Royal wedding sparks debate on UK succession

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   AMY ROBACH, co-host: As we await the royal wedding , the British government is considering making a very modern change to the monarchy. As NBC 's Michelle Kosinski reports, it's about gender equality and the throne.

   MICHELLE KOSINSKI reporting: Nothing proclaims the power of royal tradition like a coronation. And when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned at 25, the same age as Elizabeth I exactly 400 years prior, the only reason either of these beloved monarchs made it there was because there were no brothers to take over instead. Unfair? Well, it's only been this way since the Norman invasion , about 1,000 years, and written into constitutional law in 1701 . Fast-forward to William and Kate . If they have a daughter first, then a son, the boy still gets to jump the line and grab the crown -- something many Brits, including lawmakers, feel is just wrong.

   Mr. KEITH VAZ (Member of Parliament): Very unfair. This is the age of gender equality .

   KOSINSKI: Longtime member of Parliament Keith Vaz is daring to try to change things around here with this new bill. Other royalty has recently abandoned

   the "boys come first" rule: Sweden , so first-born Princess Victoria can inherit before her brother; Holland , Spain , Denmark , they've all done it. Japan is thinking about it. So why can't England , too?

   Dr. TRISTAN HUNT (Member of Parliament and Historian): British royal family 's traditionally a rather conservative institution. They're slightly behind the times. So there is a head of steam building.

   KOSINSKI: The law is 310 years old. Others have tried to change it, but it is a complex task. Now, though, there's this groundswell that now is the time . The queen has given her consent, but it still requires a government vote and the agreement of Britain 's 15 commonwealth nations, like Canada , Australia . Keith Vaz has already written to all of them.

   Mr. VAZ: I think it's the right thing to do.

   KOSINSKI: Will Britain 's very busy houses of Parliament take this on? Maybe. Quite a lot of hoops to jump through to bring some modern equality to this old house. For TODAY, Michelle Kosinski , NBC News, London.

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