MADRID - The heir to the Spanish throne, Prince Felipe, and his wife, Letizia Ortiz, are expecting their second child next May, the royal palace said on Monday.

Spanish Crown Prince Felipe (R) and his wife Princess Letizia smile at their daughter Leonor after arriving for a Easter Sunday mass at Palma de Mallorca's cathedral on the Spanish island of Mallorca in this April 16, 2006 file photo. The Royal family said on September 25, 2006 that Spain's Princess Letizia is expecting her second child which is due in May. [Reuters]

 

The couple's first child, Leonor, was born last October. She is second in line to the throne after Felipe.

Her birth initiated fresh debate over a law stating that titles are inherited down the male line. Prince Felipe himself is heir to the throne despite having two older sisters.

Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has vowed to reform the 1978 law to give women the same inheritance rights as men.

But constitutional reform is complex as needs to be approved by two-thirds of the lower and upper houses of parliament.

Both houses then need to be dissolved, new elections must be called, and the new Congress and Senate must again approve the changes with at least two-thirds in favour. The changes are then put to a referendum