The royal daughters of the United Kingdom will soon get an equal right to rule, thanks to a historic decision to repeal centuries-old male primogeniture succession rules approved on Friday by the 16 nations of which Queen Elizabeth II is a constitutional monarch.
In practical terms, this means that the eldest child of Prince William — now second-in-line to the throne — will inherit the crown, regardless of its own gender, or that of younger siblings. “Put simply, if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were to have a little girl, that girl would one day be our queen,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting here on Friday.
In contrast, Queen Elizabeth only succeeded to the throne because she had no younger brothers.
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The decision also impacts the current order of succession, with Princess Anne, the only daughter of the Queen, moving from the 10th to fourth position.
The 16 nations also agreed to scrap the law barring anyone married to a Roman Catholic from inheriting the throne, although the monarch must still be a member of the Church of England which he or she will head.
“The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he is a man, or that a future monarch can marry someone of any faith except a Catholic —this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries that we have become,” said Mr. Cameron.
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Queen Elizabeth's private secretary Sir Christopher Geidt was present at the meeting, signalling her approval of the decision.
Formally opening the CHOGM summit earlier in the morning, the Queen appealed to leaders to allow women to reach their full potential. “The theme this year is women as agents of change,” she said at the inaugural ceremony. “It encourages to us find ways to allow girls and women to play their full part. We must continue to strive in our own countries and across the Commonwealth to promote that in a lasting way beyond this year.”
While the move has been on the cards for some time, it involves changing the laws of 16 nations, in some of which there was a concern that bringing the monarchy into the limelight in this way could actually spur republican movements. However, the wedding of Prince William in April increased the urgency to change laws before he had children of his own.
The 16 “realms” where Queen Elizabeth is still head of state include large developed nations such as Canada and Australia, as well as tiny island states in the Pacific and the Caribbean. Each of them will have to amend their own constitutions, once the U.K. changes its own laws.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard expressed her “delight” that the historic decision to end the discrimination against royal women was taken in Perth and confirmed that her own nation had given in-principle approval.