Primogeniture is the common law right of the first born son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings. It is the tradition of inheritance by the first-born of the entirety of a parent's wealth, estate, title or office; or in the absence of children, by collateral relatives, in order of seniority of the collateral line. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Look up estate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Collateral could mean: Collateral in finance means a security or guarantee (usually an asset) pledged for the repayment of a loan if one cannot procure enough funds to repay. ...

Definitions

Agnatic primogeniture

Agnatic primogeniture or patrilineal primogeniture is inheritance according to seniority of birth among the children of a monarch or head of family, with sons inheriting before brothers, and male-line descendants inheriting before collateral relatives in the male line, and to the total exclusion (according to some sources) of females and descendants through females.^[1]. Exclusion of females from dynastic succession is more commonly referred to as application of the Salic law, (see Terra salica). In the 19th century, only the Bourbons and Savoys among Europe's historic national dynasties continued to exclude women from succession, while the new monarchies or dynasties of Belgium, Denmark (from 1853), Sweden (from 1810), and the Balkan realms of Bulgaria, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia introduced Salic law. During this era, Portugal and Spain fought civil wars which pitted the Salic and female-line heirs of their dynasties against one another for possession of the crown. Most British and French titles of nobility descend to the senior male by primogeniture, to the exclusion of females, although cadets may bear courtesy titles. A variation on Salic primogeniture allows the sons of women to inherit, but not women themselves, e.g. succession to the throne of Spain from 1947-1978. ^[2]. The pater familias was the eldest or ranking male in a Roman household. ... Patrilineality (a. ... // For other uses, see Dynasty (disambiguation). ... The King of the Franks, in the midst of the military chiefs who formed his Treuste -- or armed court, dictates the Salic Law (Code of the Barbaric Laws). ... Terra salica was a legal term used in the Salian code. ... Bourbon (from French) or Borbón (from Spanish) can refer to people, places, food and drink, political events, and popular culture. ... Flag of Savoy This article is about the historical region of Savoy. ... ... Crown names several entities associated with monarchy: A crown (headgear), the headgear worn by a monarch, other high dignitaries, divinities etcetera. ... A cadet is a future officer in the military. ... A courtesy title is a form of address in the British peerage system used for wives, children, and other close relatives of a peer. ...

Agnatic-cognatic primogeniture

One's agnate may be male or female, provided that the kinship is calculated patrilineally, i.e., only through males back to a common ancestor.Murphy, Michael Dean. A Kinship Glossary: Symbols, Terms, and Concepts. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.</ref> Agnatic-cognatic primogeniture allows female agnates (or their descendants) to inherit once there are no surviving male agnates.^[3] The term semi-Salic succession is used in the same meaning. Usually, women do not succeed by application of the same kind of primogeniture as was in effect among males in the family. Rather, the female who is nearest in kinship to the last male monarch of the family inherits, even if another female agnate of the dynasty is senior by primogeniture. Among sisters (and the lines of descendants issuing from them), the elder are preferred to the younger. In reckoning consanguinity or proximity of blood the law defines who among female relatives is "nearest" to the last male. Definitions varied among monarchies where semi-Salic succession was prevalent. This is currently the law of Luxembourg. Patrilineality (a. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 5th October (Serbia). ... Consanguinity, literally meaning common blood, describes how close a person is related to another in the sense of a family. ... Proximity or closeness in degree of kinship is one of the ways to determine succession based on genealogy. ...

Cognatic primogeniture

Cognatic primogeniture (also known as male-preference primogeniture) allows a female to succeed if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendents. This was the most common primogeniture practiced in Western European feudalism, such as the Castilian Siete Partidas. In Europe, male-preferred primogeniture is currently practised in Denmark, Monaco, Spain and the United Kingdom. It is also usually the rule for inheritance of noble titles in Spain, Scotland and baronies-by-writ in the United Kingdom. Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ... First page of a 1555 version of the Siete Partidas, as annotated by Gregorio López. ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-06-08, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...

