LONDON — Led by Queen Elizabeth II, the royal family is weighing reforms that would revolutionize and modernize the British monarchy, Buckingham Palace acknowledged Monday.
The proposals would abolish state subsidies to the royal family and offer equal rights for women to succeed to the throne. They would allow an heir to the throne to marry a Roman Catholic and end the sovereign's current role as head of the official Church of England.
A spokeswoman at the palace Monday would not confirm specifics and said no changes were imminent. But she said the monarchy's future is regularly discussed by the queen; her husband, Prince Philip; and her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, with their advisors and government legal experts.
"Discussion of strategic issues and major topics for the future go on in this organization as in any organization. One reason the monarchy has endured for 1,200 years is that it has been able to adapt to changing times," the spokeswoman said.
Recent divorce and adultery scandals have damaged the royal family's image; a left-wing think tank last week called for the queen to be stripped of her role as head of the Commonwealth, and leftists were skeptical Monday of the bruited reforms.
"You can't have a democracy where the head of state rules by inheritance, not by election," said Tony Benn, a hard-line member of the opposition Labor Party.
Lord St. John of Fawsley, a constitutional expert, said the all-in-the-family discussions, described by the palace as ongoing, "might have been brought on by the family's recent troubles."
"The queen is acting coolly, sensibly and rationally as is her wont. She's looking to the future of the monarchy. She's 70 now, and this is a good time," he said.
A financial reform being studied would abolish the Civil List, under which $14 million or so in public funds is paid annually to Elizabeth, Philip and the Queen Mother. Since 1992, the queen has herself paid about $2.5 million annually to eight other members of the royal family technically entitled to government funds.
Another reform would allow a firstborn daughter to succeed to the throne, challenging the ancient law of primogeniture. At present, a monarch's daughter becomes heir only if--like Elizabeth--she has no brother or if her brothers and all their descendants are dead.
