Liechstenstein’s royals have announced they are changing their succession laws to allow women and men to have the same rights. It means that most countries in Europe no long prefer princes to princesses when it comes to heirs to the throne. However, that’s only a recent change. Old fashioned rules always tried to get kings instead of queens. And that’s not just in the history books. The monarchies of Europe today contain some interesting stories that have allowed kings to rule ahead of strings of potential queens.
Sweden
The current King of Sweden was a long way down the birth order in his own royal family but still ended up with a crown. Carl XVI Gustaf is now the longest reigning monarch in Europe and is about to mark 53 years on the throne. When he was born, women couldn’t even succeed to the throne. Which is lucky for Carl Gustaf as he had four sisters ahead of him.
Princess Margaretha, the eldest of those four, is still alive and is now 92 years old. Under current Swedish laws, as the first born, she would have become Queen Margaretha. Instead, she married an English businessman and went to live in Oxfordshire. She still visits Sweden and attends big events like royal weddings.
Princess Christina is the closest sister in age to Carl Gustaf. Now 82, she remains close to the little brother who could enter the succession at a time when she was still barred.
There were two other sisters born before Carl Gustaf. Princess Birgitta was nine years older than the brother who became king and was always one of his greatest supporters. She died in 2024. Princess Desiree was also a constant at the side of her younger brother who was eight years her junior. Princess Desiree died earlier this year.
We’re not done with Sweden yet. King Carl Gustaf oversaw changes to succession laws that not only gave women the right to enter the line to the throne but made them equal with men. It happened long before similar changes in other countries. However, he has made several complaints about it. The law change began soon after he welcomed his first child with Queen Silvia. Their daughter, Victoria, was born a year after their marriage. Moves to later the succession started soon after that. However, in between the start and the end of the change, the King and Queen of Sweden had a son who became Crown Prince at birth. Seven months later, he was demoted to second and Victoria became Crown Princess. King Carl Gustaf has said, more than once, that his son lost his birthright, comments that haven’t been without controversy.
Norway
Sticking with Scandinavia, another modern monarchy was actually governed by old fashioned ruled until recently meaning a very popular king got his throne despite being the youngest in his family.
King Harald V is loved at home and abroad for his wisdom, and still has massively high popularity ratings despite a bumpy time for his royal family. However, he was the third of three children of the equally popular King Olav.
Before Olav became king, he married his true love who became Crown Princess Martha of Norway and the couple had two daughters. Princess Ragnhild was born in 1930 but was barred from the succession as was her sister, Princess Astrid, who was born in 1932. Five years after that, Harald arrived and instantly became second in line.
Ragnhild, who would have succeeded under absolute primogeniture, instead married a businessman and moved to Brazil. She died in 2012. Astrid was ‘first lady’ of Norway for the first years of her father’s reign as her mother died before Olav became king. She wound down her duties after Harald married Sonja Haraldsen. Astrid was married to Johan Martin Ferner and now, at the age of 94, she continues to carry out duties.
Harald and Sonja, who have been King and Queen of Norway since 1991, have two children and the eldest is a girl. However, succession laws onl allowed women to enter the line to the throne in 1990 and it was decided that absolute primogeniture would start then. So the heir to the throne is King Harald and Queen Sonja’s son, Haakon, while his older sister, Martha Louisa, is now fourth in line.
Spain
King Felipe of Span is another male monarch who would never have seen a throne if absolute primogniture reigned in his country. In fact, Spain is just one of two European monarchies that still allow men to outrank women when it comes to the line to the throne.
Felipe is the third child of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. He has two older sisters. The first of them is Infanta Elena who is currently third in line to the throne. She was born five years before Felipe but when the new Spanish constitution brought in three years after their father became king said succession was governed by male primogeniture.
It meant that Felipe was first in line ahead of Elena and his other sister, Cristina, who is almost three years his senior.
In fact, Spain still has male primogeniture and needs a complicated process to change that with both the dissolution of parliament and a referendum required. it doesn’t matter for Felipe as he has two daughters with his wife, Queen Letizia. Their eldest, Princess Leonor, 20, is now heir with her sister, 19 year old Infanta Sofia, as number two.
Monaco
Monaco is another European monarchy that still has male primogeniture and without it, the current ruler wouldn’t have had a throne.
Albert II has reigned the tiny principality for over 20 years but he has an older sister who would have succeeded under absolute primogeniture. Princess Caroline is the first child of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace, born a year before the little brother who ended up with the throne. Caroline was heir until Albert’s birth and became heir again when he succeeded as the Prince was unmarried at the time and had no legitimate descendants.
(You Tube still/ fair use)
That changed in 2014, when Albert and his wife, Princess Charlene, welcomed twins but Monaco’s royal rules were about to demote another princess. The first of the twins to be born was Albert and Charlene’s daughter, Princess Gabriella, who arrived minutes before a younger brother, Prince Jacques. However, male primogeniture meant it was Jacques who became heir to the throne.
