Heir apparent
{{Short description|Person who is first in line of succession}}
{{Other uses|Heir apparent (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2023}}
{{Monarchism|Concepts}}
An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person.{{Efn|assuming no change in the laws governing succession|name=|group=note}} A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more eligible heir is known as an heir presumptive.
Today these terms most commonly describe heirs to hereditary titles (e.g. titles of nobility) or offices, especially when only inheritable by a single person. Most monarchies refer to the heir apparent of their thrones with the descriptive term of crown prince or crown princess, but they may also be accorded with a more specific substantive title:{{Efn|Note that the substantive titles do not usually correspond exactly with the status of heir apparent. See crown prince for more examples and information.|name=|group=note}} such as Prince of Orange in the Netherlands, Duke of Brabant in Belgium, Prince of Asturias in Spain (also granted to heirs presumptive), or the Prince of Wales in England and Wales; former titles include Dauphin in the Kingdom of France, and Tsesarevich in Imperial Russia.
The term is also applied metaphorically to an expected successor to any position of power, e.g. a political or corporate leader.
This article primarily describes the term heir apparent in a hereditary system regulated by laws of primogeniture—it may be less applicable to cases where a monarch has a say in naming the heir (performed either while alive, e.g. crowning the heir as a {{Lang|la|rex iunior}}, or through the monarch's will).
Heir apparent versus heir presumptive
File:Crowd awaiting Crown Prince Tokyo Dec1916.jpg in Japan awaiting the appearance of the Crown Prince Hirohito for the recent proclamation of his official recognition as the heir apparent to the Japanese Imperial Throne – New York Times, 1916.]]
In a hereditary system governed by some form of primogeniture, an heir apparent is easily identifiable as the person whose position as first in the line of succession to a title or office is secure, regardless of future births. An heir presumptive, by contrast, can always be "bumped down" in the succession by the birth of somebody more closely related in a legal sense (according to that form of primogeniture) to the current title-holder.
The clearest example occurs in the case of a childless bearer of a hereditary title that can only be inherited by one person. If at any time the title bearer were to produce children, those children would rank ahead of any person who had formerly been heir presumptive.
Many legal systems assume childbirth is always possible regardless of age or health. In such circumstances a person may be, in a practical sense, the heir apparent but still, legally speaking, heir presumptive. Indeed, when Queen Victoria succeeded her uncle King William IV, the wording of the proclamation even gave as a caveat:
{{blockquote|...saving the rights of any issue of his late Majesty King William IV, which may be born of his late Majesty's consort.}}
This provided for the possibility that William's wife, Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, was pregnant at the moment of his death, since such a posthumous child, regardless of its sex, would have displaced Victoria from the throne.{{Cite web |url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/brit-proclamations.htm#Introduction |title=Proclamations of Accessions of British Sovereigns (1547–1952) |access-date=2007-02-01 |archive-date=2023-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408085904/http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/brit-proclamations.htm#Introduction |url-status=live }} Adelaide was 44 at the time, so pregnancy was possible even if unlikely.
= Daughters in male-preference primogeniture =
{{main|Male heir|Son preference}}
Daughters (and their lines) may inherit titles that descend according to male-preference primogeniture, but only in default of sons (and their heirs). That is, both female and male offspring have the right to a place somewhere in the order of succession, but when it comes to what that place is, a female will rank behind her brothers regardless of their ages or her age.
Thus, normally, even an only daughter will not be an heiress apparent, since at any time a brother might be born who, though younger, would assume that position. Hence, she is an heiress presumptive. For example, Queen Elizabeth II was the heiress presumptive during the reign of her father, King George VI; had George fathered a legitimate son, then that child would have displaced Elizabeth in the line of succession and become heir apparent.
However, a granddaughter could for example be an heiress apparent if she were the only daughter of the deceased eldest son of the sovereign (e.g. Queen Elizabeth II would have been the heiress apparent to George V if her oldest uncle and father both had died before their father).
= Women as heirs apparent =
In a system of absolute primogeniture that disregards gender, female heirs apparent occur. As succession to titles, positions, or offices in the past most often favoured males, females considered to be an heir apparent were rare. Absolute primogeniture was not practised by any modern monarchy for succession to their thrones until the late twentieth century, with Sweden being the first to adopt absolute primogeniture in 1980 and other Western European monarchies following suit.
