A new law in the UK is grabbing attention–perhaps because of its catchy TV-inspired title. It’s been nicknamed the Downton Law, after the popular PBS show “Downton Abbey.” Or perhaps it’s making headlines because of what it would do. The Downton Law would allow British women to inherit noble titles.
Here’s a brief history for us Americans who don’t know too much about British nobility. British nobility titles are subject to something called primogeniture. While primogeniture technically just means that a title would go to the first child, in the UK it means that a title will go to the first-born son. If there is no son, it will go to the next eligible male relative, even if the deceased title holder has a daughter.
Back when these laws were instituted, in the Middle Ages, they did make some sense, archaic standards of gender roles aside. Women weren’t allowed to inherit titles because they weren’t really viewed as people. They most likely went straight from their father’s house to their husband’s–if they took a title with them it wouldn’t stay in the original family.
But now, they’re just silly. The Downton Law, officially named the notably less sexy Equality Titles Bill, would allow men who are dukes, earls, viscounts, and other hereditary titles to pass them to their daughters. Recently an amendment added barons–a different sort of title, but still hereditary–onto the list.
There are a few reasons that this legislation is important. First, it obviously eradicates some archaic institutionalized sexism in the UK. The royal family already did so–the 2013 Succession to the Crown Act would allow the throne to be passed to the eldest child first, regardless of gender. It’s important to note that the Monarchy has actually been better on this issue than all of these lower nobility titles for a long time. Women have been able to inherit the British throne for hundreds of years; but only if they had no brothers. The nobility titles included in the Downtown Law wouldn’t even go to daughters at all, they would go to a distant male relative.
The other problem that makes this legislation important is the quandary that happens if there is no distant male relative to whom to give the title. The title disappears, even if there are plenty of eligible women to inherit it. There are some baronets at risk of that right now. For example, the Stuart Taylor barony is currently held by Sir Nicholas Stuart Taylor Bt. He has two daughters and no eligible male heir. If he is not able to pass the title to his daughter, it will no longer exist. The elder daughter, Virginia Stuart Taylor points out, “I have been brought up believing that girls are equal to boys, often getting better grades at university. Everything is equal and it seems kind of ridiculous that we are trying so hard to make it fair for women in other areas of life but not in this one.” The law has received support; but whether or not it will pass will have to be seen.
This law isn’t just interesting because of its impact on feminism or historical preservation. It’s also interesting because a lot of people are attributing it to the influence of the Downton Abbey show, which has a major plot line centered on female succession. Perhaps the show brought attention to the fact that these laws still exist is pretty ridiculous, or perhaps onlookers are mistaking correlation for causation. Either way, this is good news, and a pretty great thing happening in the UK right now, whether it was influenced by TV or not.
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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.
Featured image courtesy of [Bas Sipjkes via Flickr]