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From: "Chris Phillips" <>
Subject: "800 year old" English succession customs
Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2002 09:15:29 +0100


A British government minister has chosen the Jubilee weekend to call for
"equal rights for women" in succession to the throne, so that the first-born
would succeed regradless of gender. (Hardly an urgent issue, as such a
reform would be unlikely to make any difference for the next three
generations.)

What puzzles me is that the BBC is describing the current law of succession
as an "800 year old custom". Can anyone guess why? Surely the BBC doesn't
think that the first-born succeeded before 1200, regardless of gender? The
history of the 12th century hardly supports that view!

Chris Phillips

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