Absolute primogeniture

Absolute, equal or lineal primogeniture is inheritance by the oldest surviving child without regard to gender. It is also known as (full) cognatic primogeniture today. This form of primogeniture was not practiced by any monarchy before 1980.^[4]

• Sweden revised its constitution to adopt royal succession by absolute primogeniture in 1980, displacing King Carl XVI Gustaf's son, Carl Philip, in favor of his elder sister, Victoria, in the process. Several other monarchies have since followed suit: the Netherlands in 1983, Norway in 1990 and Belgium in 1991.
• In July 2006, the Nepalese government proposed adopting equal primogeniture.[1]
• In Japan, there have been debates over whether to adopt absolute primogeniture, as Princess Aiko is the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito. However, the birth of Prince Hisahito, a son of Prince Akishino (younger brother of Crown Prince Naruhito, and next in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne after Naruhito) has ended the debate.
• In Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's government intends to reform the Spanish Constitution of 1978 to adopt royal succession by absolute primogeniture.
• The Danish parliament has recently unanimously voted in favour of a new royal succession law that would allow a first-born child to one day ascend the throne. Before entering into force the bill must also be voted through the next parliament, which should be elected in general elections to be held in less than four years, before finally being submitted to a referendum. At least 40 per cent of registered voters must be in favour of the law change for it to be adopted.[2] [3]

Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is the current Swedish monarch and head of state of the Kingdom of Sweden. ... Prince Carl Philip of Sweden (Carl Philip Edmund Bertil), born May 13, 1979, Duke of Värmland, is the second child of three children and only son of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden. ... Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Swedish: , Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heiress apparent to the Swedish throne. ... Aiko (&#24859;&#23376;), titled Princess Toshi (&#25964;&#23470; Toshi-no-miya) (born December 1, 2001) is the first child (daughter) of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako Owada of Japan. ... A Crown Prince or Crown Princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. ... Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan 徳仁皇太子 (Naruhito Kōtaishi) (born February 23, 1960 at Togu Palace, Tokyo) is the eldest son of HIM Emperor Akihito and HIM Empress Michiko. ... His Imperial Highness Prince Hisahito of Akishino , 6 September 2006-) is the third child of Prince and Princess Akishino, and their first son. ... Prince Akishino (Fumihito) of Japan (秋篠宮文仁親王殿下 Akishino-no-miya Fumihito shinnō denka) also known as Prince Fumihito (文仁親王 Fumihito shinnō) (born 30 November 1965) is a member of the Japanese imperial family. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Imperial Seal of Japan. ...   (IPA: []) (born August 4, 1960 in Valladolid) is the Prime Minister of Spain. ... The Spanish Constitution of 1978 is the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. ...

Matrilineal primogeniture

Matrilineal primogeniture is a form of succession where the eldest female child inherits the throne to the total exclusion of males. The order of succession to the position of the Rain Queen is an example in an African culture of matrilineal primogeniture: not only is dynastic descent reckoned through the female line, but only females are eligible to inherit. The Modjadji or Rain Queen is the hereditary queen of Balobedu, the people of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... // For other uses, see Dynasty (disambiguation). ...

Uterine primogeniture

A right of succession may also be inherited by a male through a female ancestor or spouse, to the exclusion of any female heir who might be older or of nearer proximity of blood; Spain's mid-20th century dynastic succession law has been mentioned. In such cases, inheritance was based on uterine kinship Murphy, Michael Dean. A Kinship Glossary: Symbols, Terms, and Concepts. Retrieved on 2006-10-05.</ref>. So a king would typically be succeeded by his daughter's husband jure uxoris or by his sister's son. This particular system of inheritance applied to the thrones of the Picts of Northern Britain and the Etruscans of Italy. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 5th October (Serbia). ... Jure uxoris, Latin: By right of his wife. ... A replica of the Hilton of Cadboll Stone. ... The Etruscan civilization existed in Etruria and the Po valley in the northern part of what is now Italy, prior to the formation of the Roman Republic. ...

Historical examples

A case of agnatic primogeniture is exemplified in the French royal milieu, where the Salic law (attributed to the Salian Franks) forbade any inheritance of a crown through the female line. This rule was adopted to solve the dispute over the legitimate successor of Charles IV of France (Edward III of England or Philip VI of France). Conflict between the Salic law and the male-preferred system was also the genesis of Carlism in Spain. The King of the Franks, in the midst of the military chiefs who formed his Treuste -- or armed court, dictates the Salic Law (Code of the Barbaric Laws). ... The Salian Dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire was founded by Conrad II (c. ... This article is about the Frankish people and society. ... Combatants France Castile Scotland Genoa Majorca Bohemia Crown of Aragon Brittany England Burgundy Brittany Portugal Navarre Flanders Hainaut Aquitaine Luxembourg Holy Roman Empire The Hundred Years War was a conflict between France and England, lasting 116 years from 1337 to 1453. ... Charles IV of France, also Charles I of Navarre, called the Fair (French: le Bel) (11 December 1294 – 1 February 1328), was the King of France and Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1322 to his death: the last French king of the senior Capetian lineage. ... This article is about the King of England. ... Philip VI of France Philip VI of Valois (French: Philippe VI de Valois; 1293 – August 22, 1350) was the King of France from 1328 to his death, and Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois 1325–1328. ... Carlism restored the cross of Burgundy assimilated by the Spanish Bourbons throught the Spanish Habsburgs and used as flag of the Spanish empire. ...

