The Equality (Titles) Bill, known colloquially as the "Downton Law" and "Downton Abbey Law", was a Bill of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

introduced in 2013 that would have ended a measure of gender discrimination and allowed for equal succession of female heirs to hereditary titles and

peerages A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

. The

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

legislation, in conjunction with the

Succession to the Crown Act 2013 The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 (c. 20) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the laws of succession to the British throne in accordance with the 2011 Perth Agreement. The Act replaced male-preference primogenitur ...

, would align hereditary titles in accordance with the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act.

Overview

The bill was dubbed the "Downton law" in reference to the British television drama ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. It first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV (TV network), ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United St ...

'' where the Earl's eldest daughter is unable to inherit the family seat because it can only be passed to a male heir. The Equality (Titles) Bill was precipitated by the passage of the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act, which altered the laws of

succession to the British throne Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest Collateral descendant, collateral line. The Bil ...

so that male heirs no longer precede their elder sisters. The bill was sponsored by the Lord Lucas and Dingwall in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

and has had two readings. The Queen consented to the bill's procession. Conservative MP

Mary Macleod Mary Macleod (born 4 January 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentford and Isleworth from the 2010 general election until the 2015 general election, when she was defeated by Ruth ...

has sponsored the bill in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

and pointed out that only two of House of Lords' 92 hereditary peers are women. After peer Lord Trefgarne remarked that the changes in succession would "set the hare running" on other inherited titles, a campaign group named "The Hares" was established. Prominent female aristocratic members of The Hares included Lady Sarah Carnegie, Lady Kitty Spencer, Lady Liza Campbell, and Lady Mary Charteris. Lady Sarah Carnegie served as the face of the movement, as after the death of her father, the 14th Earl of Northesk, his title was legally claimed by a male 8th cousin instead of herself, her father's eldest surviving child. Despite the bill being in favour of gender equality, several female aristocrats refused to support the bill. Emma Manners, Duchess of Rutland, mother of the British fashion model, Lady Violet Manners, her eldest child, gave an interview to The Express, in which she stated that " he wasdelighted that the estate would be passed on to erson Charles, Marquess of Granby, instead of erfirst born Violet. It is a responsibility and a responsibility I am glad that my daughter does not have to bear.” An amendment to the bill that would exclude

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

cies from its scope has been opposed by David Roche,

Roddy Llewellyn Sir Roderic Victor Llewellyn, 5th Baronet (born 9 October 1947), is a British baronet, garden designer, journalist, author, and television presenter. He had an eight-year relationship with Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the younger sist ...

, and Nicholas Stuart Taylor of the Stuart Taylor Baronetcy as well as Lord Monson. A number of the bill's supporters have titles that are in danger of dying out, as their only heirs are female. Rejected at committee stage in the Lords, the Bill progressed no further but saw majority support in the Commons and prominent supporters in the Lords included former Home Secretary

David Blunkett David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Employment from 1997 to 2001, Home Secretary from 2001 to 2004 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2005. ...

References

External links

Equality (Titles) Bill [HL] 2013–14Committee-level scrutiny of the bill
6 November 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Equality (Titles) Bill 2013 in British politics Public policy in the United Kingdom Peerages in the United Kingdom Succession

Overview

See also

References

External links