Debate on the Reform of the Spanish Constitution (Re: Succession)


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
In Spain men have prefence over women to ascend the Throne. CP Felipe is the younguest child of the King, but he´s the heir. The called Sallic Law. So, i belive, that is similar to GB.

No it is not called salic law, as has been repeated over and over again. Salic law states only a male can inherit, no female can take the throne, even in absence of a male heir. Spain is not salic, it is male preference.
 
I wonder what the government would do if the CP Prince and Princess had more children and they were all girls? Would that mean a constitutional crisis for Spain?

Would the parliament expect the CP to keep having children until a boy would be born (like in Japan)? Japan is very traditional in their views also.

I don't understand the process so I'm just asking, not trying to offend anyone.:)

For heaven's sake what constitutional crisis? JAPAN IS SALIC, JAPAN DOES NOT ALLOW FEMALES TO INHERIT, HENCE THE PROBLEM.Spain is not salic, it allows queens to rule, always has. If the crown prince and princess have six daughters then they have six heirs. Where is the constitutional crisis please tell me, you confuse me.

The only thing, the only thing, they are trying to change is male preference. Right now if they had six daughters and then a son, the son would be heir. They are trying to change it to allow for that first of six daughters, instead of the son, to be heir.

NO CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS, GIRLS CAN INHERIT.
 
If Spain doesn't change it's laws, it will be the only major European country (except Denmark, where it isn't an issue yet) to skip over girls and hand the crown to the boy. It seems backward, not traditional but almost uncivilized and unkind. There is just something disturbing about male primogeniture; everytime I think of Elena or Martha Louise of Norway I wonder if they feel angry, resentful or just unimportant.

The really great sovereigns have been female, Elizabeth I and Victoria.

I love the whole royal thing (who doesn't on this site?) but although male primogeniture is interesting, it's just wrong.

Denmark has now changed their law as well, so the UK and Spain are the only hold outs.
 
what is said about this if the law is not changed who eill be king after felipe? Elenas son?
 
what is said about this if the law is not changed who eill be king after felipe? Elenas son?
I don't think so, but I do think that the king Juan-Carlos is the opponent of equal primogeniture law, but the things may change. Anyway, it's their decision, but generally Letizia is still able to give birth to another child( though if it's a girl, Leonor should be considered the heiress to my view).
 
what is said about this if the law is not changed who eill be king after felipe? Elenas son?

After Felipe his eldest daughter is currently heiress to the throne unless Letizia gives birth to a son. Should that happen there would likely be a move in parliament to change the succession laws to first born regardless of gender succeeding to the throne.
 
Current Line of succession to the Spanish Throne

1.HRH The Prince of Asturias.
2. HRH Infanta Leonor
3. HRH Infanta Sofía
4.HRH Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo.
5.HE Don Felipe Juan Froilán de Marichalar y de Borbón.
6.HE Doña Victoria Federica de Marichalar y de Borbón.
7.HRH Infanta Cristina,Duchess of Palma de Mallorca.
8. HE Don Juan Urdangarín y de Borbón.
9.HE Don Pablo Urdangarín y de Borbón.
10.HE Don Miguel Urdangarín y de Borbón.
11.HE Doña Irene Urdangarín y de Borbón.
 
but how long would one whait until such law change

Its a complicated process
from wikipedia (...) that requires (1) that two-thirds of each House approve the amendment, (2) that elections are called immediately thereafter, (3) that two-thirds of each new House approves the amendment, and (4) that the amendment is approved by the people in a referendum.

The Spanish monarchy runs the risk of being abolished when trying to change the constitution. I guess it was easier to be leave it with minimum request of two children (heir & spare) who happened to be girls instead of putting the institution to the test.
 
Still interesting to think he could have been the prince of Asturias (and Elena queen) had they decided on equal primogeniture with the return of the monarchy/in the constitution in the 70s.

Actually, I believe there were talks about it and some disagreements back in the 70's,

Thank you for the information. Who were the prime backers and opponents of equal primogeniture in the 1970s? If equal primogeniture had been enacted in the Constitution of 1978, would Felipe have kept his place, as with Crown Prince Harald and Prince Haakon of Norway and Prince Albert and Prince Philippe of Belgium?

but in the end they kept the traditional Castilian succession to the Crown by request of Juan Carlos.

