Heir to the throne
"Kronprinz" redirects here. For the Imperial German Navy battleship, see
SMS Kronprinz
.
Throngs before the
Imperial Palace
in Japan awaiting the appearance of Crown Prince
Hirohito
for the recent proclamation of his official recognition as the
heir apparent
to the
Japanese Imperial Throne
?
New York Times,
1916.
A
crown prince
or
hereditary prince
is the
heir apparent
to the
throne
in a royal or imperial
monarchy
. The female form of the title is
crown
princess
, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife of the person styled crown
prince
.
Crown prince
as a descriptive term has been used throughout history for the prince who is first-in-line to a throne and is expected to succeed (i.e. the heir apparent), barring any unforeseen future event preventing this. In certain monarchies, a more specific
substantive title
may be accorded and become associated with the position of
heir apparent
(e.g.
Prince of Wales
in the
United Kingdom
,
Prince of Asturias
in the
Kingdom of Spain
and formerly the
Dauphin
in
France
). In these monarchies, the term crown prince may be used less often than the substantive title (or never).
Until the late twentieth century, no modern monarchy adopted a system whereby females would be guaranteed to succeed to the throne (i.e.
absolute primogeniture
). A crown princess would therefore be more likely to refer to the
spouse
of a crown prince. She would be styled crown princess, not in her
own right
but by
courtesy
.
Today, in monarchies lower than royal rank the term "crown prince" is used in English (e.g. Crown Prince of
Umm al-Quwain
).
Description
[
edit
]
The term
crown prince
is not used in European monarchies if the hereditary sovereign holds a title below that of king/queen or emperor/empress (such as
grand duke
or
prince
), although it is sometimes used as a synonym for heir apparent.
[
citation needed
]
In Europe, where
primogeniture
governed succession to all monarchies except those of the
Papacy
and
Andorra
, the eldest son or (more recently) eldest child of the current monarch fills the role of crown prince or princess, depending upon whether females of the
dynasty
enjoy personal
succession rights
. Male precedence has been abolished in
Belgium
,
Denmark
,
Luxembourg
,
Norway
,
Sweden
, the
Netherlands
and the
United Kingdom
.
[a]
[b]
The eldest living child of a monarch is sometimes not the heir apparent or crown prince, because that position can be held by a descendant of a deceased older child who, by "right of representation", inherits the same place in the line of succession that would be held by the ancestor if he or she were still living (for example,
Carl Gustaf, Duke of Jamtland
was the crown prince of Sweden from 1950 to 1973, as the senior grandson by male primogeniture of King
Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
, although the former
Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland
was Gustaf VI Adolf's eldest living son, and
Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland
his eldest living
dynastic
son during those years).
In some monarchies, those of the
Middle East
for example, in which primogeniture is not the decisive factor in dynastic succession, a person may not possess the title or status of crown prince by right of birth, but may obtain (and lose) it as a result of an official designation made on some other legal or traditional basis, such as former crown prince
Hassan bin Talal
of
Jordan
.
Compare
heir apparent
and
heir presumptive
. In Scandinavian kingdoms, the heir presumptive to the crown may hold a different title from an
heir apparent
: hereditary prince (German:
Erbprinz
, French:
prince hereditaire
). It is also the title borne by the heir apparent of
Liechtenstein
, as well as the heir apparent or presumptive of
Monaco
. In
Luxembourg
, the heir apparent bears the title of hereditary grand duke (
German
:
Erbgroßherzog
,
Luxembourgish
:
ierfgroussherzog
); along with hereditary prince, it was also the title borne by the heirs apparent to the thrones of the grand duchies, sovereign
duchies
and
principalities
, and of
mediatized
princely families in the
German
monarchies abolished
in 1918.
Substantive traditional titles
[
edit
]
Many monarchies use or did use
substantive titles
for their heirs apparent, often of historical origin:
- Bey Al Mahalla
(
Kingdom of Tunisia
)
- Prince of the Sa'id
(
Kingdom of Egypt
)
- Dauphin
(
Kingdom of France
)
- Duke of Brabant
(
Belgium
)
- Duke of Braganza
(
Kingdom of Portugal
)
- Duke of Cornwall
(
Kingdom of England
), currently one of the titles of the Prince of Wales
- Duke of Rothesay
(
Kingdom of Scotland
), currently used by the Prince of Wales in place of his Welsh title when in Scotland
- Earl of Carrick
(
Kingdom of Scotland
), currently one of the titles of the Prince of Wales when in Scotland
- Grand Prince
(
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
)
- Lord of the Isles
(
Kingdom of Scotland
), currently one of the titles of the Prince of Wales when in Scotland
- Margrave of Moravia
(
Kingdom of Bohemia
)
- Prince of Asturias
(
Castile
&
Spain
), also used by heirs presumptive
- Prince of Girona
(
Aragon
& Spain)
- Prince Imperial
or Prince Napoleon (
French Empire
)
- Prince Imperial
(
Empire of Brazil
)
- Prince Imperial
(
Mexican Empire
)
- Prince of Orange
(Netherlands), whether or not the equivalent title is held by the spouse of the titleholder is decided by the Dutch parliament (e.g.,
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
was never titled Princess of Orange by marriage for this reason)
- Prince of Piedmont
(
Kingdom of Sardinia
, and then
Kingdom of Italy
, when it was alternated with
Prince of Naples
) once conferred by King
Joseph Bonaparte
- Prince Royal
(
France
in
1789?1791
and the
July Monarchy
, and Portugal since 1815)
- Prince of Turnovo
(
Kingdom of Bulgaria
)
- Prince of Viana
(
Navarre
& Spain)
- Rex iunior (
Kingdom of Hungary
), lit.
junior king
as he was crowned during the life of the incumbent king
- Tsesarevich
(
Russia
)
- Krolewicz
(
Poland
)
Some monarchies have used (although not always
de jure
) a territorial title for heirs apparent which, though often perceived as a crown princely title, is not automatically hereditary. It generally requires a specific conferral by the sovereign, which may be withheld.
