<P> The first four individuals in the line of succession who are over 21, and the sovereign's consort, may be appointed Counsellors of State . Counsellors of State perform some of the sovereign's duties in the United Kingdom while he or she is out of the country or temporarily incapacitated . Otherwise, individuals in the line of succession need not have specific legal or official roles . </P> <P> The United Kingdom is one of the 16 Commonwealth realms . Each of those countries has the same person as monarch and the same order of succession . In 2011, the prime ministers of the realms agreed unanimously to adopt a common approach to amending the rules on the succession to their respective Crowns so that absolute primogeniture would apply for persons born after the date of the agreement, instead of male - preference primogeniture, and the ban on marriages to Roman Catholics would be lifted, but the monarch would still need to be in communion with the Church of England . After the necessary legislation had been enacted in accordance with each realm's constitution, the changes took effect on 26 March 2015 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> First six in line from 23 April 2018 </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1 . The Prince of Wales </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 2 . The Duke of Cambridge </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 3 . Prince George of Cambridge </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 4 . Princess Charlotte of Cambridge </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 5 . Prince Louis of Cambridge </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 6 . The Duke of Sussex </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> First six in line from 23 April 2018 </Th> </Tr>

British monarchy who is in line for the throne