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Title: Queen Elizabeth II’s Historic Rule Change Ensures Equal Succession Rights for Princess Charlotte
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving British monarch, has made a significant gesture to her great-granddaughter, Princess Charlotte, by ensuring equal succession rights regardless of gender.
This move rectifies a previous unfair shift in royal status that affected her own daughter, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal.
Princess Charlotte, the seven-year-old daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton, is now third in line to the throne, behind her father and older brother, Prince George.
Previously, Princess Anne faced a similar situation when she was born as the second child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
At that time, a royal law bumped her down the line of succession when her younger brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, were born.
However, in July 2013, before the birth of Prince George, Queen Elizabeth II issued the Succession of the Crown Act, which updated royal laws and ensured equal rights to the throne for all children, regardless of their gender.
Constitutional expert Ian McMarthan explains that the 2013 Act aimed to modernize outdated and discriminatory legislation related to the monarchy.
It abolished male primogeniture, allowing the first-born child, regardless of gender, to become the heir apparent.
The Act also removed the disqualification from inheriting the throne by marrying a Catholic and repealed the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which required only the first six in line to the throne to obtain the sovereign's permission to marry.
In addition to Princess Charlotte, Prince William and Kate Middleton's other children have also benefited from Queen Elizabeth II's updates to royal laws.
The Queen altered a 1917 royal warrant that would have prevented their three children from taking HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles.
Under King George V's warrant, only male children of a sovereign could inherit these titles.
However, in 1948, when Queen Elizabeth II was due to give birth, her father, King George VI, issued letters patent to ensure that her children would enjoy the HRH style and have the prince or princess title.
The Queen herself faced a similar situation when Prince George was born.
As the great-grandson of the sovereign, he would not have had royal style or title under King George V's warrant of 1917, just like his father, Prince Charles.
To rectify this, Queen Elizabeth II issued letters patent to grant Prince George the necessary royal status and title.
In other news, reports suggest that Kate Middleton is urging Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to reconcile and put an end to their attacks against the struggling firm.
According to an insider close to New Idea magazine, Kate had a good relationship with Prince Harry before Meghan entered the picture.
She is now willing to act as a mediator and call for an end to the ongoing drama, hoping to bring peace within the family.
Kate Middleton is ready to appeal to her brother-in-law to stop the petty potshots once and for all, as the tensions between the brothers continue to strain their relationship.
