,730 K I 
proteftant pofterity of Charles I. the old law of regal 
defcent dire 61 ed them to recur to the defcendants of 
James I. and the princefs Sophia, being theyoungeft daugh¬ 
ter of Elizabeth queen of Bohemia who was the daugh¬ 
ter of Janies I. was the neareft of the ancient blood-royal 
who was not incapacitated by profeffing the popiffi reli¬ 
gion. On her, therefore, and the heirs of her body, being 
proteftants, the remainder of the crown, expectant on the 
death of king William and queen Anne without iffue, 
was fettled by hat. 12 & 15 'Will. III. c. 2. And at the 
fame time it was enafled, that whofoever ihould hereafter 
come to the poffeffion of the crown, fhould join in the 
communion of the church of England as by law eftabliffied. 
This is the laft limitation of the crown that has been made 
by parliament; and all the feveral aftual limitations, from 
the time of Henry IV. to the prefent, (dated at large in 
1 Comm. c. 3,) do clearly prove the power of the king and 
parliament to new-model or alter the fucceffion. And 
indeed it is now again made highly penal to difpute it; 
for, by hat. 6 Ann. c. 7, it is enabled, that if any perfon 
malicioully, advifedly, and directly, (hall maintain, by 
■writing or printing, that the kings of this realm, with the 
authority of parliament, are not able to make laws to bind 
the crown and the defcent thereof, he (hall be guilty of 
high treafon ; or, if he maintains the fame only by preach¬ 
ing, teaching, or advifed (peaking, he (hall incur the pe¬ 
nalties of a pramunire. The princefs Sophia dying before 
queen Anne, the inheritance thus limited defcended on 
her fon king George I. and, having taken effeft in his per¬ 
fon, from him it defcended to his late majefty king 
George II. and from him to his grandfon and heir, ot*r 
prefent gracious fovereign king George III. 
In France the fuccefhon to the monarchy was limited 
to heirs male ; but in Navarre the crown was inherited by 
the heir of line, whether male or female. The cafe 
Hands thus : Philip IV. king of France, furnamed the 
Fair, in the year 1285 efpouled Jane queen of Navarre in 
her own right; and, as king-confort of thislatter kingdom, 
added the title of Navarre to his former one of France. 
Louis X. fon and heir of Philip and Jane (furnained Hutin , 
or the Boifterous), fucceeded to both crowns. By Mar¬ 
garet his firft wife, who had been crowned queen of Na¬ 
varre, he left one daughter, Joan or Jane. His fecond wife 
Clementina was pregnant at the time of his deceafe, and 
was delivered of a pofthumous fon, whom mod of the 
French annalifts recognize as John I. of France, though 
he ljved no longer than three years. On his death the 
kingdom of France palled to Philip V. (furnamed the 
Long), and that of Navarre (to which the 1 'alic law could 
by no conftruclion extend) to Joanna, the only child and 
heir of Louis and Margaret. From Joanna, in lineal fuc- 
ceffion, the kingdom of Navarre paffed to Jane d’Albret, 
mother of Henry IV. of France, and wife of Anthony of 
Vendofme, who as king-confort wore the crown of Na¬ 
varre. On the acceffion of Henry to the kingdom of 
France, the two monarchies were united, and the fourfuc- 
ceeding princes afTumed the joint titles. 
II. The king’s title being afcertained, we are next to 
consider what duties he has to perform ; for, by our con- 
ftitution, there are certain duties incumbent on the king; 
in coniideration of which, his dignity and prerogative are 
eftabliftied by the laws of the land; it being a maxim in 
the law, that protection and fubjeftion are reciprocal. 
And thefe reciprocal duties are what fir William Black- 
ftone apprehends were meant by the convention in 1688, 
when they declared that king James had broken the ori¬ 
ginal contraEl between king and people. But however, as 
the terms of that original contract were in fome. meafure 
difputed, being alleged to exift principally in theory, and 
to be only deducible by reafon and the rules of natural 
law, in which deduction different underftandings might 
very confulerably differ; it was, after the revolution, 
judged proper to declare thefe duties exprefsly, and to re¬ 
duce that contract to a plain certainty. So that, what¬ 
ever doubts might be formerly railed by weak and feru- 
N G. 
pulous minds about the exigence of fuel) an original con-* 
tract, they mud now entirely'ceafe ; efpecially with regard 
to every prince who hath reigned fince the year 1688. 
