Succession to the Beratian throne

**Succession to the Beratian 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. Beratian law limits succession to legitimate descendants of Abdul IIX.

King Abdul XI is the current sovereign, and his heir apparent is his eldest child Abdula, Crown Princess of Berat. Next-in-line after her is Princess Janar, the Crown Princess's eldest child, followed by her second child Prince Mafiz. Fourth and fifth-in-line are the Crown Princess's youngest child Princess Regina and her younger sister Princess Sabina.

Any rule changes to the line of succession must be passed by the Council of Deputies. Prior to the restoration of independence in 1988, all changes to the line of succession were declared by the sovereign in-exile, who also served as the head of the royal house. 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 Bagrutini, the ruling house of Berat. The list below consists of only descendants of Abdul XI.

* **Abdul XI** (born 1936)
	+ **(1)** The Crown Princess (born 1959)
		- **(2)** Princess Janar (born 1990)
			* **(3)** Prince Abdul (born 2016)
			* **(4)** Prince Nasim (born 2018)
		- **(5)** Prince Mafiz (born 1993)
			* **(6)** Ildar Bagrutini (born 2019)
		- **(7)** Princess Regina (born 1997)
	+ **(8)** Princess Sabina (born 1960)
		- **(9)** Lorine Nuser (born 1991)
			* **(10)** Nazir Edris (born 2017)
		- **(11)** Asmar Nuser (born 1994)
	+ **(12)** Princess Leila (born 1962)
		- **(13)** Christoph Hammar (born 1994)
		- **(14)** Molly Hammar (born 1996)
		- **(15)** Elisabeth Hammar (born 1998)
		- **(16)** Gabrielle Hammar (born 2000)
	+ **(17)** Princess Aisha (born 1964)
		- **(18)** Khalid Mansur (born 1989)
			* **(19)** Asha Mansur (born 2019)
		- **(20)** Zaki Mansur (born 1991)
		- **(21)** Salma Mansur (born 1994)
	+ **(22)** Princess Fatima (born 1966)
		- **(23)** Karima Rashid (born 1993)
		- **(24)** Maha Rashid (born 1994)
		- **(25)** Khalil Rashid (born 1996)
			* **(26)** Azam Rashid (born 2018)
		- **(27)** Kira Rashid (born 1998)
		- **(28)** Hafsa Rashid (born 2000)
		- **(29)** Abud Rashid (born 2001)
		- **(30)** Mahfuz Rashid (born 2004)

## Current rules

### Marriages

Until 1973, marriage to a non-Beratian, non-Muslim, or divorcée were grounds for disqualification from the line of succession. Upon Abdul XI acceding to the throne in 1970, he proposed several changes to the succession rules, including regarding marriage. In 1973, he eliminated all three of the aforementioned conditions. However, there are still grounds for disqualification in regards to marriage that exist. All descendants of the sovereign in the line of succession must always seek permission to marry from the sovereign, while ancestors, siblings, and cousins of the sovereign are exempt from this condition; if they marry without the permission of the sovereign, then they are disqualified from acceding to the throne.

### Religion

Individuals are disqualified from the line of succession if they break from the Eurean Muslim faith. The sovereign is considered the most supreme figure of Eurean Islam in Berat, so they are required to be practicing members of the faith. While their spouses no longer need to be Eurean Muslims, everyone included in the line of succession must be.

### Gender

For long, Berat employed a system of agnatic primogeniture, where women were entirely disqualified from the line of succession. As only men could inherit the throne, if a sovereign produced no male heirs, then the throne would skip to his closest collateral line, typically a younger brother or nephew. A son produced by a sovereign's daughter would also be disqualified from the line of succession, as only male-line descendants were eligible to accede to the throne.

Berat's system of agnatic primogeniture began to receive scrutiny during the 1960s and 1970s. Abdul XI had no male heirs, instead having five daughters. With all five of Abdul's children excluded, the throne would have passed to Abdul's younger brother Prince Idris, although Idris suffered from mental handicaps that many considered to make him ineligible for the throne, in addition to the fact he had no children of his own. Then, the throne would have passed to their younger brother Prince Ayaz, who also had no male heirs. Abdul XI's father Abdul X had no brothers, meaning that the only option for succession would be to begin a new dynasty entirely or to pass the crown to one of Abdul IX's living nephews; this was considered unacceptable, as it would be eliminating three sovereigns from the royal bloodline.

Abdul XI had considered adopting absolute or male-preference primogeniture in order to nullify the succession crisis, but was advised not to by his aides. After the restoration of Beratian independence in 1988, the Council of Deputies considered passing a male-preference primogeniture law, but ultimately decided not to as they believed it was too early to consider changing succession rules. In 2001, the Women's Succession Act of 2001 passed the Council of Deputies, which adopted a system of absolute primogeniture, allowing the eldest-born child to inherit the throne regardless of gender. With its passing, Princess Abdula became the Crown Princess and heir apparent, filling the title of heir which had previously been vacant since 1970.