Catholic Monarch?

Since I'm not a citizen of the UK, pardon my ignorance...

Is there still a law on the books which says the King/Queen of England is forbidden to be Catholic (or anything other than Anglican)?

If so, is there any possibility of this being overturned?

Lastly, I get the impression that Prince Charles is not too popular. What are your thoughts/preferences on the next English monarch - Prince Charles, Prince William (whom I've heard doesn't want to be king), or Prince Harry (whom I've heard wants to be king very much).

Yes, you're quite correct the Act of Settlement prevents any catholic succeding to the throne. This also prohibits any monarch who converts to catholicism from remaining as monarch.

Popularity has never been a prerequisite for a monarch and it's actually very difficult to imagine Charles being passed over in almost any circumstances.

The potential time bomb is that he has some views on the role of the monarch and the part they should play in society which would be very much against the accepted view of a ceremonial and entirely apolitical constitutional figurehead.

However, once a monarch is in place there is virtually no way to remove them, (except by the tried and trusted method of decapitating them), so it could actually be an interesting time for the institution when Charles does take the throne although he is unlikely to rule for long as he will be relatively elderly by the time that happens.

William's position is really entirely unknown at this time but I think one or two people will be demanding DNA test if there is the slightest chance of it passing on to Harry.

What do you mean by that? Is Harry rumored to be illegitimate? I've never heard that before!

BTW, is "Harry" his actual name, or is it a contraction of "Henry" or "Harold"? Just my humble opinion that "Harry" doesn't sound very....regal.

Yes, his real name is Henry but as soon as this was announced Charles and Diana also made it clear that they wanted him to be known as Harry. So why not simply call him Harry? God alone knows.

As to his father... Well, he does, (allegedly),bear an uncanny resemblence to one of his mother's ex-lovers. Of course, she didn't meet him until after Harry was born. Well, they would say that wouldn't they.

Who becomes the head of the CofE, if there is a catholic on the throne, or any non-CofE member, btw?

Originally posted by Nygdan
Who becomes the head of the CofE, if there is a catholic on the throne, or any non-CofE member, btw?

It's not an issue, there cannot be a catholic monarch - it is outlawed by the Act of Settlement.

yall really don't like Catholics.. guess that means I will never be king of England. I will need a new life ambition now..

Heres a question for ya..

Why the hell has your queen lived so long!?? Actually I don't even know how old she is, but she looks old.

Well, the dislike of catholics goes back an awfully long way and, in reality, it is a ludicrous anachronism now. However, it is difficult to conceive of anything about the monarchy which does not fall into that category, but that is probably for another debate.

As for the current Queen: she is 80 and is showing few signs of decrepitude at the moment. Some will point to her mother who died a couple of years ago aged over 100 as a genetic model for this longevity but you should also bear in mind that these are people who have every conceivable element of healthcare lavished upon them which also helps a bit. There was the absurd event many years ago when the Queen Mother was airlifted to hospital by the RAF after she got a fishbone caught in her throat, (you don't get that kind of service on the NHS I can tell you).