Australia Only Realm without Royal Succession Law

While there is now no urgency to finalise this because the first child of William and Kate was a boy, the States are having to pass their own legislation first (because they have their own constitutions and, thereby, each one has a separate relationship with the British Crown) before the federal bill can be tabled. So far, three States have done so, two have introduced legislation but South Australia has not (election on at present although bill was due to have been introduced in late 2013). The process to be followed shows how awkward the constitutional processes in the federation can be and that the Commonwealth’s powers are limited in some areas (this needs fixing under a republic). However, Canada has run into problems with a challenge to its federal law consenting to the changes made to British laws without the agreement of its nine provinces. This was done to avoid possible rejection by French-speaking Quebec. Professor Anne Twomey from Sydney University thinks that Canada’s legal challenge will take considerably longer to resolve than Australia’s tardiness. The changed British laws applying to the descendants of Prince Charles from 28 November 2011 provide for heirs to the British throne to succeed in birth order (males had priority over females since 1701); for the monarch to be able to be married to a Roman Catholic and for only six people to be required to have the monarch’s consent to marry (not all descendants of George II as previously).