Succession to the Mornguardian throne

**Succession to the Mornguardian throne** is determined by descent, religion, and legitimacy. By law, the crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest collateral line. Mornguardian law limits succession to legitimate descendants of Gustav I.

Queen Gustavia-Marie II is the current sovereign, and her heir apparent is her eldest son Erik, Crown Prince of Mornguard. Next-in-line after him is Princess Ingrid-Marie, the Crown Prince's eldest child, followed by his second child Princess Alexandra. Fourth and fifth-in-line are the Crown Prince's youngest child Prince Gustav-Karl and his younger sister Princess Laura.

Any rule changes to the line of succession must be passed by the Thusting. The four most senior members of the line of succession who are over the age of 18 are given seats on the Council of State, which acts as the decision-making body and representative of the sovereign when they are out of the country or incapacitated.

## Current line of succession

The official line of succession is updated by the House of Hürtsburg, the ruling house of Mornguard. The list below consists of only descendants of Gustav VI.

* *Gustav VI* (1875–1946)
	+ *Erik VI* (1900–1980)
		- **Gustavia-Marie II** (born 1933)
			* **(1)** The Crown Prince (born 1960)
				+ **(2)** Princess Ingrid-Marie of Mornguard (born 1995)
				+ **(3)** Princess Alexandra of Mornguard (born 1998)
				+ **(4)** Prince Gustav-Karl of Mornguard (born 2000)
			* **(5)** Princess Laura of Mornguard (born 1963)
				+ **(6)** Prince Nicholai of Mornguard (born 1993)
				+ **(7)** Prince Elias of Mornguard (born 1996)
			* **(8)** Prince Christian of Mornguard (born 1965)
				+ **(9)** Prince Sebastian of Mornguard (born 2003)
				+ **(10)** Princess Zara of Mornguard (born 2005)
				+ **(11)** Prince Henrik of Mornguard (born 2007)
		- **(12)** Princess Kristine of Mornguard (born 1934)
			* **(13)** Princess Elsa of Mornguard, Countess of Könighal (born 1960)
				+ **(14)** Daniel Allenstedt (born 1988)
					- **(15)** Mona Allenstedt (born 2019)
				+ **(16)** Julie Allenstedt (born 1990)
			* **(17)** Princess Louisa of Mornguard (born 1964)
				+ **(18)** Dalia Brøndrup (born 1996)
				+ **(19)** Thomas Brøndrup (born 1998)
				+ **(20)** Erik Brøndrup (born 2000)
		- **(21)** Princess Sanne of Mornguard (born 1940)
			* **(22)** Princess Amelia of Mornguard (born 1968)
				+ **(23)** Anne Vikilde (born 1999)
				+ **(24)** Carl Vikilde (born 2002)
				+ **(25)** Cecilie Vikilde (born 2003)
			* **(26)** Prince Anders of Mornguard (born 1971)
				+ **(27)** Josef Hürtsburg (born 2006)
				+ **(28)** Katrin Hürtsburg (born 2008)
				+ **(29)** Sascha Hürtsburg (born 2011)
	+ *Prince Michael of Mornguard and Framland* (1903–1987)
		- *Prince Nicholas of Mornguard and Framland* (1936–2012)
			* **(30)** Peter Gorstein (born 1978)
				+ **(31)** Victoria Gorstein (born 2010)
				+ **(32)** Maria Gorstein (born 2012)
				+ **(33)** Anna-Leigh Gorstein (born 2015)
			* **(34)** Hilda Gorstein (born 1981)
				+ **(35)** Nicholas Hagström (born 2007)
				+ **(36)** Jeanne Hagström (born 2009)
		- *Prince Joachim of Mornguard and Framland* (1940–2018)
			* **(37)** Victor Gorstein (born 1973)
				+ **(38)** Alexander Gorstein (born 2004)
				+ **(39)** Paula Gorstein (born 2005)
				+ **(40)** Carlotta Gorstein (born 2008)
			* **(41)** Julianna Visscher, Countess of Schönborn (born 1975)
				+ **(42)** Elisa Visscher, Countess of Schönborn (born 2004)
				+ **(43)** Marina Visscher, Countess of Schönborn (born 2007)
				+ **(44)** Helene Visscher, Countess of Schönborn (born 2008)

## Current rules

### Marriages

Until the Crown Act of 1960, individuals were not permitted to accede to the throne if they were married to a divorcée or someone who was not a member of the Church of Mornguard; this act undid those two conditions. However, there are still grounds for disqualification in regards to marriage that exist. The first five-in-line for the throne must always seek permission to marry from the sovereign; if they marry without the permission of the sovereign, then they are disqualified from acceding to the throne.

Prior to the 1962 marriage of Princess Margarethe of Mornguard, the wedding was not approved by Erik VI, as she was expected to become a queen consort of a foreign nation, and her eldest child the heir apparent. However, the wedding was not canceled, and Margarethe and her descendants were removed from the Mornguardian line of succession.

### Religion

Individuals are disqualified from the line of succession if they are not members of the Church of Mornguard. As the sovereign is the leader of the church, all sovereigns must have been baptized within the church, and must be registered members. In practice, many sovereigns consider themselves to be secular individuals due to the high level of irreligion in Mornguard, and their association with the church is merely a ceremonial formality.

### Gender

For many years, Mornguard employed a system of male-preference primogeniture; this meant that males would always displace females in the line of succession, regardless of age. Under male-preference primogeniture, the birth of the first male heir would signify that he would inherit the throne, and any elder female siblings would immediate fall behind him in the line of succession.

Male-preference primogeniture was abolished in favor of absolute primogeniture with the Crown Act of 2001, which was applied retroactively as well. The act was meant to return Princess Ingrid-Marie of Mornguard as the heir apparent, after having been displaced in the line of succession by her younger brother Prince Gustav-Karl of Mornguard following his birth the year prior. The act was said to have been supported by Ingrid-Marie's parents and grandparents, while her uncle Prince Christian of Mornguard was said to be unsupportive, as it moved him behind his elder sister Princess Laura of Mornguard in the line of succession for the first time since his birth.