The British Government will introduce legislation to change the rules of succession to the throne, ending the rule of male primogeniture and the ban on members of the royal family marrying Catholics.
The British Government is to introduce legislation “at the earliest opportunity” to change the rules of succession to the throne by abolishing the principle of male primogeniture and removing the 300 year-old ban on members of the royal family marrying Catholics.
Deputy-Prime Minister Nick Clegg made the announcement on December 4. He revealed that the British Government has received the unanimous; final consent of the Governments of the 15 other Commonwealth nations to press ahead with the legislation that would end both the discrimination against women in the line of succession to the British throne, and the prohibition on members of the royal family marrying Catholics.
He said that the British government would introduce the Succession to the Crown Bill to the House of Commons as soon as the parliamentary schedule permits. It would be introduced at the earliest possible opportunity.
The proposed change would mean that the first-born child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who on December 3 announced they were expecting a baby, will become third-in-line to the throne after Prince Charles and Prince William, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl.
Under current legislation, male heirs take precedence over women in the line of succession even if the women were born first. Queen Elizabeth II was able to succeed to the throne because she did not have any brothers.
At the October 2011 meeting of the heads of Government of the 16 Commonwealth nations where the Queen is head of State, which was held in Perth, Australia, it was agreed in principle that this discrimination based on gender was unfair and should be changed, as should the law barring members of the royal family from marrying Catholics.
The proposed new legislation would make it possible for members of the royal family to marry Catholics without losing their chance to succeed to the British throne. It should be noted, however, that the monarch cannot be a Catholic.
Ever since the 1701 Act of Settlement, British monarchs were barred from converting to the Roman Catholic faith and were expressly forbidden from marrying a Roman Catholic, whether British or foreign-born. If they did so, the Act said, they "should be excluded” and “made forever incapable to inherit or enjoy the Crown and Government of this realm". The purpose of that Act of Settlement was to guarantee that British monarchs should continue to follow the established Church of England.
Last year, the British Prime Minister’s office explained that changing the rules of succession to the throne would be a "difficult and complex matter", as parallel legislation is required in all the 16 states of the Commonwealth. These are the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Granada, Jamaica, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Papua New Guinea. They will all have to pass the new legislation, but their assent is now assured after the October 2011 meeting.
In addition to all that parallel legislative process, the new legislation will also involve amendments to some of Britain's key constitutional documents, such as the Bill of Rights and Coronation Oath Act of 1688, the 1701 Act of Settlement and the 1706 Act of Union with Scotland.
It is understood that the proposed legislation will take effect from 28 October 2011, the date the Commonwealth Governments agreed in principle to the plans for change. It will not be retroactive. This means it will take effect for the children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and from then on.
Likewise, starting from that date too, members of the royal family who marry a Catholic will be able to succeed to the throne.
“This s a historic moment for our country and our monarchy”, Mr. Clegg stated. But the royal historian, Robert Lacey, cast a note of caution, saying, “We know that the wishes of politicians are written in water. Law only becomes law when the law is made — and the law has not been made!"
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