Page:Prerogatives of the Crown.djvu/425

C h. XVIL] Of the King's Familij and Councils. 405 troduction to a patent in the time of Hen. 6. runs, " Ut ipsUm qui reputatione juris cc7iseiur eadem persona nobisciim digno preveniamus honore^ S^c,^^ On this ground, an Act of Parliament, (as the Act respecting the duchy of Cornwall), which relates to the Prince, has been held to be a public law of which every body is to take notice ; because whatever concerns the Prince concerns the King, and whatever concerns the King concerns every subject in England {a). " So a grant from the King to the Prince does not make an alienation from the Crown, for the land continues parcel of the Crown {b)." With respect to the remainder of the royal famil}^, only those related within certain degrees to the Sovereign have any particular precedence ; and even those nearly related, and within such degrees, have, it appears, independently of their general privileges as Peers and Peeresses, no other particu- larity attending them, but their right to such precedence, and are substantially in the same situation, entitled to the same rights, and subject to the same liabilities, as other subjects are(c). Their precedence is founded on the statute 31 H. 8. c. 10. which enacts, that no person, except the King's chil- dren, shall presume to sit or have place at the side of the cloth of estate in the Parliament chamber; and that cer- tain great officers therein named shall have precedence above -all Dukes, except only such as shall happen to be the King's son, brother, uncle, nephew (which Sir Edward Coke {d) ex- plains to signify grandson or nepos)^ or brother's or sister's son. Therefore after these degrees are past, Peers or others of the blood royal, are entitled to no place or precedence ex- cept what belongs to them by their personal rank or dignity (6'). Of course ail the children of the King, though born abroad, are deemed natural born subjects: but whether or not this would be the case if their father was not King at the time of their birth may be doubtful (/). T^he statute 25 Edw. 3. st. 2. after reciting " because that some people be in doubt whether children born in pfirts beyond the sea, out of the ligeance of (a) 8 Co. R. ^8. Fortesc. K. 41 1. they have any common law right to sudi (^b) Com. Dig. Roy G- cites Palmer's exemptions. R. 89. Sec ante, 203. (c/) 4 Inst. 362. (t) They are usually exempted from («•) 1 Bla. Com. '225. liability to pay tolls, &e. by particular (./) See J Chitty on Com. 114. ch. 5. statutes i but it does not appear that of subjects, aliens, &.c. England