Current and past titles in this category include:
- Caesar
or Kaisar (
Roman
and early
Byzantine Empires
) in honor of
Gaius Julius Caesar
, distinguished from the senior
Augustus
- Symbasileus
(late
Byzantine Empire
), lit.
co-emperor
but still distinguished from the senior who was addressed as
Autocrator
- Aetheling
(
Anglo-Saxon England
) and
edling
(
Welsh kingdoms
), lit.
of the royal family
- Duke of Estonia
and Lolland (Denmark; during, at least, reigns of
Christopher II
and
Valdemar IV
)
- Duke of Valentinois
, used by several heirs to the
Monegasque
throne
- Prince of Wales
and
Earl of Chester
(England, Great Britain, United Kingdom)
- King of the Romans
(
Holy Roman Empire
) ? an elective, rather than an inherited title, for the designated successor?usually the son, but sometimes the brother?of the Emperor
- King of Rome
(
First French Empire
)
- Duke of Sparta
(
Kingdom of Greece
); used briefly,
within
Greece, only by
Prince Constantine
, during the reign of his father King
George I
- Marquess of Baux
, used by several heirs to the
Monegasque
throne
- Prince of Brazil
(title of the
Portuguese
heir from 1645 to 1815)
- Duke of Scania (Sweden during the time when
Magnus IV of Sweden
also was King of
Terra Scania
)
- Prince of Ani (
Kingdom of West Armenia
)
- Prince of
Alba Iulia
(
Kingdom of Romania
)
- Grand Voivode of Grahovo (
Kingdom of Montenegro
)
- Prince of Venice (see
Prince Eugene de Beauharnais
); for the heir presumptive to
Napoleon I
in his Kingdom of Italy
- Duke of Calabria
(
Kingdom of Naples
and
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
); prior to the accession of
King Robert
the title of the Neapolitan heir was
Prince of Salerno
- Pangeran Adipati Anom (
House of Mataram
)
Modern Crown Princes and Princesses
[
edit
]
Al-Muhtadee Billah of Brunei
, he holds the title of
Pengiran Muda Mahkota
(Crown Prince).
Currently, the following states use the term "crown prince" (or "crown princess") for the heirs apparent to their thrones:
In addition; the following heirs apparent to deposed monarchies use the title of Crown Prince as a title used by international courtesy:
Other specific traditions
[
edit
]
- In Islamic tradition, the title is
Wali al-Ahd
.
- In
Persia (Iran)
, during the
Pahlavi dynasty
and
Qajar dynasty
, the full style was
Vala Hazrat-i-Humayun
Vali Ahd
,
Shahzada
(given name), (in Persian: ???????? ?????? ????????) i.e. His August Imperial Highness the Heir Apparent, Prince ...;
- The title was adopted by many
oriental
monarchies, even some non-Muslim, e.g.
Walet
as alternative title for the
Nepali
(Hindu) royal heir apparent; first used Crown Prince
Trailokya
in the middle of the nineteenth century, taken from the Mughal title 'Vali Ahd'
Hindu
tradition (Indian subcontinent):
- Yuvaraja
was part of the full title in many princely states of India, e.g.
- in
Jammu and Kashmir
, the heir apparent was styled
Maharaj Kumar Shri Yuvaraj
(personal name)
Singhji Bahadur
- Tika
- Nepal
, where the King was styled
Maharajadhiraja
:
- the heir apparent was styled:
Sri
Sri Sri Sri Sri
Yuvarajadhiraj
('Young King of Kings', i.e. Crown Prince) (personal name)
Bir Bikram Shah Deva
;
- the eldest son of the heir apparent was styled:
Sri Sri Sri Sri Sri
Nava Yuvaraj
('Young Crown Prince') (personal name)
Bir Bikram Shah Deva
East Asian traditions:
- The cognates of Chinese
Huang
Taizi
(皇太子, "Great Imperial Son") ? if a son of the reigning emperor, and
Huang Taisun
(皇太孫, Great Imperial Grandson) ? if a grandson of the emperor:
if the heir apparent is a:
|
son
|
grandson
|
Chinese
|
Huang
Taizi
|
Huang Taisun
|
Japanese
|
K?taishi
|
K?taison
|
Korean
|
Hwangtaeja (皇太子)
|
Hwangtaeson (皇太孫)
|
Vietnamese
|
Hoang Thai T?
|
Hoang Thai Ton
|
- The crown prince of an emperor was sometimes referred as Dong-gong (東宮, 'East Palace') due to the location of his residence from the main palace.
- If the crown prince is the son of a king, he was called 世子 (Shizi).
- The crown prince was not necessarily the first-born son.
- During the
Joseon Dynasty
in
Korea
, the crown prince was often referred as Dong-gung (동궁, 東宮, 'East Palace') or wangseja (王世子 王世子); The first-born son was called wonja (元子 原子).
Southeast Asian traditions:
Equivalents in other cultures:
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]