Gordon Brown plots a Palace revolution

The boys at Highgrove - Prince Charles and his two sons William and Harry - had better beware. It would just take an arsenic-laced packet of Duchy Original chocolate orange biscuits and Princess Anne would ascend to the throne - if Gordon Brown has his way.

The Prime Minister, it has been revealed, wants to redraw the 1701 Act of Settlement which gives men priority over their older sisters in the Royal line of succession. He's also keen to lift the ban on members of the Royal Family marrying Catholics.

Because of the law - an "anomaly that has no place in the 21st century," according to Downing Street - Princess Anne currently comes behind not just her elder brother Charles, but his sons, his brothers and his brother's sons, in the line of succession. This puts her in tenth position - with zero chance of becoming the Queen. Under Brown's plan, she would leapfrog into fourth place.

Buckingham Palace is said to be ready to "open dialogue" on the issue, with The Queen thought to be sympathetic. After all, if she'd had a younger brother, she would never have become monarch under the current rules.

Changing the law will not be simple. All 15 countries where the Queen is head of state would have to amend their laws, which is why Brown will raise the issue at the Commonwealth summit in November.

In the meantime, the Commons will get the ball rolling with an historic debate today over a Private Member's Bill, brought by Lib Dem MP Evan Harris, proposing the changes. So revolutionary are the proposals that the Queen's consent had to be sought and granted for the debate to take place.

A BBC poll shows public support for change, with 80 per cent approving equal succession rights for women.