The girl who would be queen may now have as good a chance as the boy who would be king.
With the approval of Queen Elizabeth II, the House of Lords agreed Friday it was time to bring equal rights to the British monarchy and end 1,000 years of male preference by giving a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first-born son.The proposed change would likely have no impact on the succession for generations: The queen's heir, Prince Charles, has no elder sister, and his heir, Prince William, has no sisters at all.
But if William's first child is a girl, she would be heir, even if William had a son later. By tradition, a son has first rights even if he is preceded by a daughter.
The 40 unelected lords, not usually the vanguard of change, greeted news of the modernization plan with approval and praise for women.
"Our rule is particularly derogatory to women as well as being quite out of date. When we compare ourselves with our wives and mothers, we feel humility," said Lord Simon.
Elizabeth succeeded her father to the throne because she had no brothers and was the elder of two girls.
Although the effects of the change might not be felt for many years, the decision to alter the succession is a major symbol of the government's and the queen's determination to update the monarchy.
"Her Majesty had no objection to the government's view that, in determining the line of succession of the throne, daughters and sons should be treated in the same way," Lord Williams of Mostyn, a junior minister in the Home Office, told the lords.
Prime Minister Tony Blair also approved of the change. With the queen's agreement and the government's huge parliamentary majority, legislation is unlikely to encounter any insurmountable problems.
It was not yet clear what legislation would be required for the change, Williams said, but it would require the approval of 15 other Commonwealth nations that recognize the queen as head of state.
Primogeniture, or succession through the male line, is as old as England's 1,000-year-old monarchy.