The 1810 Act of Succession () is one of four ''Fundamental Laws of the Realm'' () and thus forms part of the

Swedish Constitution The Basic Laws of Sweden () are the four constitutional laws of the Kingdom of Sweden that regulate the Swedish political system, acting in a similar manner to the constitutions of most countries. These four laws are: the Instrument of Governmen ...

. The Act regulates the

line of succession to the Swedish throne The order of succession, line of succession to the Monarchy of Sweden, Swedish throne is determined by the Swedish Act of Succession, Act of Succession (), originally approved jointly by the Riksdag of the Estates assembled in Örebro and King ...

and the conditions which eligible members of the Swedish royal family must abide by in order to remain in it. It was jointly adopted by the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates (; informally ) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Fou ...

, convened in

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

on 26 September 1810, and

Charles XIII Charles XIII or Carl XIII (; 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818) was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa ...

, as a logical consequence following the election on 21 August of

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte Charles XIV John (; 26 January 1763 – 8 March 1844) was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 until his death in 1844 and the first monarch of the Bernadotte dynasty. In Norway, he is known as Charles III John () and before he became royalty in ...

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

. The actual contents of the Act, save the solemn

preamble A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...

, has been thoroughly rewritten over the years: the most notable change occurred in 1980 when the core principle of agnatic primogeniture (male succession only) was changed in favor of

absolute primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit all or most of their parent's estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relat ...

(eldest child regardless of sex).

Historical background

The Act of Succession was adopted by the

assembled at

in 1810, upon electing Charles XIV John (Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte) as the heir to King

. This happened at a tumultuous time for Sweden, as only one year earlier the former king,

Gustav IV Adolf Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 180 ...

(and his sons) had been deposed and replaced by his childless uncle, Charles XIII. At the same time the

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

was coming to an end and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, then a part of

Sweden proper Sweden proper (, literally ''Actual Sweden'') is a term used to distinguish those territories that were fully integrated into the Kingdom of Sweden, as opposed to the dominions and possessions of, or states in union with, Sweden. Only the est ...

, was held by

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The authoritarian constitution of 1772 was abolished and power was returned to parliament by the new

Instrument of Government The Instrument of Government was the first constitution of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and was also the first codified and written constitution in England. It was drafted by Major-General John Lambert in 1653. Anteced ...

adopted on 6 June 1809. From 1814 to 1905 the Act of Succession also regulated succession to the Norwegian throne, due to the union of Sweden-Norway.

Provisions

The Act in the current version specifies that: * Only children born in wedlock may inherit the Throne. * Only the descendants of

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

may inherit the Throne. * A prince or princess in the line of succession shall belong to and profess the "pure evangelical faith", as defined in the '' Unaltered Augsburg Confession'' and the '' Uppsala Synod of 1593'', i.e. by implication the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

. * The offspring of an approved marriage must be brought up within

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. * A prince or princess may not marry and remain in the line of succession without having received consent, upon application of the Monarch, from the

Government of Sweden The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden () is the Cabinet (government), national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's Executive (government), executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister and their ...

. * A prince or princess is also prevented from becoming monarch of another country, either by election or marriage, without the consent of the Monarch and the Government. If any of these provisions are violated: all rights of succession for the person concerned and all descendants are lost.

Changes

In its original version, the Act mandated that a Swedish prince could only marry into families deemed to be of equal rank, or forfeit for himself and his future descendants all dynastic rights. The key wording was a prohibition of marrying a "private man's daughter" (), a term which in Swedish jurisprudence was understood to exclude all non-royal persons, including the aristocracy. In 1937 the statutory provision which in effect had required a spouse of royal birth was changed and the prohibition only extended to a "private Swedish man's daughter" (). A total of five Swedish princes lost their

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

of HRH, title as Prince of Sweden, personal Ducal title, and all rights of succession to the throne because they violated the uncompromisable constitutional provision, regardless of whether the

King-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it refers to the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of app ...

did consent or not:

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

in 1888, Lennart in 1932, Sigvard in 1934, Carl in 1937 and Carl Johan in 1946. There is since 1980 no statutory limitation, based on either nationality or royal rank, on whom a prince or princess can marry, apart from the fact that permission must be granted. In 1980, the rule of succession was changed from agnatic primogeniture to

. This change in effect made Victoria (born 1977) heir apparent and Crown Princess, passing over her younger brother Prince Carl Philip (born 1979) who had been the heir apparent and Crown Prince for less than one year.

References

Act of Succession
– at the Riksdag

External links

{{Wikisource, Act of Succession of Sweden 1810 in law 1810 in Sweden Monarchy of Sweden Constitution of Sweden Succession acts 1810 in politics

Historical background

Provisions

Changes

See also

References

External links