---

Royal Marriages and Succession to the Crown (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill

That is a point well made. Of course, we are here primarily as parliamentarians, but those who wish to identify themselves with the religion have the ability to do that. If one considers the psephology, we see there is no sign, even in Scottish seats, that any preference is given to people with a particular religion—or, I trust, a lack of religion—when standing for Parliament. Wikipedia lists the first 40 individuals in line to the throne, and there are some remarkable omissions. At No. 24 in the list is the Duke of Kent, the son of Prince George, the Duke of Kent. Then it says:""skipped George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews…XMP"" The "XMP" in superscript apparently means "excluded because of marrying a papist". The list continues:""skipped Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick…XP"" I think that the "XP" may mean that the person became a Catholic. It continues:""skipped Lady Marina-Charlotte Windsor…XP"." At No. 25, Lady Amelia Windsor—daughter of George Windsor, Earl of St. Andrews—hangs in there, but then the list says:""skipped Lord Nicholas Windsor…XP"" and""skipped Albert Windsor…XP"." And so it goes on. So even in the literature, we can see that the rules have a current effect, even if not a practical effect.