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112-474: The Saxon duchy began fragmenting in the 15th century as a result of the old German succession law that divided inheritances among all sons. In addition, every son of a Saxon duke inherited the title of duke . Brothers sometimes ruled the territory inherited from their father jointly, but sometimes they split it up. Some of the Ernestine duchies retained their separate existence until 1918. Similar practices in

224-479: A courtesy title but has no place in the line of succession. In the absence of nephews, nieces could also succeed to the kingdom, as in the case of Queen Gowri Lakshmi Bayi who was the queen regnant from 1810 to 1813. Since Indian Independence and the passing of several acts such as the Hindu Succession Act (1956), this form of inheritance is no longer recognised by law. Regardless, the pretender to

336-421: A best qualified candidate for the leadership. The leaders are elected as being the most mature elders of the clan, already in possession of military power and competence. Fraternal succession is preferred to ensure that mature leaders are in charge, removing a need for regents. The lateral system of succession may or may not exclude male descendants in the female line from succession. In practice, when no male heir

448-400: A daughter of a Marquess is possibly morganatic. When it became clear that Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha would die childless, Edward VII renounced his rights to Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (but only to that duchy) to avert an undesirable personal union . The House of Windsor (whose original male line includes only the descendants of Edward's son George V since 26 April 1943 ) and

560-448: A descendant or relative of the original holder, recipient or grantee according to a fixed order of kinship . Upon the death of the grantee, a designated inheritance such as a peerage , or a monarchy , passes automatically to that living, legitimate , non- adoptive relative of the grantee who is most senior in descent (i.e. highest in the line of succession, regardless of age); and thereafter continues to pass to subsequent successors of

672-621: A dynasty by rotation. It currently applies, with variations, to Andorra , Cambodia , Eswatini , the Holy See , Kuwait , Malaysia , the UAE , and Samoa . It is also used in Ife , Oyo and the other subnational states of the Yorubaland region. Lateral or fraternal system of succession mandates principles of seniority among members of a dynasty or dynastic clan, with a purpose of election

784-487: A list of heirs before vacancy occurs. A monarchy may be generally elective, although in a way that the next holder will be elected only after it becomes vacant. In history, quite often, but not always, appointments and elections favored, or were limited to, members of a certain dynasty or extended family. There may be genealogical rules to determine all who are entitled to succeed, and who will be favored. This has led sometimes to an order of succession that balances branches of

896-415: A past or current monarch exclusively through the male line of descent: descendants through females were ineligible to inherit unless no males of the patrilineage remained alive. In this form of succession, the succession is reserved first to all the male dynastic descendants of all the eligible branches by order of primogeniture , then upon total extinction of these male descendants to a female member of

1008-537: A series of civil wars and the formation of a pretender rival dynasty which still exists. Generally, hereditary monarchies that operate under the Salic law also use primogeniture among male descendants in the male line to determine the rightful successor, although in earlier history agnatic seniority was more usual than primogeniture. Fiefs and titles granted "in tail male" or to "heirs male" follow this primogenitural form of succession. (Those granted to "heirs male of

1120-685: Is Marjorie, Countess of Carrick , mother of Robert the Bruce , who was the Countess of Carrick in her own right. A similar system was practised in many of the kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent from the Middle Ages to the Indian independence movement . In many of these kingdoms, adoption was allowed from a relative if a monarch did not have children, and the adopted child could succeed to the throne at

1232-557: Is also likely to go extinct soon as Michael only has a daughter and the only other male is his cousin Prince Wilhelm Ernst (b. 10 August 1946), whose son died childless in 2018. These two represent the last non- morganatic descendants of William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar . The remaining four males in this line are the Barons of Heygendorff . The situation is even worse for Konrad, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (b. 14 April 1952), who

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1344-412: Is applied to indicate which relative of the previous monarch, or other person, has the strongest claim to assume the throne when the vacancy occurs. Often, the line of succession is restricted to persons of the blood royal (but see morganatic marriage ), that is, to those legally recognized as born into or descended from the reigning dynasty or a previous sovereign. The persons in line to succeed to

1456-589: Is mature enough, a female heir is usually determined "pragmatically", by proximity to the last monarch, like Boariks of the Caucasian Huns or Tamiris of Massagetes in Middle Asia were selected. The lateral monarch is generally elected after the leadership throne becomes vacant. In the early years of the Mongol empire, the death of the ruling monarchs, Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan , immediately stopped

1568-449: Is no limitation to "heirs of the body". There are other kinds of inheritance rules if the heritage can be divided: heirs portioners and partible inheritance . In hereditary monarchies the order of succession determines who becomes the new monarch when the incumbent sovereign dies or otherwise vacates the throne. Such orders of succession, derived from rules established by law or tradition, usually specify an order of seniority, which

