Altering the line of succession for hereditary peerages

[Ind_Duke]

Would it be possible for the Queen to change the present line of succession to the various hereditary peerages by passing a law that would overrule all the letters patent that were given during the creation of the peerages? I am asking this question in comparison to the Spanish law that changed the rule of succession to absolute primogeniture a few years ago. If the government and the Queen accept that they would want to get away with the sex discriminatory practice of the current successions to the various titles and therefore want to establish that all the existing titles would follow absolute primogeniture in the future, will it be possible legally to pass such a law and overrule all the letters patent? Even though the probability of such a decision seems remote, I am only asking if it would be legal and hence possible.

1) Does the monarch have the rights to alter the letters patent given by former monarchs? 

2) Also, if such a law is passed, would it be possible for the female line heirs of the already extinct titles to petition for the restoration of their titles? 

3) What are the potential complications that would prevent the Queen from passing such an unprecedented law?

[andrewbe...@gmail.com]

Given the principle of parliamentary sovereignty it would be possible for Parliament to do it however there is also the principle of non-retrospectivity in law meaning anyone affected before the coming into force of the Act would not be affected. However, those recently affected may have a genuine issue, how far could this in reality go? Who would have the right to petition? Only the daughters of the last titleholder?

One issue is of course political, is there any benefit in this day in age of bringing back from the dead a large number of hereditary peerages?

[Henry W]

1. I do not believe the Monarch can act alone to modify Letters Patent that grant a title. I believe that legal precedent is if the Monarch attempts to do so, then it is treated as a fresh grant of the title. Where the Monarch has decided to change the Letters Patent, in "recent" years this has been via a complete regrant of the title - see e.g. The Duke of Fife, originally created in 1889 with remainder to heirs male, but later recreated with a special remainder to his daughters in 1900 when it became clear he would have no sons; from 1900 to 1912 there were two Dukedoms of Fife vested in the same person. Parliament is of course sovereign, so can choose to pass a law changing all letters patent, or vesting some power to modify letters patent in the Monarch

2. If Parliament passed such a provision, yes. However, this might be inadvisable as it would lead to the separation of senior titles from their historical subsidiary titles which were inherited on collateral lines as they pre-dated the senior title.

3. There has been some discussion of this in Parliament - the fact that there are many titles that already pass through female lines, and there is little desire to disturb this; the fact that some titles have even more exotic remainders, such as the Earldom of Selkirk, might not wish to be disturbed either.

[sarac...@googlemail.com]

Pre-Treaty of Union(1707),the Scottish Crown and Peerage regularly used the system of resignation(or surrender to the Crown) and regrant,which could be revived in a newer form.   

On Saturday, December 9, 2017 at 7:39:36 AM UTC, Ind_Duke wrote:

[colinp]

The people who want to get rid of "sex discrimination" in the current title inheritance system seem quite happy with age discrimination.  Why should the eldest child inherit a title and not the youngest?  Perhaps it could alternate in each generation.  Isn't a system of titles inherently "discriminatory"?

On Saturday, 9 December 2017 07:39:36 UTC, Ind_Duke wrote:

[Ind_Duke]

You are very right in your argument. But the argument is that inheritance is always by the first-born (akin to first in a race or competition). So, the age discrimination here is a must for the inheritance of titles. That is the means by which we choose the heirs. So, the additional discrimination based on sex is indeed an unnecessary discrimination these days when you do not expect princesses to marry foreign-born princes or nobles.