Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 2 April 2009.

Constitution: Royal Marriage and Succession

Question: My Lords, does the Minister acknowledge that the ban on the heirs to the throne marrying Catholics is the constitution’s grubby little secret? Does he recall that the previous Prime Minister, Mr Blair, promised to tackle this and gave exactly the same line as we are hearing from the Dispatch Box today? Just how long will it take this Government to deal with this question?

Answer: My Lords, I have already said that it is accepted by the Government that these are cases of discrimination and they need to be changed. However, this is a complex issue, as the noble Lord will understand; he was a member of a Government that I do not think sought to change the position as it was then and as it is now. He is right in the sense that this is discriminatory and that the Government have to do something about it. This is a complex issue which requires the agreement of those other countries in the Commonwealth which treat the Queen as their Head of State.

Secondary information