In a historic move, Charlotte will remain fourth-in-line to the throne.
Royal baby no. 3 is only a few hours old and already making history!
The third child of Kate Middleton and Prince William arrived on Monday at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London, and is the second son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are already parents to Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 2.
While the old succession law stated that the heir to the throne would be the firstborn son of the king or queen, and the title would only pass to a daughter if there were no other sons, the new law, which was put into place back in 2011, notes that girls will not be overtaken by any future younger brothers.
This means the couple's third child will be the first male heir in line to the throne not to overtake his female sibling in the line of succession. In a historic move, Charlotte will remain fourth-in-line to the throne, while her younger brother will be fifth, putting Prince Harry sixth in line behind his niece and nephews.
In the past, the 33-year-old royal has made it known that he is OK with not becoming king.
“The monarchy is a force for good,” Harry said in a June 2017 interview with Newsweek. “We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people…. Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time.”
Queen Elizabeth recently made it clear for the first time that she intends for Prince Charles, her son and Prince William and Harry's father, to succeed her as Head of the Commonwealth.
Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, retired from public service last fall at the age of 96. Over the weekend,she celebrated her 92nd birthday.
The family’s next big event will be Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding. Keep up with all of ET's coverage of the royal nuptials right here as we count down to May 19!
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