The British Constitution and Government - A Description of the Way in Which the Laws of England Are Made and Administered, Together With an Account of the Functions of the Chief Officers in Every Department of the State #247781

As the House of Lords and the House of Commons are called into being by the act of the Sovereign, we must first of all understand the reigning monarch' 8 position in relation to the State. Succession to the Throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is hereditary and the Sovereign may be either a man or a woman. When it has happened with us, as on more than one occasion, that the King or Queen dies, leaving no direct heir, the next successor to the Crown is nominated by Parliament, the person to whom the Crown has been offered has always been connected by marriage or descent with a former King of of England.