Will and Kate’s firstborn could now be queen, if they had a girl

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A princess did not magically materialize when Kate Middleton got married -- she left Westminster Abbey as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge -- but she and Prince William could now deliver a firstborn Queen Willandkate thanks to changes to the rules of succession in the British monarchy.

Might not even matter that future grandpa Prince Charles, currently first in line for the throne, has revealed he’s descended from Dracula.

Meeting in Australia, leaders of the 16 Commonwealth nations that recognize the monarchy as their head of state on Friday agreed to change centuries-old succession rules, the Los Angeles Times’ World Now reports, meaning the deal is done except for the legal part: The passing of legislation revising the 1701 Act of Settlement, 1689 Bill of Rights and Royal Marriages Act of 1772.

Lawmakers brought up the idea of making changes -- the desire is nothing new -- ahead of the royal wedding in April.

Current succession rules give a younger brother, and even that younger brother’s younger brothers, dibs on the throne before a firstborn sister got a shot. Can’t see really see Kate (who this week pulled off her first solo act as an official member of the royal family) explaining that lack of girl power to little Miss Willandkate.

Also new: Any of those imaginary siblings could marry a Catholic and keep the crown -- take that, Madonna. Now, a monarch still can’t be a Catholic, and far as the whole ‘Should there even be a monarchy’ question, well, that’s a decision for another day.

Legislation will be introduced by the U.K. in its next session of Parliament, the BBC reported, with New Zealand heading a task force that would coordinate a rollout of the changes through the other realms.

‘The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he’s a man, or that a future monarch can marry someone of any faith except a Catholic -- this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries that we’ve all become,’ British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a speech at the summit, held in Perth.

And about that Dracula thing? In an interview for an upcoming TV show about preserving forests in Romania’s Transylvania region, Charles reveals ‘the genealogy reveals I’m descended from Vlad the Impaler, so I do have a bit of a stake in the country.’

Ba-dump-bump.

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Prince Harry’s here! Prince Harry’s here! (Here being, um, Southern California)

— Christie D’Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville