An American citizen relative by close affinity or consanguinity of the British Monarch or PM runs for President, would his rival use this connections against him or would he or she be disqualified?
WI: An American citizen relative of the British Monarch or PM runs for President
- Thread starter kasumigenx
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Chapman
Donor
Simply being related to royalty or government leader(s) of another country is not outright disqualifying. If the person holds any kind of title in Britain, then I do believe they would have to renounce it before they could take public office in the US. Same with any foreign citizenships. But otherwise it can’t be held against them; assuming they are a natural born citizen, their relation is not disqualifying.
It could and probably would be used against them politically but I’m not sure to what effect. I think more people would be outraged by the relation to a Prime Minister given their political role, compared to the supposedly neutral monarch. Being a cousin or some such of the reigning King or Queen could have the drawback of this person being painted as “above the rest of us” so they would want to toe the line and try to appear down to Earth. And of course there are those who simply oppose the monarchy, be they hardcore Irish nationalists or other former colonial subjects of the British empire with a bone to pick regarding the monarch, but there are plenty of Americans who adore the British royal family.
It could and probably would be used against them politically but I’m not sure to what effect. I think more people would be outraged by the relation to a Prime Minister given their political role, compared to the supposedly neutral monarch. Being a cousin or some such of the reigning King or Queen could have the drawback of this person being painted as “above the rest of us” so they would want to toe the line and try to appear down to Earth. And of course there are those who simply oppose the monarchy, be they hardcore Irish nationalists or other former colonial subjects of the British empire with a bone to pick regarding the monarch, but there are plenty of Americans who adore the British royal family.
The requirements for being US president seem to be pretty relaxed. I was reading recently that in principle being convicted of a crime or even being imprisoned doesn't appear to be a barrier in itself.
If the intention behind the electoral college was to have a means of overruling poor decisions by the voters [1], then maybe the view was that not much restriction was needed as the electoral college would keep things sensible.
So if that is a reasonable reading of the requirements, then being a royal relative and xth in line for the throne shouldn't matter (until it does). Fortunately, the requirement to be born in qualifying USA territory would mean we probably won't have to deal with Mr President His Majesty Charles III in 2025.
[1] Boaty McBoatface shows that something like an electoral college of sorts may have some merit in popular votes, despite my other reservations about electoral colleges.
If the intention behind the electoral college was to have a means of overruling poor decisions by the voters [1], then maybe the view was that not much restriction was needed as the electoral college would keep things sensible.
So if that is a reasonable reading of the requirements, then being a royal relative and xth in line for the throne shouldn't matter (until it does). Fortunately, the requirement to be born in qualifying USA territory would mean we probably won't have to deal with Mr President His Majesty Charles III in 2025.
[1] Boaty McBoatface shows that something like an electoral college of sorts may have some merit in popular votes, despite my other reservations about electoral colleges.
Assuming they are a serious contender in a primary or a party candidate? It'd probably would be roughly similar to JFK being catholic. The other party will use it as ammunition and it will be an 'embarrassing mark' against them. In practice though, to get to that point they will be there own person with their own serious political background to fall back on in the USA.
Now if they are a minor party candidate, independent, or poll bad in the primary, they will be made fun of by the news for a few days until they drop their presidential run.
Now if they are a minor party candidate, independent, or poll bad in the primary, they will be made fun of by the news for a few days until they drop their presidential run.
Chapman
Donor
The Constitution mentions nothing about criminal background and therefore, technically, a convicted felon could be elected to the House or Senate and serve in that office even while simultaneously serving time in prison. Both houses of course have the ability to refuse to seat members for reasons like that but there’s nothing stopping the person from running, and getting elected.
At least in theory. Some individual states do have laws barring felons from running for/holding office, but the Constitution itself says nothing in that regard.
The refusal of the National Oceanography Center to honor the outcome of a free and fair election, wherein the result was nowhere near close, is perhaps the darkest day representative government has ever seen.
An example of a possible situation like this is Meghan Markle's parents, siblings, or herself deciding to go into U.S. politics after she is married to Prince Harry.
Or indeed, her daughter Princess Lillibet Diana of Sussex (no one has said Harry's children aren't a Prince and Princess, so...
) She was born in the US, wasn't she? Which makes her a US citizen automatically, AIUI. She could easily go into politics one day...
It would be quite hard to find someone suitable because almost all even somewhat close relatives of the British monarchy were born in Britain. Now there were some I found who moved recently to American or have lived there for most of their lives but I’m guessing you would have to go 4 or 5 steps away on the family tree to find someone who is American born and notable enough that they maybe could have gone on to be president.
Er, all I had to do was open Wikipedia for 30 seconds...:
Princess Lilibet of Sussex (Lilibet Diana; born 4 June 2021) is an American-born member of the British royal family. She is the daughter of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Yeah I thought of looking for the children of Royals living in America as well but all of the ones I found were way too young.
Maybe there would be better luck with the Prime minister part I’m sure there are some good candidates there.
No but American political culture heavily polices access to high offices. Simply put, the American political elite would likely refuse to engage with such a figure in any way, essentially soft-blocking them from holding office. Unlike among European states, the USA have zero tolerance for foreign elites trying to wield actual, hard political power.