The Danish Act of Succession, adopted on 5 June 1953, restricts the throne to those descended from Christian X and his wife, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, through approved marriages. By a change in the law in 2009, succession is governed by absolute primogeniture.
The King's Law (Danish: Kongeloven) or Lex Regia (also called the Danish Royal Law of 1665) was the absolutist constitution of Denmark and Norway from 1665 until 1849 and 1814, respectively. It established complete hereditary and absolute monarchy and formalized the king's absolute power, and is regarded the most sovereign form of all the European expressions of absolutism. Some scholars of legal history assert that with Europe's least circumscribed form of absolutism, Denmark "may be considered the most absolute of all the absolute European monarchies." It is the only formal constitution of any absolute monarchy, and has therefore been the subject of considerable historical and academic attention.
The King's Law comprises 40 articles and is divided into seven main chapters. Articles 1 to 7 determine the royal absolute power, and the following articles contain rules on the king's authority and guardianship, on the king's accession and anointing, on the indivisibility of the kingdoms, on princes and princesses, on the king's duty to maintain absolute monarchy, and on the succession.
The Act of Succession of 27 March 1953 (Danish: tronfølgeloven) is an act adopted after a 1953 referendum in Denmark and dictates the rules governing the succession to the Danish throne. The 1953 referendum changed the act so that it became possible for a woman to inherit the throne if she has no brothers, a system known as male-preference cognatic preference primogeniture. As the reigning King Frederik IX had three daughters and no sons, this made Princess Margrethe heiress presumptive to the throne, replacing her uncle Prince Knud. As Frederik IX's wife Queen Ingrid was not expected to (and did not) have any more children, this effectively ensured that Princess Margrethe would become Queen of Denmark, which she did in 1972. The act also removed the succession rights of minor members of the House of Glücksburg.
Following a referendum in 2009, the Act of Succession was amended so that primogeniture no longer puts males over females, meaning the first-born child would become heir apparent to the throne regardless of gender. The expected result of the referendum was on the balance, since 40% of the entire electorate had to vote yes in order to make the change. However, the succession amendment was confirmed by a larger turnout especially in rural areas. The change of the act had no effect on the expected line of succession at the time, but would affect the line of succession among the then Crown Prince Frederick's younger children, putting Princess Isabella (who was born in 2007) ahead of her younger brother Prince Vincent (born in 2011).
Prince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, RE, SKmd (Danish pronunciation: [ˈjoːæˌkʰim]; Joachim Holger Waldemar Christian; born 7 June 1969) is a member of the Danish royal family. The younger son of Queen Margrethe II, he is fifth in the line of succession to the Danish throne, following the four children of his elder brother King Frederik X.
Christian IX (8 April 1818 – 29 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 15 November 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg.
A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Christian grew up in the Duchy of Schleswig as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448. Although having close family ties to the Danish royal family, he was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish throne. Following the early death of his father in 1831, Christian grew up in Denmark and was educated at the Military Academy of Copenhagen. After unsuccessfully seeking the hand of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom in marriage, he married his double second cousin, Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, in 1842.
Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg RE, SKmd, D.Ht. (Benedikte Astrid Ingeborg Ingrid, born 29 April 1944) is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second daughter and child of King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark. She is the younger sister of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and therefore the aunt of Margrethe's son, the current King of Denmark, Frederik X. She is also an older sister of Queen Anne-Marie of Greece.
Princess Benedikte often represents the Danish monarch at official or semi-official events. She and her late husband, Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, had three children. Princess Benedikte is currently tenth and last in the line of succession to the Danish throne.
Count Felix of Monpezat SK (born Prince Felix of Denmark; 22 July 2002) is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the younger son of Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. He is a grandson of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and a nephew of King Frederik X. Felix is currently seventh in the line of succession to the Danish throne.
Count Nikolai of Monpezat SK (born Prince Nikolai of Denmark; 28 August 1999) is a member of the Danish royal family. He is the eldest son of Prince Joachim and his first wife, Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, the eldest grandchild of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik, and the eldest nephew of King Frederik X. He is currently sixth in the line of succession to the Danish throne. At the time of his birth, he was third, after his uncle and father.
Princess Isabella of Denmark, RE (Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe; born 21 April 2007) is a member of the Danish royal family. She is the second child and elder daughter of King Frederik X and Queen Mary.
She is the fourth grandchild and oldest granddaughter of Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik. She was the first girl born into the Danish royal family since the birth of her great-aunt, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, in 1946. Isabella is second in the line of succession to the Danish throne, after her older brother, Crown Prince Christian.