Editing Act of Settlement 1701 (section)

=== Across the realms ===
{{main|Perth Agreement}}
In early 2011 [[Keith Vaz]], a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] Member of Parliament, introduced to the House of Commons at Westminster a [[private member's bill]] which proposed that the Act of Settlement be amended to remove the provisions relating to Roman Catholicism and change the primogeniture governing the line of succession to the British throne from [[male-preference primogeniture|male-preference]] to [[Absolute cognatic primogeniture|absolute cognatic]]. Vaz sought support for his project from the Canadian Cabinet and [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Stephen Harper]], but the [[Office of the Prime Minister of Canada]] responded that the issue was "not a priority for the government or for Canadians without further elaboration on the merits or drawbacks of the proposed reforms". [[Stephenson King]], [[Prime Minister of Saint Lucia]], said he supported the idea and it was reported that the government of New Zealand did, as well.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cecil |first=Nicholas |title=St Lucia backs change to laws of succession |newspaper=London Evening Standard |date=8 March 2011 |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23929938-st-lucia-backs-change-to-laws-of-succession.do |access-date=14 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528094354/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23929938-st-lucia-backs-change-to-laws-of-succession.do |archive-date=28 May 2011 }}</ref> The [[Monarchist League of Canada]] said at the time to the media that it "supports amending the Act of Settlement in order to modernize the succession rules."<ref>{{Cite news| last=Boswell| first=Randy| title=Brit asks Canada for help rewriting the rules of the Crown| newspaper=Vancouver Sun| date=21 January 2011| url=https://vancouversun.com/life/Brit+asks+Canada+help+rewriting+rules+Crown/4146719/story.html| access-date=22 January 2011}}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Later the same year, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, [[Nick Clegg]], announced that the government was considering a change in the law.<ref name=BBC2009>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7841414.stm |title=Fresh bid to reform monarchy law| date=21 January 2009 |work=[[BBC News Online]] |access-date=29 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13103587| title=Royal succession reform is being discussed, Clegg says| date=16 April 2011 |work=[[BBC News Online]] |access-date=19 September 2011}}</ref> At approximately the same time, it was reported that British Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] had written to each of the prime ministers of the other fifteen Commonwealth realms, asking for their support in changing the succession to absolute primogeniture and notifying them he would raise his proposals at [[Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011|that year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting]] (CHOGM) in [[Perth]], Australia.<ref name=cameron>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15282940| title=David Cameron proposes changes to royal succession| date=12 October 2011| publisher=BBC| access-date=14 October 2011}}</ref> Cameron reportedly also proposed removing the restriction on successors being or marrying Roman Catholics; however, potential Roman Catholic successors would be required to convert to Anglicanism prior to acceding<!-- OED (to date, online) has "accede" and "succeed", which is an accurate record of indeed illogical usage --> to the throne. In reaction to the letter and media coverage, Harper stated that, this time, he was "supportive" of what he saw as "reasonable modernizations".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1069441--harper-supportive-of-updating-royal-succession-rules |last=Cheadle |first=Bruce |title=Harper 'supportive' of updating royal succession rules |date=14 October 2011 |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |access-date=14 October 2011}}</ref>

At the [[2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting]] on 28 October 2011, the prime ministers of the other Commonwealth realms agreed to support Cameron's proposed changes to the Act.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15492607| title=Girls equal in British throne succession |work=[[BBC News Online]] |date=28 October 2011| access-date=28 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Kennedy| first=Mark| title=Commonwealth leaders agree to change archaic succession rules| url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/Commonwealth+leaders+agree+change+archaic+royal+succession+rules/5626087/story.html| date=29 October 2011| newspaper=Montreal Gazette| access-date=29 October 2011}}{{Dead link|date=October 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&id=4439&featureId=6&pageId=26 |last=Office of the Prime Minister of Canada |title=PM welcomes proposal to amend rules governing the royal line of succession |date=28 October 2011 |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |access-date=29 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030022957/http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&featureId=6&pageId=26&id=4439 |archive-date=30 October 2011 }}</ref> The bill put before the Parliament of the United Kingdom would act as a model for the legislation required to be passed in at least some of the other realms, and any changes would only first take effect if the [[Prince William, Duke of Cambridge|Duke of Cambridge]] were to have a daughter before a son.<ref name=Coorey2011-10-29 /><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15492607| title=Girls equal in British throne succession |publisher=BBC News| date=28 October 2011| access-date=28 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Royal succession gender equality approved by Commonwealth |first=Nicholas |last=Watt |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/oct/28/royal-succession-gender-equality-approved |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 October 2011 |access-date=29 October 2011}}</ref>

The British group [[Republic (political organisation)|Republic]] asserted that succession reform would not make the monarchy any less discriminatory.<ref name=bbc /> As it welcomed the gender equality reforms, the British newspaper ''[[The Guardian]]'' criticized the lack of a proposal to remove the ban on Catholics sitting on the throne,<ref>{{cite news| last=Editorial Board| title=Royal succession: Queen and country| url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2011/oct/28/royal-succession-queen-country| date=28 October 2011| newspaper=The Guardian| access-date=29 October 2011}}</ref> as did [[Alex Salmond]], First Minister of Scotland, who pointed out that "It is deeply disappointing that the reform [of the Act of Settlement of 1701] has stopped short of removing the unjustifiable barrier on a Catholic becoming monarch."<ref name=Scotsman2011 /> On the subject, Cameron asserted: "Let me be clear, the monarch must be in communion with the Church of England because he or she is the [[Supreme Governor of the Church of England|head of that Church]]."<ref name=Scotsman2011 />

The disqualification arising from marriage to a Roman Catholic was removed by the [[Succession to the Crown Act 2013]].<ref>[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/20/notes/division/5/2 Succession to the Crown Act 2013, Explanatory Notes]</ref>