Since the adoption of absolute primogeniture by most of the Western European monarchies, examples of female heirs apparent include Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium; they are, respectively, the oldest children of Kings Carl XVI Gustaf, Willem-Alexander, and Philippe. Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway is heir apparent to her father, who is heir apparent to the Norwegian throne, and Victoria herself has a female heir apparent in her elder child, Princess Estelle. Victoria was not heir apparent from birth (in 1977), but gained the status in 1980 following a change in the Swedish Act of Succession. Her younger brother Carl Philip (born 1979) was thus heir apparent for a few months (and is a rare example of an heir apparent losing this status without a death occurring).
In 2015, pursuant to the 2011 Perth Agreement, the Commonwealth realms changed the rules of succession to the 16 thrones of Elizabeth II to absolute primogeniture, except for male heirs born before the Perth Agreement. The effects are not likely to be felt for many years; the first two heirs at the time of the agreement (Charles, Prince of Wales, later Charles III, and his son William, Prince of Wales) were already eldest born children, and in 2013 William's first-born son Prince George of Wales became the next apparent successor.
But even in legal systems that apply male-preference primogeniture, female heirs apparent are by no means impossible: if a male heir apparent dies leaving no sons but at least one daughter, then the eldest daughter would replace her father as heir apparent to whatever throne or title is concerned, but only when it has become clear that the widow of the deceased is not pregnant. Then, as the representative of her father's line she would assume a place ahead of any more distant relatives. For example, had George, Prince of Wales (the future George IV) predeceased his father, King George III, between 1796 and 1817, the former's daughter, Princess Charlotte, being his only legitimate child, would have become heir apparent to the British throne. Such a situation has not to date occurred with the English or British throne; several times an heir apparent has died, but each example has either been childless or left a son or sons. However, there have been several female heirs apparent to British peerages (e.g. Frances Ward, 6th Baroness Dudley, and Henrietta Wentworth, 6th Baroness Wentworth).
In one special case, however, England and Scotland had a female heir apparent. The Revolution settlement that established William and Mary as joint monarchs in 1689 only gave the power to continue the succession through issue to Mary II, elder daughter of the previous king, James II. William, by contrast, was to reign for life only, and his (hypothetical) children by a wife other than Mary would be placed in his original place (as Mary's first cousin) in the line of succession—after Mary's younger sister Anne. Thus, after Mary's death William continued to reign, but he had no power to beget direct heirs,[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=37644 "King James’ Parliament: The succession of William and Mary – begins 13/2/1689"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928035800/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=37644 |date=2007-09-28 }} The History and Proceedings of the House of Commons: volume 2: 1680–1695 (1742), pp. 255–277. Accessed: 16 February 2007. and Anne became the heir apparent for the remainder of William's reign. She eventually succeeded him as Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Displacement of heirs apparent
The position of an heir apparent is normally unshakable: it can be assumed they will inherit. Sometimes, however, extraordinary events—such as the death or the deposition of the parent—intervene.
= People who lost heir apparent status =
- On 30 April 892, Al-Mufawwid was removed from the succession to the Abbasid Caliphate.{{sfn|Fields|1987|pp=166–169}} When al-Mu'tamid died in October 892, he was succeeded by Al-Mu'tadid.{{sfn|Kennedy|1993|pp=765–766}}
- Parliament deposed James Francis Edward Stuart, the infant son of King James VII & II (of Scotland and of England and Ireland respectively) whom James II was rearing as a Catholic, as the King's legal heir apparent—declaring that James had, de facto, abdicated—and offered the throne to James II's elder daughter, the young prince's much older Protestant half-sister, Mary (along with 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 VIII of Scotland and James III of England and Ireland; but neither he nor his descendants (the last of whom died in 1807) were ever successful in their bids for the throne.
- Crown Prince Gustav (later known as Gustav, Prince of Vasa), son of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, lost his place when his father was deposed and replaced by Gustav IV Adolf's aged uncle, the Duke Carl, who became Charles XIII of Sweden in 1809. The aged King Charles XIII did not have surviving sons, and Prince Gustav was the only living male of the whole dynasty (besides his deposed father), but the prince was never regarded as heir of Charles XIII, although there were factions in the Riksdag and elsewhere in Sweden who desired to preserve him, and, in the subsequent constitutional elections, supported his election as his grand-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 August's death, the Prince of Ponte Corvo (Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, who acceded as Charles XIV John in 1818). The two lines united later, when Charles XIV John's great-grandson Crown Prince Gustaf (who acceded as Gustaf V in 1907) married Gustav IV Adolf's great-granddaughter Victoria of Baden, who became Crown Princess of Sweden. Thus, from Gustav VI Adolf onward, the kings of Sweden are direct descendants of both Gustav IV Adolf and his son's replacement as crown prince, Charles XIV John.
- Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, at his birth in 1979, was heir apparent to the throne of Sweden. Less than eight months later, a change in that country's succession laws instituted absolute primogeniture, and Carl Philip was supplanted as heir apparent by his elder sister Victoria.
- Muqrin bin Abdulaziz became Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia in January 2015 upon the death of his half-brother King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the accession of another half-brother, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to the Saudi throne. In April of that year, Salman removed Muqrin as Crown Prince, replacing him with their nephew Muhammad bin Nayef. Muhammad bin Nayef himself was later replaced as Crown Prince by the king's son Mohammad bin Salman.
= Breaching legal qualification of heirs apparent =
In some jurisdictions, an heir apparent can automatically lose that status by breaching certain constitutional rules. Today, for example:
- A British heir apparent would lose this status if he or she became a Catholic. This is the only religion-based restriction on the heir apparent. Previously, marrying a Catholic also equated to losing this status. However, in October 2011 the governments of the then-16 Commonwealth realms (now 15), of which King Charles III is monarch, agreed to remove the restriction on marriage to a Catholic. All of the Commonwealth realms subsequently passed legislation to implement the change, which fully took effect in March 2015.
- Swedish Crown Princes and Crown Princesses would lose heir apparent status, according to the Act of Succession, if they married without approval of the monarch and the Government, abandoned the "pure Evangelical faith", or accepted another throne without the approval of the Riksdag.
- Dutch Princes and Princesses of Orange would lose status as heir to the throne if they married without the approval of the States-General, or simply renounced the right.
- Spanish Princes and Princesses of Asturias would lose status if they married against the express prohibition of the monarch and the Cortes.
- Belgian Dukes and Duchesses of Brabant would lose heir apparent status if they married without the consent of the monarch, or became monarch of another country.
- Danish Crown Princes and Princesses would lose status if they married without the permission of the monarch. When the monarch grants permission for a dynast to enter marriage, he may set conditions that must be met for the dynasts and/or their children to gain or maintain a place in the line of succession; this also applies for Crown Princes and Princesses.
Current heirs apparent
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| style="width:7em" |Country
!class="unsortable" style="width:1em" |Picture !style="width:7em" |Name of heir apparent !style="width:10em" |Title !style="width:10.2em" |Date of birth (age) !style="width:10em" |Relation to monarch |
|---|
| {{BHR}}
|60px |Crown Prince of Bahrain |{{Birth date and age|1969|10|21}} |eldest son |
| {{BEL}}
|60px |Princess, |{{Birth date and age|2001|10|25}} |eldest child |
| {{BTN}}
|60px |Dragon Prince of Bhutan, |{{birth date and age|2016|2|5}} |eldest child |
| {{BRN}}
|Crown Prince of Brunei Darussalam |{{birth date and age|1974|2|17}} |eldest son |
| {{DNK}}
|60px |Crown Prince of Denmark, |{{birth date and age|2005|10|15}} |eldest child |
|
|{{JOR}} |Crown Prince of Jordan |{{Birth date and age|1994|6|28}} |elder son |
| {{KUW}}
|60px |Crown Prince of Kuwait |{{Birth date and age|1953|3|3}} |maternal half-nephew and paternal second cousin |
| {{LES}}
| |Crown Prince of Lesotho |{{birth date and age|2007|04|18}} |only son |
| {{LIE}}
|Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg |{{birth date and age|1968|6|11}} |eldest son |
| {{LUX}}
|Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg |{{birth date and age|1981|11|11}} |eldest child |
| {{MCO}}
| |Hereditary Prince of Monaco, Marquis of Baux |{{birth date and age|2014|12|10}} |only legitimate son |
| {{MAR}}
|60px |Crown Prince of Morocco |{{Birth date and age|2003|5|8}} |only son |
| {{NED}}
| 60px |{{birth date and age|2003|12|7}} |eldest child |
| {{NOR}}
|60px |Crown Prince of Norway |{{birth date and age|1973|7|20}} |only son |
