Acrown prince orhereditary prince is theheir apparent to thethrone in a royal or imperialmonarchy.[1] The female form of the title,crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent.[2]
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 specificsubstantive title may be accorded and become associated with the position of heir apparent (e.g.Prince of Wales in theUnited Kingdom,Prince of Asturias in theKingdom of Spain and formerly theDauphin inFrance). 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 thespouse of a crown prince. She would be styled crown princess, not in herown right but bycourtesy.[citation needed] Many European countries have now abolished male primogeniture; a notable exception is Spain.[3]
The termcrown prince is not used in European monarchies if the hereditary sovereign holds a title below that of king/queen or emperor/empress (such asgrand duke orprince), although it is sometimes used as a synonym for heir apparent.[citation needed]
In Europe, whereprimogeniture governed succession to all monarchies except those of thepapacy andAndorra, 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 thedynasty enjoy personalsuccession rights. Male precedence has been abolished inBelgium,Denmark,Luxembourg,Norway,Sweden and theNetherlands, as well as in theUnited Kingdom and otherCommonwealth realms pursuant to theSuccession to the Crown Act 2013. 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 Jämtland was the crown prince of Sweden from 1950 to 1973, as the senior grandson by male primogeniture of KingGustaf VI Adolf, although the formerPrince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland was Gustaf VI Adolf's eldest living son, andPrince Bertil, Duke of Halland his eldest livingdynastic son during those years).
In some monarchies, those of theMiddle 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 princeHassan bin Talal ofJordan.
Compareheir apparent andheir presumptive. In Scandinavian kingdoms, the heir presumptive to the crown may hold a different title from anheir apparent: hereditary prince (German:Erbprinz, French:prince héréditaire). It is also the title borne by the heir apparent ofLiechtenstein, as well as the heir apparent or presumptive ofMonaco. InLuxembourg, 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, sovereignduchies andprincipalities, and ofmediatized princely families in theGermanmonarchies abolished in 1918.
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 Máxima of the Netherlands was never titled Princess of Orange by marriage for this reason)
Some monarchies have used (although not alwaysde 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.
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
In Islamic tradition, the title is the Arabic termWali al-Ahd.
In Persia (Iran), during thePahlavi dynasty andQajar dynasty, the full style wasVala Hazrat-i-HumayunVali Ahd,Shahzada (given name) (meaning "His August Imperial Highness the Heir Apparent, Prince ...");
The title was adopted by manyoriental monarchies, even some non-Muslim, e.g. "Walet" as alternative title for theNepali (Hindu) royal heir apparent; first used by Crown PrinceTrailokya in the middle of the nineteenth century, taken from the Mughal title 'Vali Ahd'.
Yuvaraja was part of the full title in many princely states of India, e.g. inJammu and Kashmir, the heir apparent was styledMaharaj Kumar Shri Yuvaraj (personal name)Singhji Bahadur
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 ChineseHuangTaizi (皇太子, "Great Imperial Son") – if a son of the reigning emperor, andHuang Taisun (皇太孫, Great Imperial Grandson) – if a grandson of the emperor:
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 theJoseon dynasty inKorea, the crown prince was often referred as Dong-gung (동궁, 東宮, 'East Palace') or wangseja (王世子 왕세자); The first-born son was called wonja (元子 원자).
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