It is interesting that in European monarchies, the opposition to repealing male preference or semi-Salic/Salic law seems to be more far-reaching amongst male royalty (others include King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Prince Laurent of Belgium, Prince Petros of Greece, and Prince Knud of Denmark) than female royalty (Queen Silvia of Sweden is the only one I know of).

It would've been changed already if the Crown wasn't so protected in the Constitution. Even a tiny little change that everyone agrees on would require a hard long process of modification.

I assume it will be changed if and when Leonor has a daughter, then a son?
 
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Keep in mind that, back in 1975, no European monarchy had equal primogeniture. Sweden was the first country to introduce it in 1980, followed by the Netherlands shortly thereafter if I am not mistaken. It was highly unlikely that conservative Spain would be the pioneer .

On the other hand, once the constitution was approved, changing it is exceedingly difficult, which discourages any proposed reform. It might have been considered if Felipe and Letizia had had a son after the infantas, but, since that did not happen, there was no sense or urgency.

Spain had a tradition of women being able to inherit the throne (and other nobility titles!) for a far longer period of time than many other monarchies (for example, Denmark only allowed it in 1953; Liechtenstein is still male-only). So, it would not have been that far-fetched, but it would have been most logical if it was in line with other nobility regulations. So, changing it for the royal family would have resulted in calls for the same rules to be applied to other nobility titles. Nowadays those are by 'equal primogeniture', the crown is 'out of step' (because a constitutional change would be needed).

Furthermore, it is quite logical that Juan Carlos (just like Carl Gustaf) preferred the crown to be passed down in male-line. They are/were kings because of that. It would be illogical to make Juan Carlos king while he had an older sister and then allow his eldest daughter instead of his eldest son to succeed him.
 
Thank you for the information. Who were the prime backers and opponents of equal primogeniture in the 1970s? If equal primogeniture had been enacted in the Constitution of 1978, would Felipe have kept his place, as with Crown Prince Harald and Prince Haakon of Norway and Prince Albert and Prince Philippe of Belgium?
In Norway, Harald's sisters never had succession rights. Haakon indeed kept his place in line ahead of his older sister princess Märtha Louise (as both of them were in their late teens).
In Monaco, male-preference is still alive, that's why Jacques is ahead of his older sister Gabriella. So, prince Albert has never been 'at risk' of loosing his place.
In Belgium, prince Philippe is the eldest child of king Albert and queen Paola, so, there was no way he could loose his place to a younger sister.

It is interesting that in European monarchies, the opposition to repealing male preference or semi-Salic/Salic law seems to be more far-reaching amongst male royalty (others include King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Prince Laurent of Belgium, Prince Petros of Greece, and Prince Knud of Denmark) than female royalty (Queen Silvia of Sweden is the only one I know of).

How do we know all of them oppose repealing male preference?
King Carl Gustaf is indeed a known example (I didn't know about queen Silvia - but she is only a consort, so her opinion is not as relevant in the greater scheme of things). As I just posted, he was king because of the rules, so, it's rather logical that he was identifying with his son and wanted him to be king just like he was king instead of his eldest sister queen.
Prince Albert is also the reigning prince because of the current rules.
Prince Laurent just wanted to keep his place in the line of succession and not be moved down (which most likely was an important reason why they wanted Astrid and her children in).
Prince Petros of Greece I don't know, but if you mean crown prince Pavlos; again, his elder sister would be crown princess if the rules had been different.
Prince Knud and his eldest son would have been kings, had the rules remained the same, so again, very logical that he opposed as it was HIS birthright that was taken away from him.


I assume it will be changed if and when Leonor has a daughter, then a son?
They were looking into it when Letizia was pregnant of Sofía. It is assumed that the gender was revealed during pregnancy, so it was clear that a change wasn't needed (as revising the constitution would open up a can of worms ). So yes, I assume that if Leonor's first born is a girl and she is pregnant with a second child they will look into it again.
 
Spain had a tradition of women being able to inherit the throne (and other nobility titles!) for a far longer period of time than many other monarchies (for example, Denmark only allowed it in 1953; Liechtenstein is still male-only). So, it would not have been that far-fetched, but it would have been most logical if it was in line with other nobility regulations. So, changing it for the royal family would have resulted in calls for the same rules to be applied to other nobility titles. Nowadays those are by 'equal primogeniture', the crown is 'out of step' (because a constitutional change would be needed).

