Heir Apparent

The term heir apparent is most often used to refer to someone who is first in the order of succession to a throne and who cannot lose this status by the birth of any other person. It is also used less formally to indicate someone who is an apparent successor to a non-royal position of power, e.g., a political or corporate leader.

Heir Apparent's Status can be overturned by law

The status of the Heir Apparent is dependent on law.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Removal of males from superior role in succession

A legal change may deprive the person who was heir apparent of their status and grant it to another individual. For example, Prince Carl Philip of Sweden was heir apparent of Sweden immediately on his birth in 1979. However, one year later he was deprived of that status when a legal change decreed that the King Carl XVI Gustav's oldest child -- not, as previously, oldest son -- became heir apparent. This change upgraded Prince Carl Philip's older sister, Princess Victoria, from no position in line to the throne to heir apparent and first-in-line above him. Up to that change of law, Swedish succession was limited to males, failing which, the proper constitutional action would have been an election of the next monarch, as had happened, for example, in 1719, Ulrika Eleonora as queen; 1745, Adolphus Frederick as crown prince; 1810, Charles John as crown prince.

Related Topics:
Carl Philip of Sweden - Carl XVI Gustav

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Replacement of another Royal Family member by Parliament

Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, the oldest son of King James II/James VII (of England and Scotland respectively) was deposed as King's legal heir apparent when parliament, after it declared that James had de facto abdicated, offered the throne not to the Catholic Prince James but to James's oldest daughter, the young prince's half-sister, the Protestant Mary and her husband, Prince William of Orange. When the exiled King James died in 1701, his Jacobite supporters proclaimed the exiled Prince James Francis Edward as King James III of England and James VIII of Scotland. However he never got to occupy the throne, nor did any of his descendants.

Related Topics:
James Francis Edward Stuart - James II/James VII - Abdicate - Catholic - Protestant - Mary - William of Orange - 1701 - Jacobite

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1809, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden was deposed, and replaced by his aged uncle the duke Carl who became Charles XIII of Sweden. With that, Gustav IV's son, crown prince Gustav (later known as prince Gustav of Vasa) lost his position as heir apparent. The aged new king did not have surviving sons and prince Gustav was the only living male of the whole dynasty (besides his deposed father), but the prince never was regarded as heir of Charles XIII, although there were groups in riksdag and elsewhere in Sweden who desired to preserve him, and in ensuing constitutional elections supported his election as his great-uncle's successor. Instead, the government proceeded to have a new crown prince elected (which was the proper constitutional action, if no male heir was left in the dynasty), and the riksdag elected first August, prince of Augustenborg and then, after the death of the latter, the prince of Ponte Corvo (=marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte).

Related Topics:
Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden - Charles XIII of Sweden - Prince Gustav of Vasa - August, prince of Augustenborg - Prince of Ponte Corvo

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Breaching of legal qualifications to be Heir Apparent

In some jurisdictions, an heir apparent can lose his or her status should they breach certain constitutional rules.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A British Prince of Wales would lose his status as heir apparent if he

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• became a Catholic, or
• married a Catholic

A Crown Princess of Sweden would lose her status if she

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• married without the approval of the monarch
• married the heir to another throne, which is always contrary to Swedish law.

A Dutch Prince/Princess of Orange would lose his/her status if he/she

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• married without approval of the parliament.
• should decide to renounce it.

Morganatic marriage is not usually a direct reason to lose succession rights (it depends on the laws of country), but marriage without the sovereign's consent usually is (however, as exception to the latter, in UK, a dynast does not himself lose succession right if contracting marriage against Royal Marriages Act; however the issue of such marriage is ineligible to succeed).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A completely different point regarding unequal marriages is that, quite often, the royal who is contracting such, more or less voluntarily, renounces the succession rights. Perhaps the most famous example was king Edward VIII.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~