Britain looks at changing the rules to succession
Source: Agencies |
January 19, 2011, Wednesday
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LAWMAKERS say it would be the perfect wedding gift - changing Britain's rules of succession so any daughter born to Prince William and wife-to-be Kate Middleton would enjoy an equal right to the throne.
Lawmaker Keith Vaz was leading a brief House of Commons debate yesterday calling for an overhaul of the 300-year-old procedures, which many call antiquated and sexist.
The system now gives sons an automatic preference over older female siblings to succeed to the British throne. That means if Middleton had a daughter and then a son, the daughter would be passed over and the son would become king when William died or vacated the throne.
Vaz said yesterday that William's wedding on April 29 offers a once-in-a-generation chance to make the change, which has previously been discussed but never approved.
"Prince William looks like a very modern Prince," Vaz said in a statement. "If he has a daughter first, it is only right that she become Queen of England."
Any legal change would not affect Prince Charles - the heir to the throne - or William, since neither of them have older sisters who would leapfrog them if new rules were adopted. And the issue would be moot for another generation if Middleton's first child was a boy.
But rules specifying who inherits the throne, now based on the 1701 Act of Settlement, are not easy to change, particularly because it involves all 16 Commonwealth countries where Queen Elizabeth II is head of state.
British Prime Minister David Cameron's office said discussions have been taking place among the nations involved, but it could take a while for a change to be approved.
"Amending the Act of Succession is a complex and difficult matter that requires careful... consideration," a Cameron spokesman said.
If an agreement were not struck, it could be possible that Commonwealth countries like Australia or Canada might recognize a different king or queen than in Britain, said legal professor Noel Cox of Aberystwyth University in Wales.
Lawmaker Keith Vaz was leading a brief House of Commons debate yesterday calling for an overhaul of the 300-year-old procedures, which many call antiquated and sexist.
The system now gives sons an automatic preference over older female siblings to succeed to the British throne. That means if Middleton had a daughter and then a son, the daughter would be passed over and the son would become king when William died or vacated the throne.
Vaz said yesterday that William's wedding on April 29 offers a once-in-a-generation chance to make the change, which has previously been discussed but never approved.
"Prince William looks like a very modern Prince," Vaz said in a statement. "If he has a daughter first, it is only right that she become Queen of England."
Any legal change would not affect Prince Charles - the heir to the throne - or William, since neither of them have older sisters who would leapfrog them if new rules were adopted. And the issue would be moot for another generation if Middleton's first child was a boy.
But rules specifying who inherits the throne, now based on the 1701 Act of Settlement, are not easy to change, particularly because it involves all 16 Commonwealth countries where Queen Elizabeth II is head of state.
British Prime Minister David Cameron's office said discussions have been taking place among the nations involved, but it could take a while for a change to be approved.
"Amending the Act of Succession is a complex and difficult matter that requires careful... consideration," a Cameron spokesman said.
If an agreement were not struck, it could be possible that Commonwealth countries like Australia or Canada might recognize a different king or queen than in Britain, said legal professor Noel Cox of Aberystwyth University in Wales.
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