| {{OMN}}
|60px |{{birth date and age|1990|08|21}} |eldest son |
| {{SAU}}
|60px |Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud |Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia |{{birth date and age|1985|8|31}} |child |
|
|{{SWE}} |Crown Princess of Sweden, |{{birth date and age|1977|7|14}} |eldest child |
| {{TON}}
|Crown Prince of Tonga |{{birth date and age|1985|9|17}} |elder son |
| {{GBR}} and 14 other Commonwealth realms |60px |Prince of Wales, |{{birth date and age|1982|06|21}} |elder son |
Heirs apparent who never inherited the throne
=Heirs apparent who predeceased the monarch=
=Heirs apparent who abandoned or were forced to abandon their claims=
| class="wikitable" |
| Heir apparent
! Lived ! Heir of ! Reason for Abandoning or Being Forced Out |
|---|
| Darius
|Died 465 BC |Upon the murder of Xerxes I, Darius was framed for the murder and subsequently executed |
| Liu Rong
|Died 148 BC |Disinherited after his mother angered the emperor by requesting the position of empress and refusing to allow the marriage of Liu Rong to Chen Jiao |
| Kunala
|Born 263 BC |Blinded |
| Antipater
|BC 46–BC 4 |rowspan=4|Herod the Great |Disinherited after being charged with intended murder. Subsequently executed. |
| Alexander
|BC 35–BC 7 |rowspan=2|Disinherited and executed |
| Aristobulus IV
|BC 31–BC 7 |
| Herod II
|BC 27–33 AD |Disinherited |
| Agrippa Postumus
|BC 12–14 AD |Banished. Later executed by his own guards after the accession of Tiberius |
| Liu Jiang
|25–58 |Disinherited after his mother lost the position of empress |
| Sun He
|224–253 |Replaced with his brother Sun Liang |
| Sima Ying
|279–306 |Replaced as heir by Emperor Huai of Jin |
| Crispus
|295–326 |Executed by his father |
| Prince Kinashi no Karu
|Died 453 |His brother Emperor Ankō took the throne instead |
| Yuan Xun
|483–497 |Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei |Disagreement of his father's policy |
| Hermenegild
|Died 585 |Disinherited for rebellion |
| Yang Yong
|Died 604 |Forced to abdicate and killed by younger brother Yang Guang |
| Li Chengqian
|619–645 |Attempted to overthrow his father and kill his brother by coup. Exiled for immorality and treason |
| Li Zhong
|642–665 |rowspan=2|Emperor Gaozong of Tang |Empress Wu Zetian got the favor from Gaozong and his position was taken by his half brother Li Hong |
| Li Xian
|655–684 |Exiled by Empress Wu Zetian from rumors. Was later forced to commit suicide after Gaozong's death |
| Prince Kusakabe
|662–689 |Did not assume throne |
| Abd al-Aziz ibn Marwan
|Died 705 |Removed from line of succession |
| Li Chengqi
|679–742 |Gave up the claim because he thought that he did not have the strength to be a wise emperor and his position was taken by his half brother Li Longji |
| Alexios Mosele
|9th century |Disinherited for rebellion |
| Al-Mufawwid
|Died 890s |Al-Mu'tamid (Abbasid caliph) |On 30 April 892, Al-Mufawwid was removed from the succession by his cousin, al-Mu'tadid and when al-Mu'tamid died in October 892, he was succeeded by al-Mu'tadid. |
| Al-Abbas ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun
|Died 884 |Disinherited for attempting to overthrow his father |
| Li Yu
|Died in 904 |Actually inherited the throne in fact, but not recognized as an emperor. Became crown prince again after two months and killed by Zhu Wen |
| Prince Tsunesada
|825–884 |Disinherited in the Jōwa Incident |
| Yelü Bei
|899–937 |Kept the favor away from her mother Empress Shulü Ping, because he thought their political view were totally opposite and his position was taken by his brother Yelü Deguang. |
| Fujiwara no Korechika
|974–1010 |Lost in Chōtoku Incident to his uncle Fujiwara no Michinaga who seize the power and lost the position to inherent Kampaku. |
| Prince Atsuyasu
|999–1019 |Kugyō Fujiwara no Yukinari and Fujiwara no Michinaga forced him to give up the status and his half brother Prince Atsuhira took his position. |
| Abd al-Rahim ibn Ilyas
|Died 1020s |Sidelined upon Al-Hakim's death in favor of Al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah, who had him arrested and imprisoned. |
| Al-Malik al-Aziz
|Died 1049 |Late ruler's nephew Abu Kalijar took the throne instead |
| Peter Raymundi
