Succession laws

Succession laws in hereditary monarchy are used for determining who will be the next heir to the throne of a kingdom, principality, etc. Non-primogenitural succession is another group of possibilities, however somewhat rarer today (as of 2005), but regarding primogeniture, there are three succession laws that are the most widespread in the world: primogeniture following the Salic Law, the mixed primogeniture and the cognatic primogeniture. This article presents an introduction to these three major systems of primogenitural hereditary succession.

Equal Primogeniture

Full Lineal Equal or Absolute Primogeniture is the most simple of the systems (only problems usually arise in case of twins and with quarreled renunciations), however it is relatively new in any use and it is undetermined whether it is intuitive, or in practical terms, useful. This is the system used in Sweden, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands. Females and males have the same rights in this system, because we go through the levels from the oldest to the youngest regardless of the heir's gender.

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Again, here is the ficticious dynasty:

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First is Magdalena, being the eldest child. Then, Magdalena's son Charles III (in this system, it would be called Charles II, but we will maintain the names for convenience). If he dies, Charles II inherits the throne and, then, Rudolf I, his son. If this is not possible, Augusta would be queen (or duchess, baroness or any title) and, following her, her son Charles IV. As Charles I's youngest son is Alfons I, he would be the heir after Charles IV if he has no children. Following Alfons I, the succession order is, first, Joanna and, if she has no children, Alfred.

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