Any child of the Prince and Princess of Wales was always going to make waves, but the only daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton, Princess Charlotte was already making history at just two years old when she officially became a big sister to Prince Louis and the fist ever female royal to benefit from The Succession to the Crown Act (2013).
This meant that for the first time she would be next in line for the throne after Prince George, a role that had previously always gone to male heirs and pushed girls further down the line of succession.
This means that Charlotte has retained her place as the third-in-line royal to the throne, following on from her father Prince William and older brother George.
(Image: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
However, not all female royals have been so lucky, with the law only applying to those born after October 28 2011.
This means that senior royals such as Princess Anne, the daughter of the late Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, is much further down the line of succession, with younger brothers Prince Andrew and Prince Edward both beating her to a potential slot on the throne.
The Princess Royal, who turned 72 last August, is currently 16th place on the list, putting her well behind several of her younger relatives, including her young niece Lady Louise Windsor.
(Image: David Hartley/REX/Shutterstock)
If the rules had been changed when Anne was born back in 1950, her children Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall would also place much higher on the succession list, and even beat out Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who are currently the tenth and 11th in line to become the sovereign.
Lady Louise Windsor, currently aged 19 was also bumped down the succession list by her younger brother, aged just 15, after he was born in 2007. She now sits in 15th place behind her brother.
(Image: Getty Images)
So far, Princess Charlotte is the only British royal to benefit from the change, however several other monarchies have already implemented a similar policy for a number of years, such as in Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium.
However, Spain and Monaco still stick to the old rules, with male heirs taking precedence over any women in the family.
One example is that of Prince Jacques, the son and heir apparent of Prince Albert of Monaco and Princess Charlene – despite the young royal actually being two minutes younger than his twin sister, Princess Gabriella.
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