|Born 1050 |Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona |Disinherited and exiled for killing his stepmother Almodis of La Marche |
| Conrad II of Italy
|1074–1101 |Disinherited for rebellion |
| Min Shin Saw
|1117–1167 |Exiled |
| William I, Count of Boulogne
|1137–1159 |Treaty of Wallingford dictated the succession of Henry II of England |
| Demna of Georgia
|1155–1178 |Imprisoned, blinded and castrated by his uncle, King George III of Georgia |
| Zhao Hong
|Died 1225 |Shi Miyuan and Empress Yang faked the edict of emperor. |
| Henry (VII) of Germany
|1211–1242 |Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor |Disinherited for rebellion |
| Louis of Toulouse
|1274–1297 |Renounced rights to become a clergyman. His position of crown prince was taken by his brother Robert. |
| James of Majorca
|1275–1330 |Renounced rights to become a monk. His position of crown prince was taken by his brother Sancho. |
| Charles Robert of Anjou
|1288–1342 |His uncle Robert was made heir instead on 13 February 1296 |
| James of Aragon
|1296–1334 |Renounced rights to become a monk. His position of crown prince was taken by his brother Alfonso. |
| Otto, Duke of Lolland and Estonia
|1310–1346 |Forced to surrender claim to the throne in favor of his brother Valdemar IV of Denmark |
| Prince Narinaga
|1326–{{circa|1337}}–44 |Killed or deposed by Ashikaga Takauji |
| Eric XII of Sweden
|1339–1359 |Renounced rights to become King of Sweden, with his brother Haakon VI of Norway taking the throne of Norway |
| Baw Ngan-Mohn
|1370–1390 |Imprisoned |
| Grand Prince Yangnyeong
|1394–1462 |Removed due to an affair |
| Vladislaus Jagiellon
|1456–1516 |Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland-Lithuania |Renounced rights after being elected King of Bohemia, with his brother Alexander Jagiellon taking the throne of Poland-Lithuania |
| Dmitry Ivanovich
|1483–1509 |Disinherited in favor of uncle Vasili III of Russia |
| Carlos, Prince of Asturias
|1545–1568 |Arrested and imprisoned by his father; died in prison six months later |
| Minye Kyawswa II of Ava
|1567–1599 |Defected |
| Cuyen
|1580–1615 |Political conflict with his father; replaced by his brother Hong Taiji |
| Yinreng
|1674–1725 |The Kangxi Emperor |Imprisoned for life by Kangxi for immorality and treason; replaced by his brother Yinzhen |
| Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia
|1690–1718 |Peter the Great of Russia |Imprisoned by his father and forced to relinquish his claim in favor of his half-brother Peter Petrovich. Died in prison. |
| Philip, Duke of Calabria
|1747–1777 |Intellectually disabled; removed from the line of succession in favor of his brothers Charles and Ferdinand, who took the thrones of Spain and Naples and Sicily, respectively |
| Louis, Prince of Piacenza
|1773–1803 |The Treaty of Aranjuez forced Ferdinand to relinquish the Duchy of Parma to France upon his death. Louis was compensated by being made King of Etruria. |
| Pedro, Prince Imperial of Brazil
|1825–1891 |Became heir solely to Brazil, with his sister Maria becoming heir presumptive to Portugal |
| Mustafa Fazıl Pasha
|1830–1875 |Succession law changed to pass from father to son instead of brother to brother; replaced by Tewfik Pasha |
| Tengku Alam Shah
|1846–1891 |Throne given to kinsman Abu Bakar of Johor instead |
| Khalifa bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan
|c.1856–? |Refused throne, with his brother Tahnoun bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan becoming ruler instead |
| George, Crown Prince of Serbia
|1887–1972 |Abdicated his succession rights in 1909; replaced by his brother Alexander |
| Muhammad of Saudi Arabia
|1910–1988 |Forced to abdicate in 1965; replaced by his brother Khalid |
| Abdullah Mubarak Al-Sabah
|1914–1991 |Resigned as Vice Ruler in 1961 |
| Tunku Abdul Rahman of Johor
|1933–1989 |His elder brother Iskandar of Johor was reinstated after previously being forced to renounce his rights |
| Khalid bin Saqr Al Qasimi
|Born 1940 |Disinherited in favor of his half-brother Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi |
| Muqrin of Saudi Arabia
|Born 1945 |King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud |Removed as Crown Prince in April 2015; replaced by his nephew Muhammad bin Nayef |
