The incoming primate of the Church of Ireland has given his support to the possibility of a Catholic monarch, saying that it was now time to "move on".

The Act of Settlement has banned Catholics, or those married to Catholics, from ascending the British throne for the last 300 years.

In an interview with the Irish Times newspaper, the incoming Staffordshire-born Bishop Alan Harper said that the Act of Settlement of 1701 "belongs to its time and we should move on", but that its repeal could have implications for the Church of England.

An end to the ban would complicate matters for the Church of England, which has as its governor the British monarch.

But Bishop Harper welcomed the disestablishment of the Church of England - or separating of church and state - which he said the Church would "not only get over, but would be the better for it".

The Act states: "That all and every person and persons, who shall or may take or inherit the said Crown, by virtue of the limitation of this present act, and is, are or shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with, the See or Church of Rome, or shall profess the popish religion, or shall marry a papist, shall be subject to such incapacities."

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, has previously voiced criticism against the law, saying that under the terms of the act, Prince William "can marry by law a Hindu, a Buddhist, anyone, but not a Roman Catholic" and still be king.