Question of the Day: Will Prince William and Kate’s Baby Ascend the Throne? Where in the line of succession to the throne will Will and Kate’s baby fall?
If it’s a boy: If William and Catherine’s firstborn child is a boy, he will be third in line to be king — after his grandpa, Prince Charles, and his dad, Prince William. This means he’d oust Prince Harry down to 4th place — Prince Harry is currently third in line for the throne (which is why Princes William and Harry were called “the heir and the spare.”)
If it’s a girl: If William and Catherine’s firstborn child is a girl, she will be third in line to ascend the throne as the all-ruling queen — unless she has a brother. If William and Catherine EVER give birth to a boy, even if the boy is their second or third child, the boy will supercede the girls in order to ascend the throne.
Unless a new law passes: But the British Parliament, responding to modern times, is considering passing a new law that would give the firstborn royal baby the right to ascend the throne REGARDLESS of the baby’s gender. In other words — if this new law gets passed by Parliament, Will and Kate’s firstborn will succeed William for the throne, regardless of whether its a boy or a girl, and regardless of whether it has any younger brothers.
Or, another way of putting it — The new law, if passed, would prevent a younger brother from uspuring his older sister for the throne.
British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told the London Daily Mail: “My own personal view is that — in this day and age — the idea that only a man should ascend to the throne, I think, would strike most people as a little old fashioned.”
He went on to say: “If Prince William and Catherine Middleton were to have a baby daughter as their first child, I think most people would think it is perfectly fair and normal that she would eventually become Queen of our country.”
What do Will and Kate think of this? William, as always, is non-political and non-committal: “Obviously we want a family so we’ll have to start thinking about that,” Prince William told the Daily Mail.
