Tessa Jowell, has added her voice to those calling for an end to male succession and for sex equality in the Royal Family.

In an FT interview, the culture secretary backs legislation to over-ride the 1701 Act of Settlement which enshrines an 800 year old tradition giving the monarch's oldest son automatic right of succession - even if he has an older sister.

"There's now a general acceptance that daughters should be able to succeed to the throne and not be overtaken by their younger brothers. If legislation were brought forward to give sons and daughters equal precedence I'd support it," she told the newspaper.

Jowell's call for reform echoes those of other key cabinet ministers, including trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt, over the last four years but there is currently no government plan to bring forward legislation.

In charge of the department responsible for overseeing the Golden Jubilee celebrations, the south London MP is firmly on the modernising wing of new Labour, and believes, in tune with much of the official commemoration, that the monarchy has embarked on a process of change.

"[There has been] a very clear recognition that we are a multicultural society, that we are a society that is changing, that we succeed because we embrace change rather than seeing change as an enemy," she said in the interview published on Wednesday.