Is the real British monarch in Australia? Here’s why some believe Edward IV’s reign was ‘illegitimate’, making farmer Michael Hastings and son Simon the ‘rightful heirs’ instead of Queen Elizabeth

Jun 17 , 2022

Could Britain’s “true” heir to Queen Elizabeth’s throne really be Simon Abney-Hastings in Australia? Photos: @RoyalFamily/Instagram

British-born Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun, moved to Australia at 18; the documentary Britain’s Real Monarch claims he was the rightful heir before his death in 2012

Glasgow University scholar Dr Michael Jones alleges that Edward IV’s reign was ‘illegitimate’, meaning Prince William, Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and co aren’t really royal …

If all families have their secrets they’d like kept hidden, imagine how much more true that is when you’re a member of the most famous family of them all: the royal family. When it comes to all things royal, we’re used to a bit of court gossip and scandal. Every so often, however, a story breaks that is so far out of left field it can be described as a total jaw-dropper – and this story, dare we say, is one of those.

The theory goes that the actual, true and rightful claimant to the British throne is not Queen Elizabeth, as it appears currently, or even her son, Prince Charles. Instead, advocates of this alternative history believe that person is to be found in Australia, of all places, and is Simon Michael Abney-Hastings, 15th Earl of Loudoun.

Simon Abney-Hastings, 15th Earl of Loudoun, is a British aristocrat based in Australia. Photo: @simon.abneyhastings/Instagram

Conspiracy theory it may be, but let’s look at the possible evidence a little more closely.

This is all according to Dr Michael Jones, a scholar from Glasgow University, whose research into the topic formed the basis of the documentary Britain’s Real Monarch. The film focused on Simon’s father, the late Michael Edward Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun, a farmer who emigrated down under back in 1960. Michael Hastings, as he preferred to be known, lived in Jerilderie, a small town in New South Wales. Hastings died in 2012.

Some believe that the rightful heir to the British throne is actually in Australia. Photo: Google Maps

To understand Jones’ assertion, we must go back to the 15th century. According to Jones’ research, Edward IV, who became king of England in 1461, was illegitimate. Jones presented a historical document reporting that Edward’s parents, Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, were at least 99.42 miles (160km) apart in the period when Edward’s conception took place.

Therefore, said Jones, were this to be the case, then Edward and indeed all his descendants would have no claim to the crown by virtue of “ordinary” royal inheritance. In fact, the crown would have passed to Edward’s half-brother, the “legitimate” heir, George, Duke of Clarence.

Scholar Dr Michael Jones has proposed that Michael Abney-Hastings was actually Britain’s true king. Photo: @royaltypastandpresent/Instagram

Were this to be accepted, then Jones’ genealogical investigation into George’s line produced the result that Hastings was the true king. And after the broadcast of the documentary, he garnered some impressive support on social media with regards to his claim to the kingship.