The principle of "male primogeniture" has been done away from the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and other European nations such as Belgium and Netherlands. The United Kingdom began the legislative process of doing the same in late 2011, which will also require other countries in the Commonwealth to pass laws. Obviously, this no longer makes much sense in the progressive twentieth century.
Why has this come back into prominence in late 2012, thanks to a hospital admission in London?
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Monarchies have traditionally followed a principle
where the first male descendant of the reigning monarch gets to be next in line. A daughter, like the incumbent Queen Elizabeth II, can only become the ruler if she has no brothers. With Duchess of Cambridge having been forced to reveal her pregnancy after a bout of acute nausea, there has been discussion about how if she has a daughter, she would be the first heir in line to the British throne to be so without reference to gender.