The announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were expecting their first child, and the official agreement from the Commonwealth realms to end male primogeniture, came on the same day in what the UK Deputy PM Nick Clegg called a ‘wonderful coincidence’. The change to the succession laws was agreed in 2011 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth but it has now had the go-ahead to become official law through the Succession to the Crown Bill. Will and Kate’s child will be third in line to the throne currently held by Queen Elizabeth, who is monarch of 15 realms outside the UK.
The bill will be put before the UK House of Commons before the next general election but in order to ensure the same monarch rules over all 16 realms, legislation will also be required in overseas parliaments.
The successful passing of the bill will mean that if the couple’s first child is a girl she can become Queen even if she is followed by younger brothers.
Other significant changes to the long-established rules of succession mean that a monarch will be allowed to marry a Roman Catholic. However they themselves must remain in the Church of England, an institution which is headed by the British sovereign.
