Succession to the Swedish throne

The line of succession to the Swedish throne is determined by the Act of Succession (Swedish: Successionsordningen), originally approved jointly by the Riksdag of the Estates assembled in Örebro and King Charles XIII in 1810.^[1][2]

The Silver Throne, used by Swedish monarchs since 1650

In 1979, the Riksdag introduced absolute primogeniture, meaning that the eldest child of the monarch, regardless of gender, is first in the line of succession. The change entered into force on 1 January 1980,^[3][4] making Sweden the first country to adopt absolute primogeniture.^[5] The Swedish crown had previously (since 1810) descended according to agnatic primogeniture, meaning that only males could inherit it.^[6] Though the change took effect in 1980, its application was backdated so that Crown Princess Victoria, who was born in 1977, became the first in line of succession, replacing her brother, Prince Carl Philip, who was born in 1979.

Line of succession

Crown Princess Victoria and her daughter, Princess Estelle, are first and second in line to the throne, respectively.

• King Carl XVI Gustaf (born 1946)^[3]
  • (1) Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland (born 1977)^[4]
    • (2) Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland (born 2012)^[7]
    • (3) Prince Oscar, Duke of Skåne (born 2016)^[8]
  • (4) Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland (born 1979)^[9]
    • (5) Prince Alexander, Duke of Södermanland (born 2016)^[10]
    • (6) Prince Gabriel, Duke of Dalarna (born 2017)^[11]
    • (7) Prince Julian, Duke of Halland (born 2021)
  • (8) Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (born 1982)^[12]
    • (9) Princess Leonore, Duchess of Gotland (born 2014)^[13]
    • (10) Prince Nicolas, Duke of Ångermanland (born 2015)^[14]
    • (11) Princess Adrienne, Duchess of Blekinge (born 2018)^[15]

Eligibility

According to more recent adjustments (than 1810) to the Act of Succession, only King Carl XVI Gustaf's Lutheran legitimate descendants brought up in Sweden are presently entitled to succeed.^[6][16] Succession rights are lost when a person:

• is not brought up in Sweden^[16]
• ceases to be a Lutheran as defined in the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and the Uppsala Synod of 1593, i.e. by implication the Church of Sweden (Article 4)^[6][16]
• marries without the consent of the Government (Article 5)^[6][16] or
• ascends the throne of another state by election, inheritance or marriage without the consent of the monarch and the Riksdag (Article 8)^[6][16]

See also

• List of Swedish monarchs

References

1. "Act of Succession" (PDF). Riksdag. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
2. "Successionsordning (1810:0926)" (in Swedish). Riksdag. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
3. "H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf - Biography". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2013. King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia have three children: Crown Princess Victoria, born on 14 July 1977, Prince Carl Philip, born on 13 May 1979 and Princess Madeleine, born on 10 June 1982. Under the Order of Succession introduced in 1980 by the Swedish Parliament, the throne passes to the eldest child.
4. "H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria - Biography". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 15 March 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2013. In accordance with the 1979 Act of Succession, which entered into force on 1 January 1980, Crown Princess Victoria is heir to the Swedish throne.
5. "Duties of the Monarch". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2013. By this principle, which Sweden is the first country to have introduced, the throne passes to the eldest child, whether male or female.
6. Constitutional Law in Sweden. Kluwer Law International. 2011. pp. 42–44. ISBN 978-9041134356. Retrieved 22 December 2013. Thus, no freedom of religion exists for the royal family.
7. "H.R.H. Princess Estelle - Biography". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013. Princess Estelle is second in the line of succession, following Crown Princess Victoria.
8. "H.R.H. Prince Oscar - Biography". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016. Princess Oscar is third in the line of succession, following Princess Estelle.
9. "H.R.H. Prince Carl Philip - Biography". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 22 December 2013. Prince Carl Philip is fourth in line of succession, after Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle, and Prince Oscar.
10. "HRH Prince Alexander - Biography". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2018. In accordance with the 1979 Act of Succession, which entered into force on 1 January 1980, Prince Alexander is fifth in line of succession, after Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar and Prince Carl Philip.
11. "HRH Prince Gabriel - Biography". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2018. In accordance with the 1979 Act of Succession, which entered into force on 1 January 1980, Prince Gabriel is sixth in line of succession, after Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar, Prince Carl Philip and Prince Alexander.
12. "H.R.H. Princess Madeleine - Biography". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2013. Princess Madeleine is fifth in the line of succession, following Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle, Prince Oscar, and Prince Carl Philip.
13. "H.R.H. Princess Leonore - Biography". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014. In accordance with the 1979 Act of Succession, which entered into force on 1 January 1980, Princess Leonore is sixth in the line of succession, following Princess Madeleine.
14. "H.R.H. Prince Nicolas - Biography". www.kungahuset.se. Swedish Royal Court. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015. In accordance with the 1979 Act of Succession, which entered into force on 1 January 1980, Prince Nicolas is seventh in the line of succession, following Princess Leonore.
15. "H.K.H. Prinsessan Adrienne Josephine Alice, hertiginna av Blekinge". Archived from the original on 2018-03-16. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
16. "The Act of Succession". www.legislationline.org. Retrieved 22 December 2013. The right of succession to the throne of Sweden is vested in the male and female descendants of King Carl XVI Gustaf's ... issue in direct line of descent. In this connection, older siblings and their descendants have precedence over younger siblings and their descendants... The King shall always profess the pure evangelical faith, as adopted and explained in the unaltered Confession of Augsburg and in the Resolution of the Uppsala Meeting of the year 1593, princes and princesses of the Royal House shall be brought up in that same faith and within the Realm. Any member of the Royal Family not professing this faith shall be excluded from all rights of succession... A prince or princess of the Royal House may not marry unless the Government has given its consent thereto upon an application from The King. Should a prince or princess marry without such consent, that prince or princess forfeits the right of succession for himself, his children and their descendants... A prince or princess of the Swedish Royal House may not become the sovereign ruler of a foreign state whether by election, succession, or marriage without the consent of The King and the Riksdag. Should this occur, neither he nor she nor their descendants shall be entitled to succeed to the throne of Sweden.