Royal women to get equal rights

Female members of the Royal Family are to be given equality with men in the rules of succession to the throne, under historic constitutional changes agreed unanimously today by the 16 nations of which Queen Elizabeth II is monarch.

The changes mean that if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first child is a girl, she will take precedence over any younger brothers in the order of succession.

The 16 “realms”, including the UK, Canada and Australia, also agreed to scrap outdated laws which ban the spouse of a Roman Catholic from taking the throne.

The changes were announced by Prime Minister David Cameron at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, attended by the Queen, in Perth, Australia.

Mr Cameron said the historic rules were “at odds with the modern countries that we have become”.

Announcing the proposed changes, he said: “Put simply, if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were to have a little girl, that girl would one day be our queen.”