“The government does not consider that the heir to the throne should abdicate if she marries a person of the same sex.” This announcement recently made by the President of the Executive of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, about Amalia de Orange, who is currently 17 years old and is the main candidate to inherit the dutch crown, has encouraged the gatherings and generated a multitude of comments for having confronted the monarchical institution with a situation with which it has never encountered: that of having to crown a king or queen whose partner is of the same sex.
There are no known aspirants to the throne of any of the 44 existing monarchies in the world who have declared themselves homosexual, but it is a matter of time before the new family formulas, today common and legal in many countries – several of them with monarchical regimes – end up finding their expression in royalty. Nor was it conceivable a century ago for a king to marry a commoner and today there are many monarchs who they share a cot and crown with couples who before the royal crush only knew the aristocracy from seeing their photos in the magazines.
Sexual preferences
At the moment, the heir to the Dutch throne has not publicly declared what her sexual preferences are and the controversy has been limited to the scenario posed by the former Social Democratic deputy Peter Rehwinkel in his book ‘Amalia, plicht roept’ (Amalia, the call of duty), where he argues that the daughter of Guillermo and Máxima de Holanda would have to abdicate in favor of her sister Alexia if he married another woman.
Nor is the orientation of the princess Eleanor, but the debate raised in the Netherlands is likely to be transferred to Spain. What if King Philip’s eldest daughter declared herself lesbian and marry another woman? Would you keep your inheritance rights intact or should you assign them to your sister Sofia?
The discussion is limited to the legal and constitutional scope. Outside of it are all morbid edges and given to gossip that has the matter, such as the one that has been fed this week by the videos and photos of the ‘LGTBIQ + party’ recently held at the UWC Atlantic, the Welsh school where, coincidences of life, they study Leonor and Alexia, and that they showed Amalia’s sister totally devoted to the cause.
Could Leonor be a lesbian queen?
All experts in Constitutional right consulted by that newspaper agree on the same conclusion: with the Magna Carta in hand, there is no legal impediment for the Infanta Leonor to marry another woman and to continue aspiring to the Crown and, when the day comes, she is proclaimed Queen of Spain. “The Constitution does not say that the marriage of the heirs to the throne has to be between a man and a woman. Therefore, what the law does not prohibit must be considered lawful and permitted & rdquor ;, acknowledges Juan Maria Bilbao Ubillos, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Valladolid.
In the case of homosexual marriage, approved in Spain in 2005, to this circumstance is added the express recognition of its constitutionality expressed by the constitutional Court in 2012. “The contractors of homosexual weddings have the same rights as those of heterosexual marriages. An illegality would be committed if the heir to the Crown were deprived of her inheritance rights by having married another woman & rdquor ;, he warns Roberto Luis Blanco Valdes, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Santiago de Compostela.
What problems would that situation present?
According to the jurists, the greatest challenge that a lesbian wedding of Princess Leonor is not so much legal as cultural and would be linked to the perception that the population, or at least a part of it, could have of this link. “In Spanish society it would not generate rejection, because homosexual marriage is already well established, but certain groups close to the crown and the political formations that feel they are holders of it could adduce the traditional sense of the monarchy to oppose & rdquor ;, he points out Baldomero Oliver León, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Granada and author of the book ‘Monarquía y estado constitucional’.
If given, to that hypothetical Leonor’s wedding with another woman It would still have quite a few years to celebrate and that time frame is, according to the constitutionalist Enrique Belda Pérez-Pedrero, the greatest asset that would have its social acceptance. “Gay marriage itself looks more normal today than when it was approved and in 10 years it will be even more common. On the other hand, the bedroom affairs of the monarchs are those that have historically enjoyed the greatest popular permissiveness & rdquor;, points out this professor of Constitutional right from the University of Castilla La Mancha, author of the essay ‘What is missing from the Spanish Monarchy to be fully rationalized?’.
Could Eleanor be forced to resign from the throne?
Technically, yes. The only obstacle to marriage of the heirs of the Crown that collects the Constitution appears in the Article 57.4, which declares: “Those persons who, having the right to the succession to the throne, contract marriage against the express prohibition of the King and the Cortes Generales, shall be excluded from the succession to the Crown by themselves and their descendants.”
This precept, designated today as a “Legal antiquity” For all constitutionalists, it comes from historical law and was included in the Magna Carta to avoid royal weddings that could cause damage to the country. “In the past, kings made foreign policy by marrying. That no longer happens, but the constituents wanted to heal themselves so that we wouldn’t end up seeing an inappropriate person next to the head of state & rdquor ;, he explains White Valdés.
Could that article be wielded for force resignation of the heir to the Crown for having married someone of the same sex? “Raising something like this is inconceivable today, but life takes many turns. If in the future the political scene were dominated by ultra-conservative theses and caused rejection of the image of the queen next to his wife, the Courts could oppose her accessing the throne & rdquor ;, warns Bilbao Ubillos.
Could the children of Eleanor and his wife inherit the Crown?
“The monarchy revolves around the principle of dynastic legitimacy. This requires that the hereditary prince or princess be born successors with the & rdquor; line, underlines the professor in Constitutional Law at the University of Navarra Assumption of the Chamarro Church. This requirement had an easy fulfillment in traditional marriages, but the new family formulas introduce variables that complicate the equation. “Until now, consanguinity has been a necessary condition to aspire to monarchical succession. If we adhere to this precept, Leonor would have to be the surrogate mother of the future heir to the Crown, even if the father was an unknown donor & rdquor ;, she thinks White Valdés.
This question is one of the most controversy it generates among the constitutionalists. “In our legal system, a biological child is as legitimate as another adopted and both have the same rights, including hereditary ones & rdquor ;, he warns Oliver Leon. If this criterion prevailed, the child that the queen’s wife gave birth, or any other that the couple adopted, could aspire to succeed her on the throne even if it did not run through her veins. ‘blue blood’. “When the Constitution was written, nobody thought about that situation. This legal loophole could only be corrected with a Crown Law that specified those details & rdquor ;, points out Bilbao Ubillos.
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What treatment would the queen’s wife have?
Article 58 of the Constitution refers to the king’s partner as “Queen consort.” Instead, he calls the Queen’s partner “Queen consort & rdquor ;, not” King consort & rdquor ;. For its part, the Royal Decree of 1987 on treatment and honors of the Royal family points out that “the consort of the King of Spain is called Queen & rdquor ;. On the contrary, this rule, which was modified in 2014, establishes that “the Queen’s consort is entitled to the dignity of Prince & rdquor ;. What if the Queen’s partner were other woman? “In this matter we would also find ourselves facing a legal vacuum. A simple solution would be to grant the sovereign’s wife a noble title to give her identity. In the British Crown, the queen’s husband was known as the Duke of Edinburgh & rdquor ;, he replies Blanco Valdés.
It would also be pending to set the attributions of that figure. “If the Queen died while the heir was a minor, her partner would be the Queen Regent, but the Courts could appoint a neutral person to fulfill that role during those years & rdquor; suggests Belda Pérez-Pedrero. The Constitution only says that “the Queen consort or the consort of the Queen may not assume constitutional functions, except as provided for the Regency & rdquor ;. In 1978, when the Carta Magna, homosexual marriages did not exist nor were they expected.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com