Henry VIII’s Third Succession Act granted Henry the right to bequeath the Crown in his Will. His Will specified that, in default of heirs to his children, the throne was to pass to the heirs of his younger sister Mary Tudor, Queen of France, bypassing the line of his elder sister Margaret Tudor. Edward VI confirmed this by letters patent. The legitimate and legal heir of Elizabeth I was therefore the Lady Anne Stanley (the marriage of Lady Catherine Grey having been annulled, and her children declared illegitimate, by Elizabeth I). [2]