British Crown Changes Throne Succession Law Toward Gender Equality

Queen Elizabeth II

The leaders of the 16 Commonwealth countries where Queen Elizabeth is head of state on Friday agreed, on the occasion of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Australia, that in the future the sons and daughters of the UK monarch would have equal rights to the throne of the country. The succession law change means that if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a female issue as first born, she will have precedence over the younger brothers. The new law also lifts the ban on the monarch to be married to a Roman Catholic person.

The succession law changes a 300-year-old law that stipulates that only the first born male becomes the heir to the throne, and that the crown may pass to a daughter only where no male issue exists, as it was the case of Queen Elizabeth II, daughter to King George VI.

The Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday announced that the new succession law would not apply retrospectively but only beginning with the descendents of the Prince of Wales.

He explained that if the Duke of Cambridge were to have a daughter as first born, she would be some day the Queen of the Commonwealth. Cameron said that the old ways in which the younger son would have precedence over the older daughter and that the monarch could marry whomever she wanted as long as they are not of Catholic faith were “at odds” with the modern states the Commonwealth states have become.

Cameron explained that while the future king or queen must be in communion with the Church of England, whose head he or she is, there is no reason why he or she could not marry a Catholic person, provided that they are allowed to marry people o any other faith.

Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard announced that it was a momentous decision that the Commonwealth made. Speaking in a feminist tone, Gillard said it was normal that the first Australian female PM to be joyful at seeing that the equality of genders is observed at the level of throne succession.

Gillard, which is a republican enthusiast, and built her election campaign on proclaiming monarchy, went on to say that the change voted on Friday seems simple as compared to the modern mind, but it is momentous in as much as it changes completely the way the monarchy works.

There were people in England that were not satisfied with the provisions of the new secession law. They wanted the monarchy abolished altogether. The Republic group said that the changes had “no substance” as long as the majority of the people are discriminated by the fact that they are not born in Windsor.

The republicans demanded that the new head of state be elected directly by the people and be a president.

CommonWealth Leaders

Alex Salmond, Scottish Prime Minister, said that while he was happy the equality was installed between the genders, the access of the Catholics to the English throne is still barred by the fact that the king or queen must stay in communion with the Church of England.

The Scottish PM said that the change in the succession law is a wasted opportunity to bring equality between faiths in the UK.

The Queen Elizabeth II, in her opening speech, did not speak about the succession laws, but did infer that the women should be given a more important role in the society.

It is considered that 11 attempts had been made to change the succession laws, and now that they are made, David Cameron said, the laws must first be change in England and the UK.

In order for the changes to take effect, 1701 Act of Settlement and the Bill of Rights from 1689 must be amended. Cameron said that the change must be discussed by all the 16 countries involved, since they have all the same head of state.

There are 54 countries in the British Commonwealth, and 16 of them have the same head of state: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Antigua, Belize, Papua New Guinea, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu, Barbados, Grenada, Solomon Islands, St. Lucia and the Bahamas.

All these countries are constitutional monarchies and will have to undergo the constitutional change to accommodate the new succession law provisions.