New law change means Prince Wills and wife Kate's baby will inherit over £700million, even if she's a girl
The wedding of Prince William and his university sweetheart Kate Middleton was seen by some as the first step to modernise our Royal family. And now this week, a new law, called the Sovereign Grant Bill, has been passed by the House of Lords. The new law means Will and Kate's first baby, whether it's a boy or a girl, will have the rights to inherit the £700million Duchy of Cornwall.
The Duchy of Cornwall is an area of land covering 23 counties, mainly across South-West England, and provides Prince Charles with an income of almost £18million a year.
The Sovereign Grant Bill now says that if Kate's firstborn is a daughter, the daughter will have equal rights to be heir to the throne as a firstborn son would.
The previous law, which had been around for 300 years, stated that a man must always take precedence over a woman. There have been several attempts to change the 1701 Act of Settlement since 1981, but all failed because of a lack of government support. The public support of Prince William's new bride has helped overturn the law.
"The principle that should run through all these issues is that men and women are treated equally," said Lord St. John Stevas, Constitutional expert, reports the Daily Mail.
After the mania of the Royal Wedding, things have calmed down for the Royal newlyweds, but that hasn't stopped people speculating that their may be a Royal baby on the way. The couple even saved the top two tiers of their wedding cake for their firstborn's Christening, as is tradition.
In the spirit of a Royal baby arriving in the near future, we had a go at what we think Will and Kate's newborn might look like!
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