{"items": [{"author": "Sasha", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/299935930133052?comment_id=299936876799624", "anchor": "fb-299936876799624", "service": "fb", "text": "You need to control somehow for the disposition of the sons. It's consistent with the theory for a first son to be a successful butcher, if that's what he set out to do.", "timestamp": "1361461024"}, {"author": "James", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/106345404829653994850", "anchor": "gp-1361475165793", "service": "gp", "text": "I expect that to be massively confounded by second sons who murdered their older brothers, who would tend to make bad kings.", "timestamp": 1361475165}, {"author": "Jeff&nbsp;Kaufman", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103013777355236494008", "anchor": "gp-1361476510327", "service": "gp", "text": "@James\n\u00a0especially if they secretly arranged for it to happen, which would keep us from just excluding them form consideration.", "timestamp": 1361476510}, {"author": "Todd", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/112947709146257842066", "anchor": "gp-1361483763696", "service": "gp", "text": "Regardless of the question of first vs second sons, this seems like a poor argument for monarchy. With democracy, you can have a bunch of people trained to run a country, and then pick from the best of the lot.", "timestamp": 1361483763}, {"author": "Allison", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103741579182942078941", "anchor": "gp-1361490821564", "service": "gp", "text": "What about the daughters? ;)", "timestamp": 1361490821}, {"author": "BDan", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/103775592027106438640", "anchor": "gp-1361507521861", "service": "gp", "text": "It would also have been pretty rare for a second son (or a daughter) to inherit with no warning -- either the first son died before the monarch, so the second son would be the heir apparent until the monarch's death, or the first son inherited the throne and the second son would be heir apparent as long as the first son didn't have any kids.\n<br>\n<br>\nIncidentally, the Commonwealth realms recently all agreed to finally eliminate primogeniture from the succession laws, such that if William and Kate have a daughter she will stand to inherit the throne even if they later have a son.", "timestamp": 1361507521}]}