Princess Charlotte will not lose her place in the order of the line to the throne, thanks to 2013 law

ACCORDING to tradition, royals tend to produce an ‘heir’ and a spare’ — but thanks to a recent law change, the new royal arrival won’t usurp Princess Charlotte in the order of succession.

THE baby son to Prince William and his wife Catherine would be the first royal baby boy in 1000 years with a direct line to the throne who will not bump his older sister out of the line of succession.

Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, has given birth the royal couple’s third child, a boy, at St Mary’s Hospital in London.

The child will be fifth in line to the throne, behind grandfather Prince Charles, father Prince William, big brother Prince George, 4, and big sister Princess Charlotte, 2.

However, due to law changes passed in 2013, the child will not come ahead of Princess Charlotte in the line of succession, even though it is a boy.

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Princess Charlotte’s position in the order of succession will not be impacted by the new royal arrival. Picture: AFP

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Changes to the Succession to the Crown Act mean that children’s lineage to the throne follows the order of their birth, and is no longer determined by their gender.

The changes overthrow 1000 years of history, which always dictated that male siblings came ahead of females in the line of succession.

Government and constitution expert Professor Robert Hazell said the changes meant that if Prince George was to predecease his father, Princess Charlotte would become Queen.

He said this follows changes introduced by the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.

“The change was first proposed at CHOGM 2011 in Perth, but it took two years for all 15 realms (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand but also countries as small as Tuvalu) to change their laws,’’ Prof. Hazell, from University College London’s Constitution Unit, said.

“The UK waited for the other realms to change their laws, before passing its own legislation, to ensure that the same rule applied in all the realms.’’

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Third in line. Prince George will one day take the throne — as George VII — after his father William (who will be William IV) and grandfather Charles (who will be Charles III). Picture: AFP/Richard Pohle

The countries of the realm, known sometimes as the Realm, are the 15 member countries of the Commonwealth including Australia which have the British monarch as head of state.

Prof. Hazell said the law changes agreed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

(CHOGM) had changed 1000-year-old rules of common law.

“Most of the other European monarchies had already changed their rules to introduce gender

equality,’’ he said.

Prof. Hazell said it did not mean major change for the British royal family at present, because “the next three in line of succession (Charles, William and George) are all male anyway.’’

The birth of the new baby pushes Prince Harry, the younger brother of Prince William, to sixth in line to the throne.

Queen Elizabeth, who turned 92 on Saturday, has been on the throne for more than 66 years, making her the longest-serving monarch in the world.

She was the eldest of two daughters. If her parents had later produced a son, she would not have been crowned Queen.

Queen Elizabeth is Britain’s longest-serving monarch, but at the time of her birth it was not expected that she would ever be crowned herself. Picture: MEGA

Originally published as Princess Charlotte will not lose her place in the order of the line to the throne, thanks to 2013 law