25 May 2024 , 10:56
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The wedding of the Duke of Westminster to fiancée Olivia Henson has reignited calls to change the law preventing firstborn daughters from inheriting titles over their younger brothers.
The archaic laws of primogeniture, ensure the eldest son inherits the title after the father's death, even over older sisters. Campaigners have once again called for a law change, noting the impact on the Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson's future children, who will marry on June 7.
If Harriett Baldwin’s Hereditary Titles (Female Succession) Bill passes, their first child, if a girl, would inherit the Westminster title. Without the bill, the couple's title would pass to their first son rather than their eldest child, if passed, firstborn daughters would be treated equally to firstborn sons in inheritance.
Charlotte Carew Pole, leading campaigner of Daughter's Rights, criticises the male primogeniture laws as fundamentally unequal (SWNS)Ms Baldwin's bill, supported by several MPs including Philip Davies, the bill due for a second reading in February of this year but it ran out of time will be re-submitted after the election on July 4. The Duke of Westminster, friend to the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex, inherited his title from his father after he died in 2016.
The Duke of Westminster’s inheritance came with 140,000 acres of land in Oxfordshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Scotland - and another 300 in Mayfair and Belgravia, a portfolio worth an estimated £10.127 billion. The Cabinet Office and many male hereditary peers in the House of Lords have previously blocked changes to the inheritance laws, causing frustration among women who could inherit. Charlotte Carew Pole, leading campaigner of Daughter's Rights, criticises the male primogeniture laws as fundamentally unequal.
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Charlotte Carew Pole said this discrimination would be unacceptable in other communities but is tolerated among the aristocracyCharlotte Carew Pole said this discrimination would be unacceptable in other communities but is tolerated among the aristocracy. Adding that if this was the Muslim community discriminating against their daughters they would be condemned but that it is deemed acceptable “because it involved posh people.”
Her daughter Jemima, nine, cannot inherit the Pole baronetcy from her father Tremayne, which will go to her younger brother Lucian instead. Carew Pole highlights that this makes girls feel less valued. Lady Tessa, Countess of Balfour, saw her younger brother Edward inherit the Duke of Norfolk title and Arundel Castle after their father died in 2002.
She fought against the male primogeniture system in the European Court of Human Rights in 2018. Ms Carew Pole hopes the Duke of Westminster supports their fight for equality and backs the private members' bill when it returns to parliament.