Titulus Regius

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Titulus Regius (Latin for "Royal Title") or the Act of Settlement is a statute of the Parliament of England issued in 1484 which confirmed the title of King of England which was given to Richard III in 1483. The act ratified the declaration of the Lords and the members of the House of Commons in June 1483 that because the marriage of Edward IV to Elizabeth Woodville had been invalid under Church law, their children, including Edward, Richard, and Elizabeth, were illegitimate and debarred under English common law from inheriting the throne. The reason stated was that when King Edward had secretly married Elizabeth Woodville in 1464 he had already secretly wed 'and stood married' to Lady Eleanor Butler (née Talbot) who was still living at the time of his 'pretensed marriage' to Elizabeth. The offspring of this bigamous union were illegitimate under Church law (canon law) and the overall effect of bigamy combined with two illicit secret marriages made it impossible for the Church to rectify...

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