A guide to royal and aristocratic families is to include illegitimate children for the first time.
Burke's Peerage and Gentry - which was first published 173 years ago - details over one million upper class families from Europe and the US and is currently undergoing a major overhaul to bring the entries into the 21st century.
Explaining the changes, Executive and Royal editor of Burke's Peerage William Bortrick said that many people from titled families no longer marry, leading to children classed as illegitimate.
He said: "It is just common sense to list their children. Although we would probably not list them if there was a scandal or anything. And we will also list the children of those people who marry into a family that is not already listed. "
Previously, male children have been listed first but will now be in order of when they were born.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth's daughter Princess Anne will now be listed second behind Prince Charles, instead of last of the monarch's four children as the only female.
William added to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper: "These really are momentous changes, but they will bring Burke's into the 21st century. Genealogy is now a subject for everyone from every walk of life and not just for the elite. Whether your name is Smith, Jones or Windsor we are all far more connected now.
"Most historic titles are male only, but some go through the female line - and through the last 1,000 years we have had some very strong female figures.
"Just look at the monarchy itself. I don't think British people will have any problem with us listing children in order of when they were born."
The annual listing will also feature the children of a titled person, even if their spouse's family is not in the book.
The changes are being implemented in the online version and will appear for the first time in a printed book when Burke's Royal Families of Europe is published later this year.
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