Crossword Genius

Legitimate appalling successor to Elizabeth the second (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lawful

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'legitimate' is the definition.
(I know that legitimate can be written as lawful)

'appalling successor to elizabeth the second' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'appalling' could be 'awful' (I've seen this before) and 'awful' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'l' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for lawful that I've seen before include "Right!" , "Allowed" , "Legitimate" , "Licit" , "Legally permitted" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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