Monday 23 May 2005

When Queens Trump

Britain�s Queen Elizabeth II, Denmark�s Queen Margrethe II, and the Netherlands� Queen Beatrix. Three reigning female sovereigns � none of whom would be sitting on her throne today if she had had a brother.  

But the times, they are a changing. 

Since 1980, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium have all constitutionally recognized cognatic (or absolute) primogeniture, which dictates that the throne is passed to the eldest surviving child of the sovereign, regardless of gender. Thanks to these progressive countries and the impressive fertility of their respective royal families, there are currently no fewer than four European monarchies with an excellent chance of having a female sovereign within two generations � and not a single one of them need ever fear being upstaged by a brother.  

In at least one case, however, a princess did upstage her brother. As the forerunner of the cognatic primogeniture movement, Sweden changed its constitution in 1980 and, instead of grandfathering the infant heir to the throne, Prince Carl Philip, his elder sister, Princess Victoria, took his place as first in line to the throne. Today, the very popular Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is an example for her three younger counterparts in the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium, although they will come into their inheritance in a slightly more indirect fashion. 

Just since 2001, Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, and Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway have all come into this world relatively assured of their futures as sovereign queens. The Netherlands was the first to follow Sweden�s example, changing its constitution in 1983 � some 20 years before the birth of Princess Catharina-Amalia in December 2003. Norway followed in 1990, with the birth of Princess Ingrid Alexandra taking place in January 2004, while Belgium completed the quartet in 1991, although it was actually the first to celebrate the birth of a future queen when Princess Elisabeth arrived in October 2001. 

But although the constitutions in their countries were changed well before their births, the change did not affect the positions of each of the princesses� fathers. In the cases of Princess Elisabeth and Princess Catharina-Amalia, their fathers are both first born children, so have the right of succession in any case. In Norway, Princess Ingrid Alexandra�s father, Crown Prince Haakon, might have been upstaged by his elder sister, Princess M�rtha Louise, but an exception was made to ensure that he remained the heir. As a result, all three princesses follow their fathers in the line of succession to the throne. In another interesting coincidence, Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Crown Princess Maxima of the Netherlands, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway are all currently pregnant. But, again, if a prince is born to any of these crown princesses, he will not replace his elder sister in precedence.  

Now, with Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Princess Letizia of Spain both pregnant, the question of changing the laws of succession has arisen in two more countries. Spain began considering the change in earnest as early as April 2004, just before the wedding of Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz, with the effort led by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodr�guez Zapatero. As in Norway, a change to Spain�s succession laws would not exclude Prince Felipe, but rather start with his heirs, making his eldest surviving child his heir. The announcement that Princess Letizia is pregnant only heightened the excitement surrounding such a potential change and the possibility of a future sovereign queen of Spain. Although Letizia is only three months into her pregnancy, the couple has already had to deny any advance knowledge of the sex of their unborn child. In any case, a change in the constitution is unlikely to come quickly, but with strong public support, seems almost inevitable. The situation in Denmark is very similar to that in Spain, but again, only time will reveal all. 

This leaves us with Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Monaco and � oh, yes � Britain. It seems a bit odd perhaps that Britain should be among this last group. After all, a queen regnant sits on the throne and the monarchy must be feeling pressure from its seemingly more progressive neighbors. On the other hand, Britain also has the advantage of three direct male heirs. Nevertheless, Queen Elizabeth has stated that she is agreeable to cognatic primogeniture and Britain has been playing with the idea of changing the laws of succession for a number of years, but all attempts have been abortive so far. The latest bills were introduced in 1998 and 2004, but both times were withdrawn. Most recently, the Succession to the Crown Bill aimed not only to allow for equal succession, but also intended to repeal the Act of Settlement, which prohibits a member of the royal family who has married or become a Catholic from keeping their position in line to the throne, as well as the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, which requires that descendents of George II must have royal consent for marriage. Although the odds are fairly good that the British monarchy will bow to the times and at least change to cognatic primogeniture in the not-so-distant future, with a recent marriage �crisis� now behind us and plenty of male heirs to the throne, it�s unlikely that we�ll see any immediate changes.

Unlike in Britain, where laws like the Act of Settlement and the Royal Marriages Act have historically been created to restrict succession, Monaco has been known over the years to make quite liberal amendments to the succession laws, primarily in an effort to ensure the future of the principality. When it became clear in the early 20^th century that the heir to the Monegasque throne, Prince Louis, was not going to marry and produce an heir of his own, his father, Prince Albert I of Monaco, went to great pains to ensure the future of his dynasty. Prince Louis� illegitimate daughter, Charlotte Louise Juliette, was brought to Monaco and gradually legitimatized. A law was passed in 1911 to make Charlotte Prince Louis� acknowledged heir and a member of the royal family, but that law was later invalidated, so another attempt was made in 1918, this time allowing for the adoption of an heir to the throne. Under this new law, Prince Louis officially adopted Charlotte and, on May 16, 1919, she was created duchess of Valentinois and placed second in line to the throne after her father. Charlotte was married off to a suitable French count shortly thereafter and she eventually renounced her rights to the Monegasque crown in favor of her son � the man we remember today as the late Prince Rainier III of Monaco.  

