Prince Charles reacts on plans to change succession laws

Prince Charles airs his concern on plans to change succession laws.

The Prince of Wales has voiced out his concern regarding the government's "rushed" plans to alter succession laws, saying that the plan "has not been thought through," which could leas to "unintended consequences." The Prince's comments could never be timelier given than the government has been hastening the process of overhauling the rules that govern the royal succession for centuries.


"Charles backs the principle of changing the law to ensure that if William and Kate’s first child is a girl she becomes Queen – a move which has been discussed for several years – if it commands popular support," reports The Daily Mail, although the Prince commented that the government did not give these proposals a second thought given "the delicate relationship between the State and the Church of England, as well as for the rules governing hereditary titles."

Church leaders also aired their concern on letting a future heir to marry a Roman Catholic, since according to canon law, their children are required to be raised in the Catholic Faith. This could lead to a serious constitutional crisis since as a future Governor of the Church of England, being Catholic means being barred from being crowned.

But one source reported that "such a problem could be resolved by negotiations with the Vatican – a response he is said to have found ‘unsatisfactory and unconvincing."

Another issue is letting female heirs succeed on hereditary peerages since some of the eldest daughters of peers demand equal rights to inherit titles, which, the Prince believes would cause trouble to some of the country's most aristocratic families.

Upon the announcement of the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that the Government plans to hasten the revision of succession laws to ensure that if ever the couple's child becomes a girl, nothing would stand between her and the throne, even if a younger brother is born.

"The change will need to be legislated for  in all 16 Commonwealth realms – the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas,  Barbados, Grenada, Belize, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Papua New Guinea."

The proposed legislation will also enable members of the Royal Family who marry a Catholic and still succeed to the Crown. Meanwhile, the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which required all descendants of George II to seek the Sovereign's consent to marry, will also be scrapped and will only only apply to the first six people in the line to the throne.