Gordon Brown Proposes Updating Royal Succession Rules
Gordon Brown has once again put his foot in his mouth with the Buckingham Palace when last night he announced to the media that he would like a massive overhaul for the current monarchy. The Prime Minister said that the 300-year old laws regarding succession for the throne were outdated.
He further announced his intentions to see that radical reform was enacted via the Commonwealth heads of government during a summit set to be held in Trinidad and Tobago over the weekend. For starters the Prime Minister wants the ban on heirs marrying Roman Catholics to be pulled as well as institute equal rights for female heirs.
Critics have lashed out at the Prime Minster saying his tactics are just a ploy to divert attention away from the current government’s rapid decline in popularity. Among other things, Prime Minister Brown attacked the Act of Settlement, which governs rules for succession, calling it outdated and obviously in need of change.
Royal officials have spoken out to assure the public that the Palace had no knowledge of Mr. Brown’s plans or his media announcement yesterday. Representatives for the Palace said that the announcement was merely a British Government initiative.
The Tories tore the Prime Minister to shreds last night following the announcement. Shadow Justice Secretary Dominic Grieve said that with a nationwide recession, troops abroad in Afganhistan, and the UK prisons in crisis, the Government should be focused on more urgent issues than royal succession laws being outdated.
However, some supporters of Mr. Brown showed up to encourage the Prime Minister to go ahead with his plans, including Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris, who said that the Prime Minster should pursue this through the heads of the Commonwealth in order to remove a discriminatory system from the British constitution.
If the ban were lifted Princess Anne would move from 10th in line to fourth. Princess Anne is the monarch’s second eldest and currently 10th in line for the throne.