Succession to the Crown Bill (HL Bill 81 of 2012–13)
The Succession to the Crown Bill makes changes to the laws of succession to the Crown. This Library Note summarises the proceedings which have taken place on the Bill during its passage through the House of Commons, ahead of the Bill’s second reading debate in the House of Lords on 14 February 2013.
The Succession to the Crown Bill ends the system of male preference primogeniture which favours male over female heirs in the line of succession; removes the bar on an heir to the throne marrying a Roman Catholic; and replaces the current requirement that all descendants of George II must obtain the Monarch’s permission for their marriage with a requirement that the Monarch must approve the marriage of the six people nearest in line to the Crown. This Library Note summarises the proceedings which have taken place on the Bill during its passage through the House of Commons, ahead of the Bill’s second reading debate in the House of Lords on 14 February 2013.