Furthermore, it is quite logical that Juan Carlos (just like Carl Gustaf) preferred the crown to be passed down in male-line. They are/were kings because of that. It would be illogical to make Juan Carlos king while he had an older sister and then allow his eldest daughter instead of his eldest son to succeed him.

As you said, there was a tradition of females inheriting the throne ( not without opposition though, see e.g the Carlist wars). But female inheritance is not necessarily the same as equal primogeniture, which I still think would have been a big leap in 1978.
 
In Norway, Harald's sisters never had succession rights. Haakon indeed kept his place in line ahead of his older sister princess Märtha Louise (as both of them were in their late teens).
In Monaco, male-preference is still alive, that's why Jacques is ahead of his older sister Gabriella. So, prince Albert has never been 'at risk' of loosing his place.
In Belgium, prince Philippe is the eldest child of king Albert and queen Paola, so, there was no way he could loose his place to a younger sister.



How do we know all of them oppose repealing male preference?
King Carl Gustaf is indeed a known example (I didn't know about queen Silvia - but she is only a consort, so her opinion is not as relevant in the greater scheme of things). As I just posted, he was king because of the rules, so, it's rather logical that he was identifying with his son and wanted him to be king just like he was king instead of his eldest sister queen.
Prince Albert is also the reigning prince because of the current rules.
Prince Laurent just wanted to keep his place in the line of succession and not be moved down (which most likely was an important reason why they wanted Astrid and her children in).
Prince Petros of Greece I don't know, but if you mean crown prince Pavlos; again, his elder sister would be crown princess if the rules had been different.
Prince Knud and his eldest son would have been kings, had the rules remained the same, so again, very logical that he opposed as it was HIS birthright that was taken away from him.



They were looking into it when Letizia was pregnant of Sofía. It is assumed that the gender was revealed during pregnancy, so it was clear that a change wasn't needed (as revising the constitution would open up a can of worms ). So yes, I assume that if Leonor's first born is a girl and she is pregnant with a second child they will look into it again.

I don’t think Carl Gustaf and Silvia were against equal primogeniture per se. What both have said or implied though many times is that they thought it was wrong that the reform applied retroactively to Victoria and Carl Philip. I won’t get into the validity or merit of their complaint, which has already been discussed ad nauseam in other forums, but it suffices to say that is clearly how they felt at the time. The King of Sweden is pretty much powerless, however, under the Instrument of Government of 1974 and both CG and Silvia knew they had no alternative, but to accept the will of the Riksdag. According to the latest interview I saw where Silvia made a comment about that ( shortly after Victoria got married), the family is now at peace with that decision .
 
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I don’t think Carl Gustaf and Silvia were against equal primogeniture per se. What both have said or implied though many times is that they thought it was wrong that the reform applied retroactively to Victoria and Carl Philip. I won’t get into the validity or merit of their complaint, which has already been discussed ad nauseam in other forums, but it suffices to say that is clearly how they felt at the time. The King of Sweden is pretty much powerless, however, under the Instrument of Government of 1974 and both CG and Silvia knew they had no alternative, but to accept the will of the Riksdag. According to the latest interview I saw where Silvia made a comment about that ( shortly after Victoria got married), the family is now at peace with that decision .
However, it would have been equally weird if for example Madeleine had been a boy that CP was the crown prince but Victoria would be behind one younger brother and ahead of another. Best to arrange these things when the then king/queen and/or crown prince(ss) are not in the middle of starting/extending their family. However, the need for those reforms is normally seen when they are...

In Denmark they picked the right moment for introducing equal primogeniture (although the family was still extending): no changes were needed.

In Luxembourg a change was made but I never heard either the grand duke and grand duchess or prince Sebastién complain that he suddenly was demoted in favor of his sister who had no succession rights before.
 
Spain had a tradition of women being able to inherit the throne (and other nobility titles!) for a far longer period of time than many other monarchies (for example, Denmark only allowed it in 1953; Liechtenstein is still male-only).

As you said, there was a tradition of females inheriting the throne ( not without opposition though, see e.g the Carlist wars). But female inheritance is not necessarily the same as equal primogeniture, which I still think would have been a big leap in 1978.

I think Somebody is commenting that Spain was historically ahead of most other countries. In the early twentieth century there were just three European monarchies, Spain included, which allowed women to inherit the throne even when there were heirs male through a cadet branch, and I believe Spain and Portugal were the only ones to allow female succession to most titles of nobility.


