Act of Settlement
There’s a push happening in Britain to amend the Act of Settlement so that non-Protestants may assume the throne and marry royalty. These possibilities have been banned for the past 300 years.
I received an email from the Australian Monarchist’s League today opposing this proposed change on dubious grounds. Basically, the writer felt the stability of the Crown was at stake.
I replied in friendly terms that I don’t agree. The Act of Settlement is my one bugbear with the constitutional monarchy. It clearly discriminates against Catholics.
The Queen and Prince Charles have been conspicuous in mending bridges with British Catholics, and I expect the British Government (through Anglo-Catholic Prime Minister Tony Blair) would be keen to support this.
It makes no sense today to have archaic restrictions on who may become King or marry a King. Indeed, female first-born children should also have their rights upheld.
The monarchy is relevant, but it must update itself to remain so.
I'm a 41-year-old father of four working as a newspaper editor at Mount Gambier in South Australia.