The 1837 divergence of the crowns of Hanover and Great Britain upon the death of William IV of the United Kingdom resulted in the succession of his eldest surviving brother Ernest I to Hanover, while the United Kingdom was inherited by his niece, Queen Victoria, was due to the operation of semi-Salic law in Hanover and to male-preference primogeniture in the British Empire. , Hanover(i) (German: , IPA: ), on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany. ... William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death. ... Ernest Augustus I of Hanover Ernest Augustus I, King of Hanover (5 June 1771 – 18 November 1851), also known (1799-1837) as the Duke of Cumberland, was the fifth son and eighth child of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte. ... Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India from 1 May 1876, until her death on 22 January 1901. ...

In 1890, the divergence of the thrones of Luxembourg and the Netherlands, both ruled by semi-Salic law, was caused by the fact that the Luxembourg line of succession went back more generations than the Dutch one. The Luxembourg succession was ruled by the provisions of the Nassau House Treaty of 1783. Where the succession is concerned, Luxembourg is the successor state to the Principality of (Orange-) Nassau-Dietz. The Dutch succession only went back to King William I (1815-1840). Therefore Luxembourg still had agnatic heirs from another branch of the House of Nassau left to succeed, while in the Netherlands the male line starting with William I was depleted.

Since the Middle Ages, the semi-Salic principle was prevalent for the inheritance of feudal land in the Holy Roman Empire: inheritance was allowed through females when the male line expired. Females themselves did not inherit, but their male issue could. For example, a grandfather without sons was succeeded by his grandson, the son of his daughter, although the daughter still lived. Likewise, an uncle without sons of his own was succeeded by his nephew, a son of his sister, even if the sister still lived.

Common in feudal Europe outside of Germany was land inheritance based on a form of primogeniture: A lord was succeeded by his eldest son but, failing sons, either by daughters or sons of daughters. In most medieval Western European feudal fiefs, females (such as daughters and sisters) were allowed to succeed, brothers failing. But usually the husband of the heiress became the real lord, assuming his wife's title with the suffix jure uxoris. For other uses, see Lord (disambiguation). ...

In more complex medieval cases, the sometimes conflicting principles of proximity of blood and primogeniture competed, and outcomes were at times unpredictable. Proximity meant that an heir closer in degree of kinship to the lord in question was given precedence although that heir was not necessarily the heir by primogeniture. Proximity or closeness in degree of kinship is one of the ways to determine succession based on genealogy. ...

• The Burgundian succession in 1361 was resolved in favor of John, son of a younger daughter, on basis of blood proximity, being a nearer cousin of the dead duke than Charles, grandson of the elder daughter. Proximity sometimes favored younger lines (directly contrary to the outcome from applying primogeniture), since it was more probable that from a younger line, a member of an earlier generation was still alive compared with the descendants of the elder line.
• In dispute over the Scottish succession, 1290-91, the Bruce family pleaded tanistry and proximity of blood, whereas Balliol argued his claim based on primogeniture. The arbiter, Edward I of England, decided in favor of primogeniture. But later, the Independence Wars reverted the situation in favor of the Bruce, due to political exigency.
• The Earldom of Gloucester (in the beginning of 14th century) went to full sisters of the dead earl, not to his half-sisters, though they were elder, having been born of the father's first marriage, while the earl himself was from second marriage. Full siblings were considered higher in proximity than half-siblings.

However, primogeniture increasingly won legal cases over proximity in later centuries. Philip I of Burgundy, also known as Philip of Rouvres (1346&#8211;November 21, 1361) was duke of Burgundy between 1349 and 1361. ... In 1290, after the death of Margaret I of Scotland, the Crown of Scotland was without an immediate heir; however, there existed many distant heirs. ... Look up [[wiktionary:|]] in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Proximity or closeness in degree of kinship is one of the ways to determine succession based on genealogy. ... Full name Balliol College Motto - Named after John de Balliol Previous names - Established 1263 Sister College St Johns College, Cambridge Master Andrew Graham (academic) Location Broad Street Undergraduates 403 Graduates 228 Homepage Boatclub Balliol College, founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford... Edward I (17 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), popularly known as Longshanks[1], also as Edward the Lawgiver or the English Justinian because of his legal reforms, and as Hammer of the Scots,[2] achieved fame as the monarch who conquered Wales and tried to do the same to Scotland. ...