The principal duty of the king is, To govern his peo¬ 
ple according to law. Nec regibus infnita aut libera potef- 
tas, was the conftitution of our German anceftors on the 
continent. And this is not only confonant to the prin¬ 
ciples of nature, of liberty, of reafon, and of fociety; but 
has always been elteemed an exprefs part of the common 
law of England, even when prerogative was at the higheft. 
“ The king (faith BraClon, who wrote under Henry III.) 
ought not to be fubjeCt to man ; but to God, and to the 
law ; for the law maketh the king. Let the king therefore 
render to the law, what the law has inverted in him with 
regard to others ; dominion, and power; for he is not 
truly king, where will and pleafure rules, and not the 
law.” And again : “The king hath a fuperior, namely 
God ; and alfo the law, by which he was made a king.” 
Thus Brafton ; and Fortefcue alfo, having firft well dif- 
tinguiihed between a monarchy abfoLutely and defpotl- 
cally regal, which is introduced by conquert and violence, 
and a political or civil monarchy, which arifes from mu- 
tual confent (of which laft fpecies he afferts the govern¬ 
ment of England to be), immediately lays it down as a 
principle, that “ the king of England muft rule his peo¬ 
ple according to the decrees of the laws thereof; infomuch 
that he is bound by an oath at his coronation to the ob- 
fervance and keeping of his own laws.” But, to obviate 
all doubts and difficulties concerning this matter, it is 
exprefsly declared by flat. 12 and 13 Will. III. c. 2, “that 
the laws of England are the birthright of the people 
thereof; and all the kings and queens who (hall afeend 
the throne of this realm ought to adminifter the govern¬ 
ment of the fame according to the fald laws, and all their 
officers and minifters ought to ferve them refpeftively ac¬ 
cording to the fame; and therefore all the other laws,and 
ftatutes of this realm, for fecuring the eftabliffied religion, 
and the rights and liberties of the people thereof, and all 
other laws and (tatutes of the fame now in force, are by 
his majefty, by and with the advice and confent of the 
lords fpiritual and temporal, and commons, and by au¬ 
thority of the fame, ratified and confirmed accordingly.” 
And, as to the terms of the original contract between 
king and people, thefe, it is apprehended, are now couched 
in the coronation-oath, which, by the flat. 1 Will, and 
M. c. 6. is to be adminiftered to every king:, and queen 
who (hall fucceed to the Imperial crown of thefe realms, 
by one of the archbifhops or bilhops of the realm, in the 
prefence of all the people; who on their parts do recipro¬ 
cally take the oath of allegiance to the crown. This co¬ 
ronation-oath is conceived in the following terms ■. 
“ The Arckbijhop or Bi/hop Jkall fay, Will you folemnly 
promife and (wear to govern the people of this kingdom, 
of England [quaere ? Great Britain and Ireland ], and the 
dominions thereto belonging, according to the ftatutes in 
parliament agreed on, and the laws and cuftoms of the 
fame?— The King or Queen fall fay , I folemnly promife ib 
to do. 
“ Archbifhop or Bifkop. Will you to your power cauls 
law and juftice, in mercy, to be executed in all your 
judgments ?— King or Queen. I will. 
“ Archbifhop or Bifriop. Will you to the utmoft of your 
power maintain the laws of God, the true profeffion of 
the gofpel, and the proteftant reformed religion eftabliffied 
by the law ? And will you prelerve unto the biuiops and 
clergy of this realm, and to the churches committed to 
their charge, all fuch rights and privileges as by law 
do or (hall appertain unto them, or any of them ?— King 
or Queen. All this I promife to do. 
“ After this the King or Queen, laying his or her hand upen 
the holy Gofpel, fh all fay, The things which I have here be¬ 
fore promifed, I will perform and keep; Jo help me God. 
—And then flail kifs the book." 
This is the form of the coronation-oath, as it is now 
preferibed by our law j the principal articles of which 
appsav 