The failure of another Monegasque heir to marry and produce children caused the most recent changes to Monaco�s succession laws. As Prince Rainier grew older and his health failed, it seemed apparent that his son, Prince Albert, was in no hurry to find a suitable wife and start a family. At that time, the laws of succession dictated that the throne could only pass to the direct descendents of the reigning prince. This meant that the moment Prince Albert ascended the throne, Princesses Caroline and Stephanie would automatically be excluded from the line of succession. At that point, Monaco would only be one step away � a childless Prince Albert � from an empty throne. So, in April 2002, the law was changed to ensure that in the event Prince Albert died � as sovereign prince � without a legitimate heir, the throne could pass to Princess Caroline or her legitimate heirs. The law also removed the adoption option instituted for Princess Charlotte in 1918. What it didn�t do, however, was allow for cognatic primogeniture. Monaco still remains a principality that follows primogeniture, meaning that males take precedence over females in the line of succession. 

Still, primogeniture is better than Semi-Salic Law � or that which leaves a woman to reign only as a last resort � which is still adhered to in the two final European monarchies, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg owes its independent rule largely to its adherence to Semi-Salic Law. Beginning in 1815, the grand duchy was presided over by the Netherlands, whose king was also grand duke of Luxembourg. In 1867, Luxembourg officially became an independent country, although King William III of the Netherlands remained its grand duke. In 1884, King William�s daughter, Princess Wilhelmina, became his heir in the absence of a son, and on the king�s death in 1890, she succeeded her father as Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. But with stricter rules of succession in Luxembourg, the grand ducal throne was passed to Adolph of Nassau-Weilburg, Duke of Nassau.  

Ironically, within two generations of Adolph�s reign as grand duke of Luxembourg, the grand duchy passed into female hands when his son and successor, Grand Duke William IV, produced six daughters and no sons. First to follow her father on the throne was Grand Duchess Marie-Ad�la�de, who reigned from 1912 to 1919, followed by Grand Duchess Charlotte, who reigned until 1964. Since Charlotte�s abdication, the grand duchy has been ruled again only by men, and the sisters remain the only two reigning grand duchesses of Luxembourg in history. And with at least seven male heirs in the current line of succession, it seems unlikely that there will be another reigning grand duchess any time soon. That said, there have been twinklings of discussion regarding instituting cognatic primogeniture in Luxembourg, so it certainly can�t be ruled out for the future.  

Given that the Principality of Liechtenstein only granted women the right to vote in national elections in 1984, it perhaps seems obvious that it also still jealously adheres to Semi-Salic Law in regard to the line of succession to the throne. It may come as slightly more of a surprise to learn that the principality has never had a sovereign princess. Like Luxembourg, Liechtenstein has plenty of male heirs in sight, but unlike its counterpart, Liechtenstein shows no signs of changing the laws of succession. As a result, it seems highly improbable that there will be a sovereign princess of Liechtenstein any time soon.

Though it�s not a European monarchy, any discussion of female succession would not be complete without mentioning Japan, which seems poised to remove the ban on female succession to the Chrysanthemum Throne. If it does, little Princess Aiko of Japan � the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, will very likely be a sovereign empress of Japan someday. Although it�s unclear at this point whether any change instituted in Japan�s succession laws will simply allow for primogeniture or be aggressively progressive and opt for cognatic primogeniture, either one would be a major step forward for the imperial family.

Indeed, all the royal succession changes in the past 20 some years have been a major step forward for the countries involved and for the still incomplete women�s movement around the world. And although there�s a long way to go, a lot has been accomplished in a remarkably short period of time, especially when you consider the long road behind. In Norway, Princess Ingrid Alexandra stands to be the first sovereign queen in more than 600 years, while Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden will be the first in her country since Queen Christina abdicated in 1654. And in the relatively new kingdom of Belgium, Princess Elisabeth stands to be the first sovereign queen in its history.  

Most importantly, public opinion in those countries that have changed their succession laws appears to indicate that the changes are widely accepted. Around the time of Princess Ingrid Alexandra�s birth in January 2004, a Norwegian opinion poll found that only 20.7 percent of Norwegian men preferred the previous tradition of a male heir to the throne, while a mere four percent of Norwegian women felt the same. Not long after, another poll showed that popular approval of the monarchy had increased thanks to Princess Ingrid Alexandra�s birth. Similarly, in the countries where changes are currently under consideration, such as Spain and Denmark, the public appears to be largely in support of cognatic primogeniture.   

Personally, I think that the only thing that could further improve upon having a Europe full of monarchies based on sexual equality for women would be further extending that equality to the men who marry the future queen regnants. After all, if a woman who marries a sovereign king becomes a queen consort, why shouldn�t a man who marries a sovereign queen become a king consort? If sexual equality is the ultimate goal, then it must be the ultimate goal across the board.

In the meantime, I am one royal watcher who is looking forward to a future where queens finally trump.

Until next time, 

- Tori Van Orden Mart�nez

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For ease of reading, I have left out many of the specifics about the laws of succession in the monarchies I�ve mentioned, but much of this information can be found in a very simple and straightforward fashion at http://www.heraldica.org/faqs/atrfaq.htm#p2-5. 

More information about The Act of Settlement and The Royal Marriages Act can be found in one of my previous columns, �Royal Acts of Admonition.�

For more on Crown Princess Masako and Princess Aiko of Japan, I highly recommend two columns by Pandora�s Box, �Masako � Submission of a Princess� and �The Chrysanthemum Throne � Part IV: The Princess and the �Grey Men.��