Later, when lands were strictly divided among noble families and tended to remain fixed, agnatic primogeniture (practically the same as Salic Law) became usual: succession going to the eldest son of the monarch; if the monarch had no sons, the throne would pass to the nearest male relative in the male line. The King of the Franks, in the midst of the military chiefs who formed his Treuste -- or armed court, dictates the Salic Law (Code of the Barbaric Laws). ...

Some countries however accepted female rulers early on, so that if the monarch had no sons, the throne would pass to the eldest daughter. For example, Queen Mary I succeeded to the throne after the death of her father, King Henry VIII. Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 6 July 1553 (de facto) or 19 July 1553 (de jure) until her death on 17 November 1558. ... “Henry VIII” redirects here. ...

In England, primogeniture was mandatory for inheritance of land. Until the Statute of Wills was passed in 1540, a will could control only the inheritance of personal property. Real estate (land) passed to the eldest male descendant by operation of law. The statute added a provision that a landowner could "devise" land by the use of a new device called a "testament". The rule of primogeniture in England was not changed until the Administration of Estates Act in 1925. The Statute of Wills (enacted in 1540) was an Act of the Parliament of England (32 Hen. ... Year 1540 was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... ... An act in England which changed the rule of inheritance from primogeniture to that of modern day norms. ...

In law, the rule of inheritance whereby land descends to the oldest son. Under the feudal system of medieval Europe, primogeniture generally governed the inheritance of land held in military tenure (see knight). The effect of this rule was to keep the father’s land for the support of the son who rendered the required military service. When feudalism declined and the payment of a tax was substituted for military service, the need for primogeniture disappeared. In England, consequently, there was enacted the Statute of Wills (1540), which permitted the oldest son to be entirely cut off from inheriting, and in the 17th century military tenure was abolished; primogeniture is, nevertheless, still customary in England. In the United States primogeniture never became widely established. The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ...

Preference for males in primogeniture

The preference for males existing in most systems of primogeniture (and in other mechanisms of hereditary succession) comes mostly from the perceived nature of the tasks and role of the monarch: A monarch most usually was, first and foremost, a military protector.

• It was very useful, or even requisite, that the monarch be a warrior, and a commander of military. And, also, war troops (consisting typically only of males) were perceived to approve only males as their commanders, or even warriors.

The modern science of genetics has a few interesting if historically irrelevant things to say about succession. Because the human Y chromosome changes relatively slowly over time and is only passed along the direct male line, it may be used to trace paternal lineage. The human Y chromosome is unable to recombine with the X chromosome, except for small pieces of pseudoautosomal regions at the telomeres (which comprise about 5% of the chromosome's length). ^{[citation needed]} This means that a slightly greater proportion (approximately 24/47) of the genome is inherited from father to son than from parent to daughter (23/47, one half). Mitochondrial DNA is inherited almost exclusively through the female line, but contains so much less DNA than a chromosome that it does not greatly affect these numbers. This article is about the general scientific term. ... The human Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes, it contains the genes that cause testis development, thus determining maleness. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... The pseudoautosomal regions, PAR1 and PAR2 are homologous sequences of nucleotides on the X and Y chromosomes that allow the two chromosomes to pair and segregate during meiosis. ... A telomere is a region of highly repetitive DNA at the end of a chromosome, which functions as an aglet. ... Mitochondrial DNA (some captions in German) Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... Figure 1: A representation of a condensed eukaryotic chromosome, as seen during cell division. ...

Arguments in favour of primogeniture

Primogeniture prevents the subdivision of estates and diminishes internal pressures to sell property (for example, if two children inherit a house and one cannot afford to buy out the other's share). In Western Europe most younger sons of the nobility, having no prospect of inheriting land or property, were obliged to seek careers in the Church, the Armed Forces or in Government. Wills often included bequests to a monastic order who would take the disinherited. Alternate cover US 1979 and 2002 reissue cover, also known as paint spatter cover For the military meaning, see Armed forces. ... Monasticism (from Greek: monachos&#8212;a solitary person) is the religious practice of renouncing all worldly pursuits in order to fully devote ones life to spiritual work. ...

