Law will be changed to end succession gender bias

 
4 December 2012

The government will press ahead with a bill to change succession laws to end discrimination against women in line to the throne.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced today he had received final consent from all Commonwealth realms to press ahead with the bill.

It means the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's baby will be third in line to the throne regardless of gender - pushing Prince Harry into fourth place.

The legislation will end the principle of male primogeniture and end the bar on anyone in the line of succession marrying a Roman Catholic.

"This is a historic moment for our country and our monarchy. People across the realms of the Commonwealth will be celebrating the news that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their first child," Mr Clegg said.

"We can also all celebrate that whether the baby is a boy or a girl, they will have an equal claim to the throne. It's a wonderful coincidence that the final confirmation from the other realms arrived on the very day that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made their announcement."

The rules will be also be changed in the 15 other realms where the Queen is head of state.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain had sought consent for the reforms from the 15 other realms at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth in October last year.

“They didn’t object but they all have their different legislative procedures and in some countries because they have to change the constitution other people can suggest other changes to the constitution,” he told ITV’s Agenda. “It’s not as straightforward as it looks but clearly this has to be done quickly.”

Foreign Office sources said Mr Hague was concerned about “presentational” issues rather than any race against time to get the laws amended before the birth of William and Kate’s baby.

The Cabinet Office said the changes to end the 300-year-old rule of primogeniture, under which a woman in the line to the throne is automatically superseded by a younger male sibling, will be backdated to the Perth agreement.

But Keith Vaz, Labour chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, said Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg needed to press ahead with convincing the other 15 realms to enshrine the changes in new legislation. He said: “For completeness, it does need to be done before the baby is born.”

Mr Vaz introduced a Bill seeking to update the rules on female succession and removing the bar on the monarch marrying a Catholic several months before William and Kate married.

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