page_title: Danish royal family
section_title: Line of succession
hierarchical_section_title: Danish royal family / Line of succession
caption_attribution_description: English: Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, RE, SKmd (Frederik André Henrik Christian), the heir apparent to the throne of Denmark - from the European Wind Energy Association offshore event "EWEA Offshore 2015" in Copenhagen, Denmark, March 2015 Dansk: Hans Kongelige Højhed Kronprins Frederik (Frederik André Henrik Christian), kronprins til Danmark, greve af Monpezat og dansk tronarving - fra European Wind Energy Association offshore event "EWEA Offshore 2015" i København, marts 2015
context_page_description: The Danish royal family is the dynastic family of the monarch. All members of the Danish royal family except Queen Margrethe II hold the title of Prince/Princess of Denmark. Dynastic children of the monarch and of the heir apparent are accorded the style of His/Her Royal Highness, while other members of the dynasty are addressed as His/Her Highness. The Queen is styled Her Majesty.
  The Queen and her siblings belong to the House of Glücksburg, which is a branch of the Royal House of Oldenburg. The Queen's children and male-line descendants belong agnatically to the family de Laborde de Monpezat, and were given the concurrent title Count/Countess of Monpezat by royal decree on 30 April 2008.
  The Danish royal family enjoys remarkably high approval ratings in Denmark, ranging between 82% and 92%.
context_section_description: The first law governing the succession to the Danish throne as a hereditary monarchy was the Kongeloven (Lex Regia), enacted 14 November 1665, and published in 1709. It declared that the crown of Denmark shall descend by heredity to the legitimate descendants of King Frederick III, and that the order of succession shall follow semi-Salic primogeniture, according to which the crown is inherited by an heir, with preference among the Monarch's children to males over females; among siblings to the elder over the younger; and among Frederick III's remoter descendants by substitution, senior branches over junior branches. Female descendants were eligible to inherit the throne in the event there were no eligible surviving male dynasts born in the male line. As for the duchies, Holstein and Lauenburg where the King ruled as duke, these lands adhered to Salic law (meaning that only males could inherit the ducal throne), and by mutual agreement were permanently conjoined. The duchies of Schleswig (a Danish fief), Holstein and Lauenburg (German fiefs) were joined in personal union with the Crown of Denmark.
  This difference caused problems when Frederick VII of Denmark proved childless, making a change in dynasty imminent, and causing the lines of succession for the duchies on one hand and for Denmark on the other to diverge. That meant that the new King of Denmark would not also be the new Duke of Schleswig or Duke of Holstein. To ensure the continued adhesion of the Elbe duchies to the Danish Crown, the line of succession to the duchies was modified in the London Protocol of 1852, which designated Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, as the new heir apparent, although he was, strictly, the heir neither to the Crown of Denmark nor to the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein or Lauenburg by primogeniture. Originally, the Danish prime minister Christian Albrecht Bluhme wanted to keep the separate hereditary principles, but in the end the government decided on a uniform agnatic primogeniture, which was accepted by the Parliament.
  This order of succession remained in effect for a hundred years, then the Salic law was changed to male-preference primogeniture in 1953, meaning that females with no brothers could inherit. In 2009, the mode of inheritance of the throne was once more changed, this time into an absolute primogeniture. This imposed no immediate change on the line of succession as it was then, as Prince Vincent had not yet been born. As of 2018 the line of succession was:
  The Crown Prince Frederik
  Prince Christian
  Princess Isabella
  Prince Vincent
  Princess Josephine
  Prince Joachim
  Prince Nikolai
  Prince Felix
  Prince Henrik
  Princess Athena
  Princess Benedikte
caption: Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
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