So, it would not have been that far-fetched, but it would have been most logical if it was in line with other nobility regulations. So, changing it for the royal family would have resulted in calls for the same rules to be applied to other nobility titles. Nowadays those are by 'equal primogeniture', the crown is 'out of step' (because a constitutional change would be needed).

I concur with you that it would be logical to amend the nobility regulations along with the succession to the throne, but none of the monarchies that changed to equal primogeniture have done it.

Furthermore, it is quite logical that Juan Carlos (just like Carl Gustaf) preferred the crown to be passed down in male-line. They are/were kings because of that. It would be illogical to make Juan Carlos king while he had an older sister and then allow his eldest daughter instead of his eldest son to succeed him.

I see it as logical, when introducing new regulations, not to demote a king or crown prince who was raised for the crown in favor of an adult princess who was not well educated for it because she was not the heiress. (Harald and Haakon of Norway supported equal primogeniture even though they had older sisters.)

In Norway, Harald's sisters never had succession rights. Haakon indeed kept his place in line ahead of his older sister princess Märtha Louise (as both of them were in their late teens).
In Monaco, male-preference is still alive, that's why Jacques is ahead of his older sister Gabriella. So, prince Albert has never been 'at risk' of loosing his place.
In Belgium, prince Philippe is the eldest child of king Albert and queen Paola, so, there was no way he could loose his place to a younger sister.

Crown Prince Harald of Norway would have lost his place to his older sister Princess Ragnhild had equal primogeniture been applied to all of the Norwegian royal family.
Prince Albert of Belgium (not Monaco) and his son Philippe would have lost their places to Albert's older sister Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg and her daughter Marie-Astrid had equal primogeniture been applied to all of them.


How do we know all of them oppose repealing male preference?
King Carl Gustaf is indeed a known example (I didn't know about queen Silvia - but she is only a consort, so her opinion is not as relevant in the greater scheme of things). As I just posted, he was king because of the rules, so, it's rather logical that he was identifying with his son and wanted him to be king just like he was king instead of his eldest sister queen.
Prince Albert is also the reigning prince because of the current rules.
Prince Laurent just wanted to keep his place in the line of succession and not be moved down (which most likely was an important reason why they wanted Astrid and her children in).
Prince Petros of Greece I don't know, but if you mean crown prince Pavlos; again, his elder sister would be crown princess if the rules had been different.
Prince Knud and his eldest son would have been kings, had the rules remained the same, so again, very logical that he opposed as it was HIS birthright that was taken away from him.

All of them criticized or rejected the repeal of male preference, Salic, or semi-Salic law. As you say, Laurent of Belgium may only have wanted to keep his own place, but I think your explanation "he was identifying with his son and wanted him to be king just like he was king" is a very valid one for many of them.

About Prince Petros, who would have been crown prince from 1964-1967 under the old rules.
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forum...onaparte-1882-1962-a-20014-3.html#post1092386


I don’t think Carl Gustaf and Silvia were against equal primogeniture per se. What both have said or implied though many times is that they thought it was wrong that the reform applied retroactively to Victoria and Carl Philip. I won’t get into the validity or merit of their complaint, which has already been discussed ad nauseam in other forums, but it suffices to say that is clearly how they felt at the time. The King of Sweden is pretty much powerless, however, under the Instrument of Government of 1974 and both CG and Silvia knew they had no alternative, but to accept the will of the Riksdag. According to the latest interview I saw where Silvia made a comment about that ( shortly after Victoria got married), the family is now at peace with that decision .

King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia did maintain in interviews in the 1970s that a man would be preferred as monarch. The king, via the Marshal of the Realm, also pressed the government to introduce male-preference succession.
om kvinnlig tronföljd Proposition 1977/78:71 - Riksdagen
 
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I concur with you that it would be logical to amend the nobility regulations along with the succession to the throne, but none of the monarchies that changed to equal primogeniture have done it.
In Spain the nobility titles are currently according to equal primogeniture if I am not mistaken; so in this case the nobility titles are ahead of the crown instead of the other way around. However, there is a big difference in countries (such as the UK and Spain) where there is only one title holder; and countries where the whole family shares the same title.

see it as logical, when introducing new regulations, not to demote a king or crown prince who was raised for the crown in favor of an adult princess who was not well educated for it because she was not the heiress. (Harald and Haakon of Norway supported equal primogeniture even though they had older sisters.)

