Queen Elizabeth: Girls should have equal rights to throne

Queen Elizabeth: Girls should have equal rights to throne

Queen Elizabeth II
LONDON (CNN) -- It may not happen in your lifetime, but one day a British monarch's first child will be a girl, and she'll automatically be first in line for the throne.

For 1,000 years, male children have been given preference to the throne.

That changed Friday, when a spokesman for Queen Elizabeth II told the House of Lords the queen has no objection to eradicating the practice of primogeniture.

Of course, parliament must pass legislation making the change in succession official, but with the queen's approval and Prime Minister Tony Blair's huge voting block, the legislation is not expected to encounter any insurmountable problems.