Succession to the Danish throne applies to jurisdiction Denmark
The Danish Act of Succession, adopted on 5 June 1953, restricts the throne to those descended from Christian X and his wife, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, through approved marriages. Succession is by a change in the law in 2009 governed by absolute primogeniture.Law of succession
Dynasts lose their right to the throne if they marry without the permission of the monarch, to be given in the Council of State. Individuals born to unmarried dynasts or to former dynasts who married without royal permission, and their descendants, are excluded from the throne. Further, when approving a marriage, the monarch can impose conditions that must be met in order for any resulting offspring to have succession rights. If there is no eligible person(s) to inherit the throne, the Danish Parliament (the Folketing) has the right to elect a new monarch and determine a line of succession.Note
The consent to Princess Benedikte's marriage to Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in 1968 was given on the condition that their children (and further descendants) would have to take up permanent residence in Denmark during the age of mandatory education if they were to retain their succession rights. Since the condition was not met, Princess Benedikte's children are not deemed to have succession rights and are not included in the official line of succession. It is unclear whether their own descendants will have succession rights if residing in Denmark during the age of mandatory education. One Danish constitutional scholar, the late Professor Henrik Zahle, claimed that the children of Princess Benedikte do have succession rights, but without providing any arguments for the claim.