Act of Settlement, 1701

The Act of Settlement

Parliament of England
Long title	An Act for the further Limitation of the Crown and better securing the Rights and Liberties of the Subject
Citation	12 and 13 Will 3 c. 2
Territorial extent	England and Ireland initially...   Kingdom of England (1701–1707) Kingdom of Ireland (1701–1800; extended by the Parliament of England to the Kingdom of Ireland)  Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800)  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1922–present) Canada (1867–1931; became a separate law of Canada as a consequence of Order in Council P.C. 3144 and the Succession to the Throne Act 1937) Commonwealth of Australia (1901–42; became a separate law of Australia as a consequence of the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act) New Zealand (1907–47; became a separate law of New Zealand as a consequence of the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act) Newfoundland (1907–49; Dominion became a province of Canada) Union of South Africa (1910–31; became a separate law of the Union of South Africa as a consequence of the Statute of Westminster) Irish Free State (1922–31; became a separate law of the Irish Free State as a consequence of the Statute of Westminster)
Dates
Royal assent	1701
Commencement	1701
Other legislation
Amended by	Various...  Royal Succession Act 2013 (New Zealand) Succession to the Crown Act 2013 (United Kingdom) Succession to the Crown Act 2015 (Australia) Succession to the Throne Act 2015 (Barbados) British Nationality Act 1981 Statute Law Revision Act 1950 British Nationality Act 1948 Regency Act 1937 HM Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act 1914 Accession Declaration Act 1910 Statute Law Revision and Civil Procedure Act 1881 Short Titles Act 1896 Act 1 Geo. 1 St. 2 c. 51 (1715) [1] Act 4 and 5 Anne c. 20, s. 27 (1705) [2] and others
Relates to	Bill of Rights 1689
Status: Amended
Revised text of statute as amended

The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English and Irish crowns on Protestants only. The next Protestant in line to the throne was the Electress Sophia of Hanover, a granddaughter of James VI of Scotland and I of England. After her the crowns would descend only to her non-Roman Catholic heirs.

The act was prompted by the failure of King William III and Queen Mary II, as well as of Mary's sister Queen Anne, to produce any surviving children, and the Roman Catholic religion of all other members of the House of Stuart. The line of Sophia of Hanover was the most junior among the Stuarts, but consisted of convinced Protestants. Sophia died on 8 June 1714, before the death of Queen Anne on 1 August 1714. On Queen Anne's death, Sophia's son duly became King George I and started the Hanoverian dynasty.

The act played a key role in the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain. England and Scotland had shared a monarch since 1603, but had remained separately governed countries. The Scottish parliament was more reluctant than the English to abandon the House of Stuart, members of which had been Scottish monarchs long before they became English ones. English pressure on Scotland to accept the Act of Settlement was one factor leading to the parliamentary union of the two countries in 1707.