© 2026 ABC News

Charlotte, who turns 3 on May 2, will retain her claim to the throne, even though the newborn is a boy.

The Succession to the Crown Act 2013, which was passed when Kate was pregnant with George, states that succession to the throne would be based wholly on birth order, not gender.

\"PHOTO:
Karwai Tang/Getty Images
PHOTO: Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Prince George of Cambridge look on from the balcony during the annual Trooping The Colour parade at the Mall, June 17, 2017, in London.
>

George is third in line to the throne and Charlotte is currently fourth in line to the throne.

William and Kate's new son is now fifth in line to the throne.

Prince Harry, 33, who is preparing to wed Meghan Markle on May 19, will be bumped down to sixth in line to the throne.

Like George and Charlotte, this child will also be designated as his or her royal highness and will have the title of prince or princess.

The reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended to the throne in 1952. The baby is the queen's sixth great-grandchild.

Here is the new line of succession to the British throne.

1. His Royal Highness Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales

\"PHOTO:
ROTA/Polaris
PHOTO: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, during the formal opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace in London, April 19, 2018.
>

2. His Royal Highness Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge

\"PHOTO:
Alastair Grant - WPA Pool/Getty Images
PHOTO: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge smiles as he attends a joint session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and Youth forums at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, April 17, 2018 in London.
>

3. His Royal Highness Prince George

\"PHOTO:
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
PHOTO: Prince George of Cambridge view helicopter models H145 and H135 before departing from Hamburg airport on the last day of their official visit to Poland and Germany, July 21, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany.
>

4. Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte

\"PHOTO:
Kesington Palace
PHOTO: Britain's Princess Charlotte stands on the steps at Kensington Palace before she left for her first day of nursery at the Willcocks Nursery School in a photograph taken taken by her mother in London, Jan. 8, 2018.
>

5. Baby Cambridge (Name to be announced)

6. His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales (Prince Harry)

\"PHOTO:
Chris Jackson/Pool/Getty Images
PHOTO: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle depart from Catalyst Inc, Northern Ireland's next generation science park, March 23, 2018, in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
>","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/prince-william-princess-kates-baby-boy-move-princess/story?id=54659458","legacySlug":"/culture/story/prince-william-princess-kates-baby-boy-move-princess-54659458","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"13:13","publishDate":"04-23-2018","updatedTime":"10:50","updatedDate":"04-24-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Prince George of Cambridge look on from the balcony during the annual Trooping The Colour parade at the Mall, June 17, 2017, in London.","credit":"Karwai Tang/Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/princess-charlotte-prince-george-gty-mem-180326_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"4/23/2018 13:13:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":54659458,"headline":"Charlotte will retain spot in line of succession","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_New baby line in throne_180423","description":"Kate, 36, gave birth to a boy weighing eight pounds, seven ounces.","duration":"2:18","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/04/180423_gma_baby_801_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["54659344","54365372","53535789"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"April 23, 2018","headline":"Royal Baby: Expert astrologer shares all about baby's sign","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/expert-astrologer-shares-royal-babys-sign-means-royal-54659344","id":54659344,"image":{"alt":"Royal Baby: Expert astrologer shares all about baby's sign","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/kate-middleton-pol-ml-180131_hpMain_3_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Andrew Parsons/i-Images/Polaris, FILE","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"April 23, 2018","headline":"Princess Kate, Prince William leave hospital with newborn son","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/royal-baby-back-princess-kate-princess-diana-showing-54365372","id":54365372,"image":{"alt":"Princess Kate, Prince William leave hospital with newborn son","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/kate-prince-william-baby1-sh-ml-180423_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Tim Rooke/REX via Shutterstock","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"April 23, 2018","headline":"Princess Kate gives birth to a boy","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/british-royals-princess-kate-prince-william-set-3rd-53535789","id":53535789,"image":{"alt":"Princess Kate gives birth to a boy","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/kate-prince-william-baby1-sh-ml-180423_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Tim Rooke/REX via Shutterstock","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Charlotte will retain spot in line of succession","description":"Kate, 36, gave birth to a boy weighing eight pounds, seven ounces.","duration":"2:18","uploadDate":"04-23-2018","publication":"04-23-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/04/180423_gma_baby_801_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/04/180423_gma_baby_801_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/prince-william-princess-kates-baby-boy-move-princess-54659458"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Charlotte will retain spot in line of succession","pubTime":"09:13","pubDate":"04-23-2018","modTime":"06:50","modDate":"04-24-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":54659458,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Charlotte will retain spot in line of succession","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_New baby line in throne_180423","videoId":54659458,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/prince-william-princess-kates-baby-boy-move-princess-54659458"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/54659458","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/54659458","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};