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If Kate Middleton's first-born were to be female, under new succession rules that daughter would be guaranteed the throne. Here are three would-be queens who missed out to younger brothers in the past 500 years.
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of King James of England and Anne of Denmark, who had seven children. After her older brother, the first-born Henry, died in 1612, the right to the throne passed to her younger brother Charles.
She ended up marrying Frederick V who later became King of Bohemia – for about a nanosecond in 1619. Thus her stint as Queen of Bohemia was short-lived.
But perhaps her greatest claim to fame is that today’s ruling House of Windsor is descended from her line – and that includes Prince William.
Her brother King Charles I, whose controversial policies contributed to the Puritan exodus to America, met an unhappy fate: He was executed in 1648.
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