By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 10:57 EST, 22 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:20 EST, 29 May 2013 . Rules forcing descendants of George II to ask the monarch for permission to tie the knot are to be torn up. David Cameron and Boris Johnson are among those related to the former King whose weddings are technically ‘void’ if they failed to ask Buckingham Palace if they could tie the knot. Deputy PM Nick Clegg said the 240-year-old law was ‘unworkable’ as he set out plans to shake-up rules governing succession to the throne. But he was accused of opening a 'Royal Pandora's box'. Relative values: London Mayor Boris Johnson and PM David Cameron are both descendants of George II who needed to ask the monarch for permission to tie the knot . Legislation will end discrimination against future female royals so that men will no longer take precedence over women in the order of succession. It will also end the bar on heirs marrying Roman Catholics if they want to keep their entitlement to the throne. Under the 1772 Royal Marriages Act any descendent of George II must seek the reigning monarch’s consent before marrying – without which their marriage is void, Mr Clegg told the Commons. ‘This law – passed 240 years ago – is clearly now unworkable: George II’s descendants number in their hundreds; many will be unaware of this arcane requirement; many will have only a tenuous link to the Royal family.’ Among those descendants are the Prime Minister and the London Mayor. Under the 1772 Royal Marriages Act, descendants of King George II could not marry without the agreement of the crown . George II was Mr Cameron’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. However it is thought that because the PM is a descendent of an illegitimate daughter of William IV, who was George II's grandson, his claim to the throne is invalid and he may not have needed to seek permission to marry. Mr . Johnson is a descendant of Adelheid, Baroness de Pfeffel  the . illegitimate daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg whose great-great . grandfather was George II. The 1772 Act warns that ‘every marriage of any such descendant, without such consent, shall be null and void’. Mr Clegg told MPs that new legislation ‘proposes that the monarch need only consent to the marriages of the first six individuals in the line of succession – without which they would lose their place’. He added: ‘That way we retain the tradition of monarchical consent, but, in limiting it to the people who could – feasibly – assume the throne it will be applied in a much more reasonable way.’ The rules of succession are being changed so the baby of the Duke and . Duchess of Cambridge will become monarch, even if it is a girl who later . has younger brothers . The measure is buried in the Succession to the Crown Bill which will clear the way for the baby of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to take the throne, whether it’s a boy or a girl. Commonwealth countries have cleared the way for the rule change, which will mean the royal couple’s first child, expected in July, can become monarch even if it is a girl who later has younger brothers. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg complained that the changes were being rushed through with the urgency of terror legislation . Mr Clegg said: ‘The current rules of succession belong to a bygone era. They reflect old prejudices and old fears. ‘Today . we don't support laws which discriminate on either religious or gender . grounds, they have no place in modern Britain and certainly not in our . monarchy, an institution central to our constitution, to the . Commonwealth and to our national identity too.’ The current rules were based on ‘supposed superiority of men’, Mr Clegg said. However he was bombarded by questions in the Commons on technicalities and unintended consequences of the Bill, including how titles like the Duke of Cornwall – held by Prince Charles – will be passed on in future. Mr Clegg was accused of opening a 'Royal Pandora's box'. Critics of the Bill also complained that major constitutional changes were being rushed through the Commons with just two days for debate. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Bill was being ‘treated as if it was terrorism legislation’ and it was an ‘insult to the nation and to our sovereign and indeed to Parliament’. The Prince of Wales has also reportedly raised concerns about the legislation with a senior Government official. In a meeting with Richard Heaton, permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office, the Prince voiced worries about what will happen if his grandchild marries a Catholic, the Daily Mail reported earlier this month. It is assumed any children born to a future royal and their Catholic partner would be brought up as Catholics. But this could ultimately lead to the constitutional crisis of a future king or queen being barred from the throne because they are a Catholic - something which is still outlawed.
240-year-old law to be scrapped which means weddings of relatives of George II were 'void' if permission was not granted .
Boris Johnson and David Cameron are both related to the former king .
Change is part of Succession Bill which will allow Kate and William's baby to be monarch even if it is a girl .
