Monaco's Princess Charlene and Prince Albert (son of Grace Kelly and Europe's most inexplicably boring aristocrat) are currently expecting twins. Which presents a potential headache for whoever's responsible for determining who inherits the throne of Monaco. If it's a girl followed by a boy, which one gets the job?
Not that who rules Monaco matters geopolitically any more than a fart at a heavy-metal concert, of course.
Hello! points out what anyone who's seen The Man in the Iron Mask understands (I remember, Leo): twins can complicate an orderly dynastic succession. Now, Prince Albert already has two children but they were born out of wedlock and therefore cannot inherit. Because all royals inhabit in time-slipped pockets of the 19th century. And it is worth noting that the ruler of Monaco does retain more legislative authority than the average European royal, even though the country is little more than hollering from side to side.
Anyway, as the laws currently stand, preference automatically goes to a son. Today says:
"If there are twins that are a boy and a girl, the boy takes precedence," Carolyn Harris, a royal historian who teaches at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies, told TODAY.com. "If the twins are both the same gender, the older twin takes precedence."
Harris noted that other European monarchies have introduced gender-neutral succession policies.
Like, for instance, the Windsors. If George had been Georgina, she still be a lock for third in line to the throne. Again, not that any of this matters a hill of beans.
Image via AP.