Succession rules 'must still change'

Nick Clegg today vowed to carry on with work to change the rules of succession to allow a first-born princess to inherit the throne in future.

Urgent talks were being rushed through in case Kate and William’s baby was a girl — but the birth of a son means the issue will not arise for another royal generation.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s spokesman said he would carry on because the principle that a princess should have an equal right to claim the throne was “just as important”.

“It was given special poignancy by the pregnancy and the possibility of a girl, but it will still apply to future generations and is just as important as before,” said the spokesman.

Under ancient rules of male primogeniture, royal sons took precedence over female siblings, even leapfrogging first-born royal daughters. Mr Clegg’s rush to modernise the rules began after the royal marriage in 2011. So far, around half the Commonwealth countries, whose consent is required, have not given agreement but Mr Clegg’s office said that was just “a formality”.

Had William and Kate had a girl, she would have been the first queen to rule in her own right, not simply because of the absence of a brother.

The Succession to the Crown Bill cleared the House of Lords in late April but a legal challenge has been launched in Quebec, Canada, with two constitutional experts arguing that the Canadian government acted unconstitutionally by failing to seek the approval of each of the country’s 10 provinces before agreeing to the changes.