page_title: Primogeniture
section_title: Order of succession in monarchies today
hierarchical_section_title: Primogeniture / Order of succession in monarchies today
caption_attribution_description: English: World monarchies by succession.
context_page_description: Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relative. In most contexts it means the inheritance of the firstborn son; it can also mean by the firstborn daughter.
  The common definition given is also known as male-line primogeniture, the classical form popular in European jurisdictions among others until into the 20th century. In the absence of male-line offspring, variations were expounded to entitle a daughter or a brother or, in the absence of either, to another collateral relative, in a specified order. Variations have tempered the traditional, sole-beneficiary, right or, in the West since World War II, eliminate the preference for males over females. Most monarchies in Western Europe have eliminated this, in succession: Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
caption: World monarchies by succession:   Absolute primogeniture   Elective and agnatic primogeniture   Agnatic primogeniture   Elective   Male-preference primogeniture   Agnatic seniority
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