By . Matt Chorley, Mailonline Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 10:57 EST, 22 January 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:20 EST, 29 May 2013 . Rules forcing descendants of George II to ask the monarch for permission to tie the knot are to be torn up. David Cameron and Boris Johnson are among those related to the former King whose weddings are technically ‘void’ if they failed to ask Buckingham Palace if they could tie the knot. Deputy PM Nick Clegg said the 240-year-old law was ‘unworkable’ as he set out plans to shake-up rules governing succession to the throne. But he was accused of opening a 'Royal Pandora's box'. Relative values: London Mayor Boris Johnson and PM David Cameron are both descendants of George II who needed to ask the monarch for permission to tie the knot . Legislation will end discrimination against future female royals so that men will no longer take precedence over women in the order of succession. It will also end the bar on heirs marrying Roman Catholics if they want to keep their entitlement to the throne. Under the 1772 Royal Marriages Act any descendent of George II must seek the reigning monarch’s consent before marrying – without which their marriage is void, Mr Clegg told the Commons. ‘This law – passed 240 years ago – is clearly now unworkable: George II’s descendants number in their hundreds; many will be unaware of this arcane requirement; many will have only a tenuous link to the Royal family.’ Among those descendants are the Prime Minister and the London Mayor. Under the 1772 Royal Marriages Act, descendants of King George II could not marry without the agreement of the crown . George II was Mr Cameron’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. However it is thought that because the PM is a descendent of an illegitimate daughter of William IV, who was George II's grandson, his claim to the throne is invalid and he may not have needed to seek permission to marry. Mr . Johnson is a descendant of Adelheid, Baroness de Pfeffel  the . illegitimate daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg whose great-great . grandfather was George II. The 1772 Act warns that ‘every marriage of any such descendant, without such consent, shall be null and void’. Mr Clegg told MPs that new legislation ‘proposes that the monarch need only consent to the marriages of the first six individuals in the line of succession – without which they would lose their place’. He added: ‘That way we retain the tradition of monarchical consent, but, in limiting it to the people who could – feasibly – assume the throne it will be applied in a much more reasonable way.’ The rules of succession are being changed so the baby of the Duke and . Duchess of Cambridge will become monarch, even if it is a girl who later . has younger brothers . The measure is buried in the Succession to the Crown Bill which will clear the way for the baby of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to take the throne, whether it’s a boy or a girl. Commonwealth countries have cleared the way for the rule change, which will mean the royal couple’s first child, expected in July, can become monarch even if it is a girl who later has younger brothers. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg complained that the changes were being rushed through with the urgency of terror legislation . Mr Clegg said: ‘The current rules of succession belong to a bygone era. They reflect old prejudices and old fears. ‘Today . we don't support laws which discriminate on either religious or gender . grounds, they have no place in modern Britain and certainly not in our . monarchy, an institution central to our constitution, to the . Commonwealth and to our national identity too.’ The current rules were based on ‘supposed superiority of men’, Mr Clegg said. However he was bombarded by questions in the Commons on technicalities and unintended consequences of the Bill, including how titles like the Duke of Cornwall – held by Prince Charles – will be passed on in future. Mr Clegg was accused of opening a 'Royal Pandora's box'. Critics of the Bill also complained that major constitutional changes were being rushed through the Commons with just two days for debate. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Bill was being ‘treated as if it was terrorism legislation’ and it was an ‘insult to the nation and to our sovereign and indeed to Parliament’. The Prince of Wales has also reportedly raised concerns about the legislation with a senior Government official. In a meeting with Richard Heaton, permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office, the Prince voiced worries about what will happen if his grandchild marries a Catholic, the Daily Mail reported earlier this month. It is assumed any children born to a future royal and their Catholic partner would be brought up as Catholics. But this could ultimately lead to the constitutional crisis of a future king or queen being barred from the throne because they are a Catholic - something which is still outlawed.
related to the former King whose weddings are Relative values: London Mayor Boris Johnson and PM David Cameron are both descendants of George descendants of King George II could not marry Crown Bill which will clear the way for the baby become monarch even if it is a girl who later has