
What Would Have to Happen for Harry to Become King
For Harry to reach the throne, all four people ahead of him would need to be out of the succession. Each would have to die, abdicate, be removed by an Act of Parliament, or become disqualified under the existing rules. Three of the four are children with decades of life expectancy, which is why the practical odds are close to zero even though the legal path is open.
British law contains no mechanism for a person to quietly renounce their claim. Someone in the line cannot simply step aside; removing them takes legislation. Under a convention rooted in the Statute of Westminster 1931, any such legislation also requires the consent of every Commonwealth Realm where the monarch serves as head of state.2House of Commons Library. The Removal of Titles and Honours
Did Stepping Back Change His Eligibility?
No. When Harry and Meghan stepped back as working members of the Royal Family in 2020, they stopped carrying out official duties and agreed not to use their HRH styles. Neither change touches succession. The HRH style is granted by Letters Patent under the royal prerogative and can be added or removed as a matter of protocol. Succession flows from Acts of Parliament that only Parliament can change.2House of Commons Library. The Removal of Titles and Honours
Living abroad does not disqualify him either. The succession statutes do not include a residency requirement. Where Harry lives, whether he attends royal engagements, and whether he is on speaking terms with his family are all constitutionally irrelevant to his place in line.
The Rules That Actually Decide Eligibility
The succession is controlled by a small group of parliamentary statutes built up over several centuries. Two do most of the work today.
The Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement restricted the throne to Protestant descendants of Sophia, Electress of Hanover. It barred Roman Catholics from the throne and originally disqualified anyone who married a Roman Catholic. The monarch is also required to maintain the Church of England and, after the Acts of Union in 1707, the Church of Scotland.3The Royal Family. The Act of Settlement4UK Parliament. The Act of Settlement
Harry was baptized and confirmed in the Church of England, so he satisfies these religious requirements. Meghan was also baptized into the Church of England before their wedding, though under the 2013 reforms below, marrying a Catholic would no longer have knocked Harry out of the line.
The Succession to the Crown Act 2013
This Act, which came into force on 26 March 2015, made three significant changes. It ended male-preference primogeniture: for anyone born after 28 October 2011, the eldest child inherits regardless of gender, which is why Princess Charlotte keeps her place ahead of Prince Louis. It removed the ban on marrying a Roman Catholic, though a Catholic still cannot become monarch. And it narrowed the marriage-consent rule, which previously covered all descendants of George II under the Royal Marriages Act 1772, to only the first six people in line. If one of those six marries without the sovereign’s consent, both they and any children of that marriage lose their place.5Legislation.gov.uk. Succession to the Crown Act 20136UK Parliament Commons Library. The Line of Succession to the Crown
The Legitimacy Requirement
British succession law has always required that claimants be born in lawful wedlock. Children born outside marriage are excluded from the line, even though illegitimacy no longer bars inheritance of other property under general English law. Harry and everyone ahead of him satisfy this rule.
Can Anyone Remove Him from the Line?
Only Parliament can remove a person from the line of succession, and the bar is extraordinarily high. Any change to the succession rules requires the agreement of every Commonwealth Realm. Countries including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand would all need to consent before Parliament could pass such legislation.2House of Commons Library. The Removal of Titles and Honours
The only time this has happened in modern history was the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936. Edward wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorced American, at a time when that was considered incompatible with the monarch’s role as head of the Church of England. Parliament passed His Majesty’s Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, which removed Edward and all his future descendants from the line. He became the Duke of Windsor and never returned to the throne.
Short of legislation on that scale, no one can strip Harry of his succession rights. The King cannot do it unilaterally. The royal household cannot do it. Public opinion cannot do it. It would take a coordinated Act of Parliament and the agreement of the Commonwealth Realms.
The Roles He Has Been Sidelined From
Harry’s place in the line of succession is one thing; the constitutional duties that senior royals share day to day are another, and here his position has shifted.
Counsellors of State stand in for the monarch when the sovereign is temporarily unable to carry out duties due to illness or absence abroad. Under the Regency Acts 1937–1953, the eligible Counsellors are the sovereign’s spouse and the next four people in the line of succession who are over 21. By that formula Harry qualifies.7The Royal Family. Counsellors of State But in 2022 Parliament passed the Counsellors of State Act, adding the Princess Royal and the Duke of Edinburgh (then the Earl of Wessex) to the roster. The practical effect was to ensure that active, UK-based family members could fill the role, reducing any reliance on Harry or Prince Andrew.8Legislation.gov.uk. Counsellors of State Act 2022
A more serious provision exists for a Regent, who would exercise royal powers if the monarch were a minor or permanently incapacitated. Under the Regency Act 1937, the Regent is the next person in the line of succession who is a British subject of full age and domiciled in the United Kingdom. Because Harry lives in the United States, he would likely be passed over for that role in favor of the next eligible person.9Legislation.gov.uk. Regency Act 1937
The gap between Harry’s legal position and his practical role sits in that contrast. He remains fifth in line for the throne, but his life abroad and departure from working royal duties mean he is unlikely to serve in the supporting constitutional roles that senior royals fill.