| Hassan of Jordan
|Born 1947 |He was replaced by his nephew Abdullah only days before the king died in 1999 |
| Muhammad bin Nayef of Saudi Arabia
|Born 1959 |King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud |Removed as Crown Prince in June 2017; replaced by his cousin Mohammad bin Salman |
| Mishaal bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
|Born 1972 |rowspan=2|Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani |Renounced his claim in 1996 in favor of his younger half-brother, Sheikh Jasim |
| Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
|Born 1978 |Renounced his claim in 2003 in favor of his younger brother, Sheikh Tamim |
| Prince Carl Philip of Sweden
|Born 1979 |Swedish succession laws were changed in 1980. Carl Philip was supplanted by his elder sister Victoria |
| Prince Hamzah of Jordan
|Born 1980 |Title of Crown Prince removed in 2004. Hamzah was supplanted by his half-nephew Hussein |
=Heirs apparent of monarchs who themselves abdicated or were deposed=
| class="wikitable" |
| Heir apparent
! Lived ! Heir of ! End of line/monarchy |
|---|
| Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus
|38–69 |Assassinated in 69 under orders of Otho |
| Gaius Julius Verus Maximus
|217–238 |Assassinated in 238 |
| Publius Licinius Egnatius Marinianus
|249–268 |Killed in 268 |
| Licinius II
|315–326 |Both father and son were executed by Licinius' co-emperor Constantine the Great |
| Victor
|Died 388 |Both executed |
| Constans II
|Died 411 |Both killed in revolts |
| Chen Yin
|573–618 |Chen dynasty fell |
| Theodosius
|583/585–602 |Both father and son executed by supporters of Phocas |
| Niketas the Persian
|Died 636 |Shahrbaraz was killed after 40 days of rule |
| Tiberius IV
|705–711 |Both father and son overthrown and executed |
| Theophylact
|793–849 |Michael I abdicated in the face of a military revolt |
| Constantine
|800 and 810–? |Leo V was assassinated and his heirs banished |
| Crown Prince Maui
|912–? |Gyeongsun surrendered his throne to Taejo of Goryeo |
| Meng Xuanzhe
|937–991 |Later Shu was defeated by the Song dynasty |
| William fitz Duncan
|1090–1147 |Duncan II was killed in battle in 1094 and his uncle Donald III retook the throne |
| Daoud ibn al-Adid
|Died 1207 |The Ayyubid dynasty took power |
| Edward Balliol
|1283–1367 |Abdicated following defeat in First War of Scottish Independence |
| Crown Prince Jeongseong
|Died 1394 |Father and son were exiled and assassinated |
| Zhu Wenkui
|Disappeared in 1402 |Prince Yan sacked Nanjing. Disappeared with his father Jianwen Emperor. |
| Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria
|1488–1550 |Frederick was deposed in 1501 by Louis XII and Ferdinand II of Aragon |
| Deposed Crown Prince Yi Hwang
|1498–1506 |Yeonsangun was deposed in 1506 in favor of his half-brother Jungjong of Joseon |
| John of Denmark
|1518–1532 |Christian II was deposed in 1523 in favor of his uncle Frederick I |
| Gustav of Sweden
|1568–1607 |Eric XIV was deposed in 1568 in favor of his half-brother John III |
| Gustav of Saxe-Lauenburg
|1570–1597 |Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg |Magnus' father Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg reascended |
| Władysław Vasa
|1595–1648 |Sigismund was deposed in 1599 in favor of his uncle Charles IX |
| Deposed Crown Prince Yi Ji
|1598–1623 | Gwanghaegun was deposed in 1623 in favor of his nephew Injo of Joseon |
| Zhu Cilang
|1629–1644 |Ming conquered by Manchu and founded the Qing dynasty |
| Yunreng, Prince Limi of the First Rank
|1674–1725 |He was demoted by his father. |
| James Francis Edward Stuart
|1688–1766 |James II was deposed in favor of his daughter and son-in-law Mary II and William III and II on 11 April 1689 for being Catholic |
| Yonglian, Crown Prince Duanhui
|1730–1738 |Died of smallpox aged 8. |
| Emich Karl, Hereditary Prince of Leiningen
|1763–1814 |
| Prince David of Georgia
|1767–1819 |Annexation by Russia |
| Franz Joseph, Hereditary Prince of Dietrichstein
|1767–1854 |Karl Johann Baptist, Prince of Dietrichstein |rowspan=2|German mediatisation |
| Henry, Hereditary Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode
|1772–1854 |
| Louis-Antoine, Dauphin and Duke of Angoulême
