In recent weeks, several monarchies have come under scrutiny for their laws of succession which favor male-preference primogeniture.

Following the birth of a son, Prince Hisahito, to Princess Kiko of Japan, the country's government has decided not to proceed with changing its laws of succession to one which would allow a female heir — such as Crown Prince Naruhito's daughter, Princess Aiko — acceeding to the Chrysanthemum throne.

Meanwhile, the government of Nepal — encumbered with political upheaval since stripping King Gyanendra of most of his kingly powers this year — has decided to install full cognatic primogeniture and change the laws of succession to favor, regardless of gender, the eldest child of Crown Prince Paras.

Now, with the news that Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Princess Letizia of Spain are expecting a second child, attention has turned to the House of Bourbon and the future role of Princess Leonor.

Debate centres on whether the little Princess, who'll celebrate her first birthday on 31st October, should be accorded the right to succeed to the throne as Queen, regardless of the gender of her new sibling, due next year.

Because Spain’s Royal House is currently abiding by the male-preference primogeniture succession law, one which is stipulated in the Spanish constitution of 1978, if the next royal child is a boy, he will pre-empt Leonor as the next heir to the throne after his father, Felipe.

In Spain’s constitution, Part II (The Crown) Section 57 reads as follows:

1. The Crown of Spain shall be inherited by the successors of H. M. Juan Carlos I de Borbón, the legitimate heir of the historic dynasty. Succession to the throne shall follow the regular order of primogeniture and representation, the first line always having preference over subsequent lines; within the same line, the closer grade over the more remote; within the same grade, the male over the female, and in the same sex, the elder over the younger.

2. The Crown Prince, from his birth or from the time he acquires the claim, shall hold the title of Prince of Asturias and the other titles traditionally held by the heir to the Crown of Spain.

3. Should all the lines designated by law become extinct, the Cortes Generales shall provide for succession to the Crown in the manner most suitable to the interests of Spain."

We therefore have to ask: Would Spain benefit from the law being changed from male-preference primogeniture to full cognatic primogeniture?