The Ottoman dynasty did not observe primogeniture (the right of the first-born son to the throne), so in principle the throne was available to any imperial son.

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None of this seemed to be in Mr Dube's future when he was born, the sickly first son of a single mother on a run-down farm in East Transvaal.

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The explanation for this pattern in India is that couples welcome a first-born of either sex, but if she is a daughter, then some ensure the second child is a son.

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