The British monarchy’s change to the outdated rules of royal succession

We say it’s about time Great Britain considered gender equality.

The 16 British Commonwealth nations are changing the rules for royal succession. A first-born girl will be able to take the throne upon her parent’s death and will not be displaced by any younger brothers.

The decision comes in the wake of Prince William’s marriage to Kate Middleton. William’s father, Prince Charles, is the heir to his mother’s throne. “Attitudes have changed fundamentally over the centuries and some of the outdated rules — like some of the rules of succession — just don’t make sense to us any more,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said.

“The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he is a man — this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries that we have become.”

Will the new rules change much? Not for the moment. How new laws will affect the succession depends on whether William and Kate’s first child is a girl or a boy. Nevertheless, this change is significant in the face of women’s rights.

The change might seem silly in the United States, where we thrive under a democracy, not a monarchy. But, in fact, the monarchy has a true historical significance to the British people.

The first embattled English queen after the Norman Conquest was Matilda, granddaughter of the Conqueror. After her brother’s death, her father Henry I named her his heir, but her cousin, Stephen of Blois, stole the throne, and he and Matilda spent decades fighting. She never got the crown.

Four hundred years later, Mary I was denied her right to rule by her younger brother, Edward VI, who named his cousin as his heir. These days, English monarchs don’t rule England the way they once did, but the new laws are a good step toward gender equality.

For this reason, it’s surprising that Queen Elizabeth II — who inherited the throne because her father had no sons — didn’t push for it when her own daughter Princess Anne was born.

While Queen Elizabeth’s first-born child, Prince Charles, will undoubtedly be the next heir to the throne, Princess Anne is still behind her younger brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, in the line to the throne.

Since the law affects Charles’ descendants, not Elizabeth’s, Anne’s position doesn’t change. Despite the fact that the new law doesn’t affect much for the time being, and the British monarch’s role is largely ceremonial, every small step toward equality counts.

Today, women have equal rights: They can vote, work and hold office. They are no longer virtually slaves to their husbands’ wills as they once were.  Finally, British law reflects this age-old concept.