Japan discovered that Princess Kiko had just had a baby son. Firstly congratulations to her Imperial Highness.
As I'm sure you know Japan is a very conservative country. Only Males can succeed to the imperial throne and there has not been a male heir born for 41 years. Prime Minister Koizumi had talked about changing the law to enable a female succession.
Kiko's pregnancy temporarily stopped the debate and the arrival of a boy will put the debate off for a generation.
It may strange to hear this debate in the 21st century but this debate is certainly one that has been had in the UK before. The possibility of the accession of a woman to the English throne perhaps had more impact on England than any other event. Henry VIII was desperate to ensure a male succession and to do so he had 6 wives, broke with Rome and disolved the monastries. Ultimately this led to the Union with Scotand.
Of course us Brits can look at the cuurent Japanese suspicion of a female monarch with some superiority. Or can we? To this day though women are regarded as second class citizens as regards the succession. If Anne had been born before Charles it would have make made no difference male primogenature ensures male domination.
Japan may have forestalled its debate but surely its time to remove this anacronism from 21st century Britain?
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1 comment:
Wow, interesting post! You are right, it is time we dropped the idea of automatic male inheritance. I'm sure Princess Anne (had she been the oldest) would have made as good a monarch as her brother. In fact, she seems to be made of the same stuff as the Queen, she's practical, hard working and has a strong sense of duty, so maybe she would do a better job than Charles who seems a bit airy fairy.
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