Succession to the Velkanian throne

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

Ragnhildur II is the current sovereign, and her heir apparent is her eldest daughter Björghildur, Crown Princess of the Velkanian Isles. Next-in-line is her middle daughter Princess Ísabella, followed by her youngest daughter Princess Daníela. Fourth-in-line is the Queen's younger sister Princess Úlfhildur, whom is followed by her children Rósa Graziella di Togliaro and Róman Alessandro di Togliaro as the fifth and sixth-in-line, respectively.

Any rule changes to the line of succession must be passed by the Orthing. The most senior member of the line of succession whom is eligible to vote, typically the heir apparent, receives a seat on the Council of State as one of the three members *ex officio*. This council acts as the chief decision-making body for the Kingdom, and the heir apparent presides over the meetings in which the sovereign is not present.

## Current line of succession

The official line of succession is updated by the House of Ásthildur, the ruling house of the Velkanian Isles. This list contains all members who are eligible to inherit the throne, as descendants of Bjarni IV.

* *Bjarni IV* (1865–1950)
	+ *Ragnhildur I* (1906–2003)
		- Hrafnhildur III (born 1940)
			* Ragnhildur II (born 1968)
				+ **(1)** The Crown Princess (born 1999)
				+ **(2)** Princess Ísabella (born 2001)
				+ **(3)** Princess Daníela (born 2005)
			* **(4)** Princess Úlfhildur (born 1971)
				+ **(5)** Rósa Graziella di Togliaro (born 2004)
				+ **(6)** Róman Alessandro di Togliaro (born 2006)
	+ *Princess Dóró* (1910–1969)
	+ *Princess Lydía* (1912–2009)
		- **(7)** Björn Eyríkur Þjóðgeirsson (born 1940)
			* **(8)** Ída María Björnsdattir (born 1971)
				+ **(9)** Haukur Bjarni Óskarsson (born 2003)
				+ **(10)** Gréta Elísabet Óskarsdattir (born 2005)
				+ **(11)** Elín Sif Óskarsdattir (born 2008)
			* **(12)** Mjöll Katrín Björnsdattir (born 1975)
				+ **(13)** Þórlákur Skuggason (born 2010)
				+ **(14)** Hildur Skuggadattir (born 2013)
		- **(15)** Einbjörg Sól Þjóðgeirsdattir (born 1942)
			* **(16)** Sigurmundur Gunnþórsson (born 1968)
				+ **(17)** Maggi Elías Sigurmundarson (born 1997)
				+ **(18)** Auðbjörn Oddi Sigurmundarson (born 2000)

## Current rules

### Marriages

Prior to 1964, individuals who had divorced or married a divorcé were unable to inherit the crown. This was undone with the restoration of Velkanian independence in 1964, which codified new succession rules. However, there are still grounds for disqualification in regards to marriage that still exist. The first five-in-line for the throne must always seek the ruling monarch's permission to marry; if they marry without the permission of the monarch, then they and their children from the marriage will be disqualified from the line of succession. It is unknown whether this is a strict rule within the royal family or merely a formality.

Children born outside of wedlock remain ineligible to accede to the throne, and are not included in the official line of succession. It is possible that these children can be legitimized and thus added to the line of succession after their birth should their parents eventually marry; however, if there is no eventual marriage, then they are not included. There was an initiative to allow for illegitimate children to receive succession rights in 2013, but this initiative failed after the first Sif María Vilhjálmardattir cabinet came into power the following year and shot down any interest in changing the succession rules.

In 2003, the Orthing passed legislation that legalized same-sex civil unions in the Velkanian Isles. In the bill that legalized them, it was also noted that they should be treated as marriages within the context of succession, meaning that the monarch must still approve of civil unions in order for individuals to retain their place in the line of succession, and that any children born from the union would be considered legitimate and have the right to accede to the throne. The legalization of same-sex marriage in 2012 made the same-sex civil unions rules obsolete.

### Gender

Until the 15th-century, the monarchy practiced a system of female-preference primogeniture. This meant that a female would always displace a male sibling in the line of succession, effectively incorporating a matriarchal system of succession, the only of its kind in the world. Upon the annexation of the Velkanian Isles into the Kingdom of Framland in 1456, the system was changed to a male-preference primogeniture system, in the same vein as the Framish monarchy, where a male would always displace a female sibling in the line of succession.

Following the confirmation of Hrafnhildur III's pregnancy in 1968, the Orthing passed a bill which adopted a system of absolute primogeniture, removing gender as a consideration in the line of succession, which effectively allowed for the eldest child to always inherit the throne. The legislation was additionally applied retroactively, which did not have any effect on the line of succession due to the male children in the line of succession always having been born before their female siblings. This was considered to be the first system of absolute primogeniture in the world, where most monarchies had practiced male-preference primogeniture at the time. The decision was celebrated by both Hrafnhildur and her mother Ragnhildur I. The Orthing passed the bill in order to allow Hrafnhildur's child to accede to the throne regardless of their gender and the birth of younger siblings. Ultimately, Hrafnhildur had only two daughters, which means that the changing to absolute primogeniture had not in actuality changed what the line of succession would have looked like.