Crown Prince Harald of Norway would have lost his place to his older sister Princess Ragnhild had equal primogeniture been applied to all of the Norwegian royal family.
True, but normally it is a two-step procedure; not going from 'not eligible' to 'equal primogeniture' including replacing someone who was raised to inherit the throne (only exception I can think of is Luxembourg but without real implications). So, in 1990 (when it was introduced in Norway), there was no way that crown prince Harald would be replace by his elder sister who had no succession rights - which was confirmed in 1971 when male-preference cognatic primogeniture was introduced. Haakon wasn't an adult yet, and royal families tend to make us believe that no distinction is made between their children, so at that point it was still possible to make sure that Märtha Louise (who was 18 or 19) got the proper education to be a future queen. Felipe was only 12 when his father ascended the throne which in itself had been very uncertain, so at that point he wasn't raised as the heir.

Prince Albert of Belgium (not Monaco) and his son Philippe would have lost their places to Albert's older sister Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg and her daughter Marie-Astrid had equal primogeniture been applied to all of them.
Josephine-Charlotte lost her rights to the throne when marrying the future grand duke of Luxembourg; they would never had let her keep (or introduce) her Belgian succession rights. If equal primogeniture had been applied from the start, they wouldn't have been close to the throne, is in that case her grandfather wouldn't have been king of the Belgians...

All of them criticized or rejected the repeal of male preference, Salic, or semi-Salic law. As you say, Laurent of Belgium may only have wanted to keep his own place, but I think your explanation "he was identifying with his son and wanted him to be king just like he was king" is a very valid one for many of them.

About Prince Petros, who would have been crown prince from 1964-1967 under the old rules.
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forum...onaparte-1882-1962-a-20014-3.html#post1092386
Thanks, always great to learn something new; however, this was not about the introduction of equal primogeniture but to male-preference cognatic primogeniture. Which has been the standard in Spain for a very long time...

King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia did maintain in interviews in the 1970s that a man would be preferred as monarch. The king, via the Marshal of the Realm, also pressed the government to introduce male-preference succession.
om kvinnlig tronföljd Proposition 1977/78:71 - Riksdagen
The king's position was clear to me. I didn't know that Silvia was also advocating alongside her husband. However, the king did change rules that were in his favor (such as marrying a commoner), so some self-interest might have played a part in being willing to change one and not the other...
 
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True, but normally it is a two-step procedure; not going from 'not eligible' to 'equal primogeniture' including replacing someone who was raised to inherit the throne (only exception I can think of is Luxembourg but without real implications). So, in 1990 (when it was introduced in Norway), there was no way that crown prince Harald would be replace by his elder sister who had no succession rights - which was confirmed in 1971 when male-preference cognatic primogeniture was introduced. Haakon wasn't an adult yet, and royal families tend to make us believe that no distinction is made between their children, so at that point it was still possible to make sure that Märtha Louise (who was 18 or 19) got the proper education to be a future queen. Felipe was only 12 when his father ascended the throne which in itself had been very uncertain, so at that point he wasn't raised as the heir.

Josephine-Charlotte lost her rights to the throne when marrying the future grand duke of Luxembourg; they would never had let her keep (or introduce) her Belgian succession rights. If equal primogeniture had been applied from the start, they wouldn't have been close to the throne, is in that case her grandfather wouldn't have been king of the Belgians...

Albert and Philippe of Belgium and Harald and Haakon of Norway were referred to as examples of male heirs to the throne who had older sisters, or whose fathers had older sisters, and who did not lose their places upon the introduction of equal primogeniture.

However, if I am understanding correctly, you are suggesting that the likelihood of replacing Felipe with Elena in 1978 was markedly higher than the likelihood of replacing Harald with Ragnhild with 1990 or Albert with Joséphine-Charlotte in 1991. I agree that the latter two would never have been considered.

Indeed, the monarchies that transitioned from male-only directly to equal primogeniture (in 1980 in Sweden, in 1990 in Norway, and in 1991 in Belgium) did not replace anyone who was raised to inherit the throne. Neither did Luxembourg when it transitioned from semi-Salic (not male-only) to equal primogeniture in 2010/11 (Grand Duke Henri's eldest child was Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, and Guillaume was unmarried). On the other hand, Denmark's restoration of succession rights for women (until 1851, women had been able to inherit the Danish throne) and introduction of male-preference cognatic primogeniture replaced Prince Ingolf.

Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium never was in line to succeed to the throne, so there were no difficulties when she married the grand duke of Luxembourg in 1953. Märtha Louise of Norway (born in 1971 and not in line at birth) was allowed a place in the line of succession when the constitution was changed in 1990, but as you stated, she did not replace her younger brother.


Thanks, always great to learn something new; however, this was not about the introduction of equal primogeniture but to male-preference cognatic primogeniture. Which has been the standard in Spain for a very long time...


The king's position was clear to me. I didn't know that Silvia was also advocating alongside her husband. However, the king did change rules that were in his favor (such as marrying a commoner), so some self-interest might have played a part in being willing to change one and not the other...

Actually, my comment was about changes to rules of succession in favor of women, which is relevant to Greece's introduction of male-preference cognatic primogeniture. :flowers: Couldn't your explanation about the self-interest of the king of Sweden be applicable to Petros, too?
 
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The solemnization of the engagement took place at El Pardo Palace.
After King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia formally asked Letizia's parents for her hand in marriage, the couple took a stroll around the palace gardens and then proceeded to talk to the press. There were about 350 accredited journalists from 12 countries.

[...]

Felipe (about descendants):
We can't say this for sure, but, well, the intention is, well, maybe more than two and less than five.

Letizia:
Hey!/Go on!

[...]

(dialogue translation courtesy of nettyroyal.nl)


Princess Letizia: "You can't explain the emotions behind being a mother"

Princess Letizia and her daughter Leonor, second in line to the Spanish throne, left the Ruber clinic just after noon yesterday, a week after Leonor's birth.

[...]

Letizia said she wanted "more than two children and fewer than five," and that they had chosen the name Leonor because Felipe liked it.
http://www.spainherald.com/2005-11-08news.html#1959


Felipe, Letizia and Leonor at Sofía's presentation - PART 2

Periodistas: ¿Para cuándo Pelayo [un hijo varón]?
Press: When should we expect a Pelayo [a male child]?

Letizia: Ya veremos, ahora estamos... ahora pendientes de ellas.
Letizia: We’ll see, now we're… we're taking care of them [the two daughters].

Countless royals throughout the course of history have been motivated by political reasons to have more children than they initially intended, but the opposite scenario for Don Felipe and Doña Letizia must be much rarer. (While expecting their second child, the then Prince and Princess felt obligated to break with royal protocol and reveal that the expected child was a daughter, since it had become increasingly plain that the birth of a son was likely to be troublesome for politicians.)
 
It is very complicated to reform the Spanish constitution.
I don't think that's going to happen in the next few years, or even the next decade.
Maybe it can happen when Princess Leonor gets married and has children, if it's justified then.
 
It is very complicated to reform the Spanish constitution.
I don't think that's going to happen in the next few years, or even the next decade.
Maybe it can happen when Princess Leonor gets married and has children, if it's justified then.


Since the royal succession falls under Title II of the constitution, the intention to change the succession rule has to be approved first by a two-third majority of the members of each chamber of Parliament (the Senate and the Congress of Deputies). The Parliament is then immediately dissolved and, following the general election, the newly elected chambers must ratify the decision and proceed to examine in detail the new proposed constitutional text, which must be approved again by a two-thirds majority of the members of both houses. Finally, once the amendment has been passed by the Parliament, it must be submitted to ratification in a national popular referendum.


The whole process is likely to take long then, but, in this particular case, I think it would not be controversial and it would not be difficult to secure the necessary majorities. I believe it is better to do it while Leonor is still single and there is no sense of urgency than wait until she gets married and have to rush the process.
 
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Since the royal succession falls under Title II of the constitution, the intention to change the succession rule has to be approved first by a two-third majority of the members of each chamber of Parliament (the Senate and the Congress of Deputies). The Parliament is then immediately dissolved and, following the general election, the newly elected chambers must ratify the decision and proceed to examine the new proposed constitutional text in detail, which must be approved again by a two-thirds majority of the members of both houses. Finally, once the amendment has been passed by the Parliament, it must be submitted to ratification in a national popular referendum.


The whole process is likely to take long then, but, in this particulat case, I think it would not be controversial and it would not be difficult to secure the necessary majorities. I believe it is better to do it while Leonor is still single and there is no sense of urgency than to wait until she gets married and have to rush the process.

Yes, they could even do that in the year Leonor turns 18. But I don't see the current government and the royal house wanting to bring it up, but you never know.
 
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