|1775–1844 |Abdicated jointly with his father on 2 August 1830 |
| Alexius, Hereditary Count of Bentheim and Steinfurt
|1781–1866 |Louis William Geldricus Ernest, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt |rowspan=2|German mediatisation |
| Charles Thomas, Hereditary Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort
|1783–1849 |Dominic Constantine, Prince of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort |
| Louis-Charles, Dauphin of France
|1785–1795 |
| Duke Pius August in Bavaria
|1786–1837 |Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen |Annexation by Bavaria |
| Prince Constantine of Imereti
|1789–1844 |Annexation by Russia |
| Ernst, Hereditary Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
|1794–1860 |Karl Ludwig, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg |German mediatisation |
| Gustav, Prince of Vasa
|1799–1877 |Gustav's whole family was excluded from the line of royal succession on 10 May 1809 by the Riksdag of the Estates, after the deposition of Gustav IV Adolf in favor of his uncle Charles XIII |
| Maximilian Karl, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis
|1802–1871 |Karl Alexander, 5th Prince of Thurn and Taxis |German mediatisation |
| Jacques-Victor Henry
|1804–1820 |Fearing a coup, Henri Christophe committed suicide and Jacques-Victor Henry was assassinated |
| Agustín Jerónimo, Prince Imperial of Mexico
|1807–1866 |Deposed in 1823 |
| Auguste de Beauharnais
|1810–1835 |Eugène de Beauharnais, Grand Duke of Frankfurt |Frankfurt again became a free city |
| Charles, Hereditary Prince of Lucca
|1823–1854 |Per the stipulations of the Congress of Vienna, upon the death of Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Lucca was traded for the Duke's ancestral land of Parma |
| Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern
|1835–1905 |Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern |Annexed by Prussia on 7 December 1849 |
| Prince Philippe, Count of Paris
|1838–1894 |Declaration of the Second Republic on 24 February 1848 |
| Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover
|1845–1923 |rowspan=2|Annexation by Prussia in 1866 |
| Ernest, Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal
|1846–1925 |
| Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil
|1846-1921 |Pedro II was deposed in 1889 by Coup of the Republic |
| Marama Teururai
|1851–1909 |Ari'imate was deposed in 1868 in favor of his wife Tehaapapa II |
| William, Hereditary Prince of Nassau
|1852–1912 |Annexation by Prussia in 1866 |
| Louis Napoléon, Prince Imperial
|1856–1879 |Napoleon III was deposed 4 September 1870 by the forces of the Third Republic |
| Crown Prince Gustaf of Norway
|1858–1950 |
| Agustín, Prince of Iturbide
|1863–1925 |Monarchy abolished in 1867 |
| Shō Ten
|1864–1920 |Ryukyu Kingdom was annexed by Japan in 1872 |
| Abdulmejid II
|1868–1944 |Ottoman Empire dissolved in 1922. |
| Teriivaetua
|1869–1918 |Tahiti was annexed by France in 1880 |
| Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta
|1869–1931 |Abdicated in 1873 |
| Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
|1869–1955 |
| Danilo, Crown Prince of Montenegro
|1871–1939 |Annexed by Serbia |
| Kaʻiulani
|1875–1899 |
| Yuan Keding
|1878–1958 |Short lived Empire abolished in March 1916 |
| Wilhelm, German Crown Prince
|1882–1951 |Wilhelm was deposed by the German government on 9 November 1918 |
| Georg, Crown Prince of Saxony
|1893–1943 |Frederick Augustus III of Saxony |German monarchies abolished in November 1918 |
| Husain Bey, Crown Prince of Tunisia
|1893–1969 |Deposed in 1957 |
| Heinrich XLV, Hereditary Prince Reuss Younger Line
|1895–1945 |Heinrich XXVII, Prince Reuss Younger Line |rowspan=2|German monarchies abolished in November 1918 |
| Josias, Hereditary Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
|1896–1967 |
| Wolfgang, Crown Prince of Finland
|1896–1989 |Fredrik Kaarle, King-elect of Finland |rowspan=2|Monarchy abolished in 1918 |
| Prince Wilhelm of Urach
|1897–1957 |
| Yi Un
|1897–1970 |
| Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg
|1897–1970 |Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg |German monarchies abolished in November 1918 |
| Crown Prince Friðrik of Iceland
|1899–1972 |
| Muhammad Abdel Moneim
