Rules of Royal succession: eleventh report of session 2010-12, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidenceIn this report the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee welcomes the Government's proposals to amend the rules of succession to the throne. The proposals, announced in October, have been agreed with the Prime Ministers of the other 15 Commonwealth countries of which the Queen is Head of State. The changes are: to allow an elder daughter to come before a younger son in the line of succession, and to end the bar on someone succeeding to the throne if they marry a Roman Catholic. In the report, the Committee also draws attention to connected issues, especially: the future role of the Crown in the Church of England, and the continued ineligibility of women to succeed to hereditary peerages. This second issue remains a matter of public interest for as long as it has an impact on gender balance in the House of Lords. |
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