Many of the Spanish Conquistadors were younger sons who had to make their fortune in war. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, many younger sons of English aristocrats specifically chose to leave England for Virginia in the Colonies. Many of the early Virginians who were plantation owners were such younger sons who had left England fortuneless due to primogeniture laws. These Founding Fathers of the United States of America were nearly universally descended from the landed gentry of England, with many being descended from English Kings of the late 14th and early 15th Centuries, especially through the numerous offspring of Edward III of England. William Shakespeare's King Lear can be seen as an argument in favor of primogeniture, as the tragically flawed action of Lear divides his country into three amongst his daughters. The division of his land marks the beginning of the unraveling of everything else in the play. A Conquistador (Spanish: []) (English: Conqueror) was a Spanish soldier, explorer and adventurer who took part in the gradual invasion and conquering of much of the Americas and Asia Pacific, bringing them under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the King of England. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce (1806-1864) King Lear is a play by William Shakespeare, considered one of his greatest tragedies, based on the legend of King Lear of Britain. ...

Arguments against primogeniture

The fact that the eldest son "scooped the pool" often led to ill-feeling amongst younger sons (and of course daughters). Through marriage, estates inherited by primogeniture were combined and some nobles achieved wealth and power sufficient to pose a threat even to the crown itself. Finally, nobles tended to complain about and resist rules of primogeniture (though this opposition might indicate primogeniture among nobles was good for the king).

In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville argues that the abolition of the laws of primogeniture and entail in the law of inheritance of private property (as opposed to inheritance of a monarchy) result in the more rapid division of land and thus force landed people to seek wealth outside of the family estate in order to maintain their previous standard of living, accelerating the death of the landed aristocracy and also quickening the shift to democracy. ^[5] De la démocratie en Amérique (published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840) is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville on the United States in the 1830s and its strengths and weaknesses. ... For other uses, see Tocqueville (disambiguation) Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville (Verneuil-sur-Seine, ÃŽle-de-France, July 29, 1805– Cannes, April 16, 1859) was a French political thinker and historian. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      The term aristocracy refers to a form of government where power is held by a small number of individuals from an elite or from noble families. ...

Other methods of succession

Main article: Order of succession

There are several other ways to organize hereditary succession, which produce more or less different outcome than primogeniture. Some examples of widely used methods of alternative order of succession: An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant. ...

• Agnatic seniority
• Tanistry
• Proximity of blood
• Elective monarchy
• Lottery
• Rotation (Taking turns: seniority, tanistry, lottery and election are used and practical ways to organize rotation. Rotation may have aimed at some balance between branches of the House or the Clan.)
• Partible inheritance, sharing (usually equal) among descendants
• Gavelkind
• Ultimogeniture

In hereditary monarchies, particularly in more ancient or in more underdeveloped times, seniority was a much-used principle of order of succession. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Proximity or closeness in degree of kinship is one of the ways to determine succession based on genealogy. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A lottery is a popular form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. ... Partible inheritance is a general term applied to systems of inheritance in which property may be divided between heirs. ... Gavelkind was a peculiar system of land tenure associated chiefly with the county of Kent, but found also in other parts of England. ... Ultimogeniture, also known as postremogeniture or junior right, is the tradition of inheritance by the last-born of the entirety of a parents wealth, estate or office. ...

References

1. ^ Nordisk familjebok, Tronföljd, 1920
2. ^ Velde, François (20050519). Heraldica.org. Documents relating to the Spanish Succession. Retrieved on 20071103.
3. ^ Nordisk familjebok, Tronföljd, 1920; SOU 1977:5 Kvinnlig tronföljd.
4. ^ SOU 1977:5 Kvinnlig tronföljd, p.16.
5. ^ de Tocqueville, Alexis (1835). "3-The Social Condition of the Anglo-Americans", Democracy in America. 

De la démocratie en Amérique (published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840) is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville on the United States in the 1830s and its strengths and weaknesses. ...

See also

• Succession order
• Salic Law
• Monarch
• Heir apparent
• Heir presumptive
• Nobility
• Royal family

An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant. ... The King of the Franks, in the midst of the military chiefs who formed his Treuste -- or armed court, dictates the Salic Law (Code of the Barbaric Laws). ... For other uses, see Monarch (disambiguation). ... Contrasting with heir presumptive, an heir apparent is one who cannot be prevented from inheriting by the birth of any other person. ... An Heir Presumptive (capitalised) is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honor, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an Heir Apparent or of a new Heir Presumptive with a better claim to the throne. ... Nobility is a traditional hereditary status (see hereditary titles) that exists today in many countries (mainly present or former monarchies). ... This article is about the monarchy-related concept. ...

External links

• Notes On Types of Laws of Succession