|1899–1979 |Abbas II was deposed by the British for supporting the Ottomans in World War I |
| Georg Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Altenburg
|1900–1991 |Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg |rowspan=2|German monarchies abolished in November 1918 |
| Ernst, Hereditary Prince of Lippe
|1902–1987 |
| Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia
|1904–1918 |Nicholas abdicated on 2/15 March 1917 on behalf of both himself and his son. The monarchy was abolished 1 September 1917 |
| Umberto, Prince of Piedmont
|1904–1983 |Victor Emmanuel III of Ethiopia and Albania |Victor Emmanuel was only partially recognized in those countries, renounced claims in 1943 in favor of previous holders |
| Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse
|1906–1937 |Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse |rowspan=2|German monarchies abolished in November 1918 |
| Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
|1906–1972 |
| Alfonso, Prince of Asturias
|1907–1938 |Alfonso XIII was deposed by the formation of the Second Spanish Republic on April 14, 1931. Prince Alfonso renounced his claim on 21 June 1933 so he could marry a commoner |
| Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
|1910–2001 |Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |German monarchies abolished in November 1918 |
| Ghazi bin Faisal
|1912–1939 |Deposed in 1920 |
| Charles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
|1912–1988 |William Ernest, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach |German monarchies abolished in November 1918 |
| Archduke Otto, Crown Prince of Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia
|1912–2011 |Austria and Hungary abolished the monarchy in 1918. |
| Abd al-Ilah
|1913–1958 |Deposed in 1925 |
| Carol Victor, Hereditary Prince of Albania
|1913–1973 |Fled into exile in 1914 |
| Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover
|1914–1987 |Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick |German monarchies abolished in November 1918 |
| Amha Selassie
|1916–1997 |Haile Selassie was overthrown in 1974 after being taken by communist Derg power |
| Hasan as-Senussi
|1928–1992 |
| Vong Savang
|1931–1978 |Monarchy abolished after Laotian Civil War |
| Ahmad Shah Khan, Crown Prince of Afghanistan
|1934–2024 |
| Bảo Long
|1936–2007 |
| Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
|1937–2024 |Italy abolished the monarchy on 12 June 1946, after Umberto II had reigned 33 days |
| Leka, Crown Prince of Albania
|1939–2011 |Two days after Leka's birth, Mussolini's Italy invaded Albania on 7 April 1939 and sent the royal family into exile |
| Crown Prince Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Apulia
|1943–2021 |Tomislav II abdicated October 12, 1943 due to the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces, when Amedeo was only two weeks old |
| Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
|Born 1945 |Peter II was deposed by Yugoslavia's Constituent Assembly on 29 November 1945 |
| Abdelaziz bin Ahmed Al Thani
|1946–2008 |Deposed in 1972; Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani took the throne |
| Charles, Prince of Wales
|Born 1948 |Countries became republics (in order mentioned) |
| Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran
|Born 1960 |The Shah was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979 |
| Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
|Born 1967 |Constantine II fled into exile shortly after Pavlos's birth, and the monarchy was abolished 1 June 1973 |
| Paras, Crown Prince of Nepal
|Born 1971 |Gyanendra was deposed 28 May 2008 in favour of a republican government |
| Jean-Bédel Bokassa, Crown Prince of the Central African Empire
|Born 1973 |Deposed in 1979 |
See also
Notes and references
= Notes =
{{NoteFoot}}
= References =
{{reflist}}
= Sources =
- {{The History of al-Tabari | volume = 37 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igltYwUE764C}}
- {{EI2 | title=al-Muʿtamid ʿAlā ’llāh | first = Hugh N. | last = Kennedy | authorlink=Hugh N. Kennedy | volume = 7 | pages = 765–766 | url = http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/al-mutamid-ala-llah-SIM_5649}}
{{Current heirs of monarchies}}