Treason Act 1702
The Treason Act 1702[1] (1 Anne Stat. 2 c. 21[2]) is an Act of the Parliament of England, passed to enforce the line of succession to the English throne (today the British throne), previously established by the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701.
The Act makes it treason to "endeavour to deprive or hinder any person who shall be the next in succession to the crown for the time being ... from succeeding after the decease of her Majesty (whom God long preserve) to the imperial crown of this realm and the dominions and territories thereunto belonging".
Originally a capital offence, the penalty was reduced in 1998 to life imprisonment.
Although the Act was passed by the English Parliament, it was later extended to Scotland by the Treason Act 1708, following the Union of the two kingdoms in the previous year. The Parliament of Ireland passed a law to the same effect in 1703, the Treason Act (Ireland) 1703 (c.5). This is still in force in Northern Ireland.
In fiction
- In the movie King Ralph, Ralph used the Treason Act of 1702 as his justification in ordering the arrest of Lord Graves (John Hurt) on the grounds that Graves had interfered with Ralph's succession to the throne. After silently going through the Mnemonic Verse, he mentioned it was passed by William III, when in fact it was passed in the first year of Queen Anne's reign.
- In the movie Johnny English, the "jumped-up Frenchman" Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich) is tried for treason under this Act when his plot to seize the throne is foiled, and the audience is told that the crime still carries a penalty of death by hanging. However, as the film was released in 2003 (the penalty was downgraded to life imprisonment in 1998), it renders the imposition of the death penalty inaccurate.
- In the TV series The Royals, Ted Pryce is Head of Security and British Secret Service of the Henstridge Palace. He was the hidden main antagonist in season 2 of The Royals and he was the father of Ophelia who used to date Prince Liam and he was first heir to the throne of England. Since his older brother Robert died. Ted ordered Brandon Boone to kill Liam's older brother Robert, Robert died on a plane crash and that was his first part of his revenge. He wanted to get the Henstridge family out of the royal line succession. His revenge of the Queen Helena who let his wife died, Helena didn't kill her, but he did let her die. He also killed Liam's father in the middle of season 1 and the Henstridge family found out he was the one who killed King Simon Henstridge. He was about to let the fall of Henstridge family begin, when Helena's mother and Liam's grandmother killing the domino group on tape that he was going to use at a major league soccer game to finish off the Henstridge family for good. But it backfired on him, when Liam's sister Eleanor and their bodyguard Jasper put the tape of Ted killing King Liam and before he was arrested for his crimes, he told Liam to tell his daughter Ophelia not to miss him. Ted was arrested by the feds and New Scotland Yard. He is about to face the death penalty of the Treason Act 1702.
See also
References
- ↑ This Act does not have a statutory short title, but is commonly known by this name; The Stationery Office, Chronological Table of the Statutes, 2007, p.76
- ↑ Some volumes cite it as c.17
External links
- Official text of the Act 1 Anne Stat. 2 1702 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
- Official text of the Treason Act (Ireland) 1703 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
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