William and Kate’s baby will be the first to automatically succeed to the throne - even if it is a girl.

Baby is destined to be monarch even if it's a girl

A dramatic shake-up of ancient laws means male royals will no longer be able to leapfrog their older sisters to become the monarch.
So the child is guaranteed to remain third in line to the throne — after Prince Charles and Wills himself — even if Kate goes on to have sons.
The historic change to centuries-old succession laws was agreed just last year at a meeting of the 16 Commonwealth countries where The Queen is head of state.
And as PM David Cameron last night sent his congratulations to William and Kate, his deputy Nick Clegg said the Government was putting the final touches to the necessary legislation.
Mr Clegg said: “This is a very exciting day and brilliant news.
“And by happy coincidence we are working right now to put the finishing touches to laws that will update the very old-fashioned rules of succession and mean if they have a baby girl she will succeed to the throne.
“That is a big, big change and something the country thinks should have happened a long time ago.”

The change — which will involve amendments to historic documents such as the 1689 Bill of Rights and the 1701 Act of Settlement — means the baby will one day be head of the armed forces, supreme governor of the Church of England and head of the Commonwealth.
The shake-up is believed by many to be long overdue in a society where women have long had equal rights in most other aspects of life.
The present Queen only succeeded to the throne because she had no brothers — and if Princess Anne had been born before Charles HE would still have succeeded.
Mr Cameron — who is keen to implement the reforms as soon as possible — was passed a note about Kate’s pregnancy during a meeting at Downing Street yesterday.
He said: “I’m delighted by the news that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting a baby.
“They will make wonderful parents.The whole country will be celebrating with them.”
US President Barack Obama’s press secretary said: “On behalf of everyone here in the White House, beginning with the President and the First Lady, we extend our congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on this welcome news.”
Labour leader Ed Miliband said: “A royal baby is something the whole nation will celebrate.”
Pledging Labour’s support to the change in the law of succession, shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan said: “It is fantastic news that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their first child.
“It’s only right that we rectify the historical anomaly that prevents the eldest child of the monarch from becoming the head of state simply because of their gender.”
-Culled from The Sun