An oldest daughter born to Prince William and Kate Middleton would accede to the throne ahead of any younger brothers under plans to alter “discriminatory” rules governing the line of succession.
Any future princesses born to the couple would be given the same rights as male heirs Photo: AP
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Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, is actively pursuing the plan to scrap the principle of male primogeniture from the monarchy in order to grant any future princesses born to the couple the same rights as male children.
Under current arrangements, the Prince’s first born son would be next in line to the throne, even if he had an older sister.
Mr Clegg, who is responsible for constitutional reform within the Government, is seeking to change this so that in future the line of succession is determined without regard to sex.
He has already raised the matter at the Privy Council, and is understood to have obtained the Queen’s consent to the move if this proves to be the will of the people.
However, David Cameron is said to be less keen on the change due to the complications involved.
As the British monarch also acts as the head of state of a number of Commonwealth nations, any change to the line of succession would require legislation in 16 separate countries. The Prime Minister is said to believe that to achieve this would be complex and time-consuming at a time when the Government’s full attention should be on tackling the deficit and enacting the Coalition agenda.
An attempt by the Labour peer Lord Dubs to alter the line of succession with a private members bill in 2005 was seen off by Tony Blair’s government. Continued
