§ 47. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Prime Minister whether he will submit proposals to the forthcoming Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers to amend the Royal Marriages Act, 1772.
§ The Prime MinisterIt it contrary to normal established practice to discuss in advance the agenda for Commonwealth Conferences. I wish, however, in this instance, to say that Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom do not intend to submit any such proposals at the forthcoming Conference.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonWill the Prime Minister bear in mind that this antiquated law unfairly restricts the personal freedom of many people now some distance from the direct line of succession, and that if any changes are to be made, they ought to be made now, before any more instances of individual difficulty arise.
§ The Prime MinisterI am aware of the objections which are felt to the machinery of this Act, but I am also very much aware of the divergent views which are held as to what should take its place. In this Commonwealth matter, it would not be right or proper for me to go beyond what I have said.