When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. – 1 Chronicles 23:1

Today's Scripture Reading (October 29, 2025): 1 Chronicles 23

Princess Anne has become known as the hardest-working Royal. And her schedule just keeps getting busier. But there is also a bit of tragedy in her life, or rather, in the line of succession during her life. When her mother became Queen Elizabeth II, after the death of her Grandfather, King George VI, on February 6, 1952, Anne was eighteen months old. And at that moment, she was second in the line of succession, after her older brother, Charles. That moment was the closest Anne would get to the throne because every time a male child was born to her parents, she was moved down the line of succession. Today, the hardest-working Royal is sixteenth in the line of succession.

The experience of Princess Anne was one of the main reasons that Queen Elizabeth II changed the rules of succession during her reign. She wanted to protect Princess Charlotte of Wales from the experience that Anne had experienced during her childhood. Princess Charlotte is currently third in the line of succession, and her younger brother, Prince Louis, is fourth. He has not displaced his sister in that line, unlike Prince Andrew, who displaced the Princess Royal, Anne, at the moment of his birth. Sometimes I wonder, if it were possible, if Elizabeth might have made Anne Queen in the place of Charles. I don't think it is likely, but it can be a fun exercise to imagine a world where the hardworking Princess Anne becomes Queen Anne, following up on the amazing rule of her mother.

There is no question that Bathsheba was David's favorite wife. I sometimes wonder what Bathsheba really thought of David, especially after he murdered her husband. But she was married to King David, and David loved her. As a result, Bathsheba realized that she could gain something significant from David. And what she wanted was for her son Solomon to be the next King of Israel. To be clear, Solomon was way down the line of succession. Even among the children of Bathsheba, who gave birth to five sons for David, it seems that Solomon might have been the youngest of the five. It is possible that some of the older sons of David might have predeceased their father. We know this is true for Amnon (David's oldest son) and Absalom (David's third eldest son), and it is likely true for Kileab (David's second eldest son) as well, who may have also died. We also know that, as David lay in bed in the final stage of his life, Adonijah, the fourth-oldest son of David and first in the line of succession, took steps to seize his father's throne.

However, at that time, Nathan went to Bathsheba to inform her of Adonijah's actions and suggested a plan to ensure Solomon became King, not Adonijah. The plan was for Bathsheba to go and tell David of Adonijah's activities, and then Nathan would come in and independently confirm Bathsheba's observations. All of this would allow David to set the record straight as to who was to succeed him. Solomon may have been well down the line of succession, but David decided to do the unthinkable: skip those who should have succeeded him on the throne and make Solomon the next King, even though, under normal conditions, he should never have ascended to the throne of Israel.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 24