1680-536: Is not a full succession, but a caretaker chosen by succession criteria assumes some or all of the responsibilities, but not the formal office, of the position. For example, when the position of President of India becomes vacant, the Vice-President of India temporarily carries out the functions of the presidency until a successor is elected ; in contrast, when the position of President of the Philippines

1792-667: Is sometimes used as a gloss for "pragmatic" successions in Europe; it had somewhat more standing during the Middle Ages everywhere in Europe. In Outremer it was often used to choose regents, and it figured in some of the succession disputes over the Kingdom of Jerusalem . It was also recognized in that kingdom for the succession of fiefs, under special circumstances: if a fief was lost to the Saracens and subsequently re-conquered, it

1904-547: Is sought in the general population by certain criteria considered to indicate that the reincarnated Dalai Lama has been found , a process which typically takes two to four years to find the infant boy. Saxe-Coburg Saxe-Coburg ( German : Sachsen-Coburg ) was a duchy held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in today's Bavaria , Germany . When Henry IV, Count of Henneberg – Schleusingen, died in 1347,

2016-511: Is that dynasts may, from early youth, receive grooming, education, protection, resources and retainers suitable for the future dignity and responsibilities associated with the crown of a particular nation or people. Such systems may also enhance political stability by establishing clear, public expectations about the sequence of rulers, potentially reducing competition and channeling cadets into other roles or endeavors. Some hereditary monarchies have had unique selection processes, particularly upon

2128-420: Is the normal way of passing on hereditary positions, and also provides immediate continuity after an unexpected vacancy in cases where office-holders are chosen by election : the office does not have to remain vacant until a successor is elected. In some cases the successor takes up the full role of the previous office-holder, as in the case of the presidency of many countries; in other non-hereditary cases there

2240-434: Is the office of heir-apparent, or second-in-command, among the (royal) Gaelic patrilineal dynasties of Ireland , Scotland and Mann , to succeed to the chieftainship or to the kingship . Historically the tanist was chosen from among the heads of the roydammna or "righdamhna" (literally, those of kingly material ) or, alternatively, among all males of the sept , and elected by them in full assembly. The eligibility

2352-574: Is the sole non-morganatic male member of the Saxe-Meiningens and unmarried. His nephew and grandnephew are morganatic as are the Barons von Saalfeld . They are the only remaining descendants of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen . In the very likely event of the extinction of these two senior branches, the sole representation of the Ernestine Wettins will pass to the descendants of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , who are

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2464-426: Is vacant, the Vice-President of the Philippines outright assumes the presidency itself for the rest of the term. Organizations without hereditary or statutory order of succession require succession planning if power struggles prompted by power vacuums are to be avoided. It is often the case that the inheritance of a hereditary title, office or the like, is indivisible: when the previous holder ceases to hold

2576-489: The Division of Erfurt by which John William added the districts of Altenburg , Gotha and Meiningen to Saxe-Weimar. When John William died a year later, his older son, Frederick William I received Altenburg, Gotha and Meiningen with the title of Duke of Saxe-Altenburg , and with his several sons founding the first Saxe-Altenburg line, while Saxe-Weimar went to the younger son John II. John Casimir (died heirless 1633),

2688-845: The House of Wettin . After losing the Schmalkaldic War in 1547, the Ernestines had their territorial possessions greatly reduced in Thuringia . Because the Districts of the Coburger Land were assigned to Duke John Ernest as “equipment” ( Ausstattung ), they remained unaffected by the measures against the outlawed Electors. John Ernest settled in the city of Coburg to build the Ehrenburg as his new residential palace, which

2800-523: The King of France . When the crown of Scotland became vacant in September 1290 on the death of the seven-year-old Queen Margaret , 13 claimants to the throne came forward. Where the line of succession is clear, it has sometimes happened that a pretender with a weak or spurious claim but military or political power usurps the throne. In recent years researchers have found significant connections between

2912-585: The Netherlands ( since 1983 ), Norway ( since 1990 ), Belgium ( since 1991 ), Denmark ( since 2009 ), Luxembourg ( since 2011 ), and in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms ( since 2013 ). The Salic law , or agnatic succession, restricted the pool of potential heirs to males of the patrilineage, and altogether excluded females of the dynasty and their descendants from

3024-830: The Reichsgau system was used instead and Gau Thuringia administered the Free State and Gau Bayreuth administered northern Bavaria. Between 1945 and 1990 Thuringia was in the Soviet Occupation zone and then East Germany while Bavaria was in the American Occupation zone and then West Germany . On 13 February 1991 Georg Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Altenburg died and with him the line of Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen and Saxe-Altenburg went extinct. His claim passed to Michael, Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (b. 15 November 1946). This line

3136-507: The Royal Family of Belgium renounced their German titles in 1917 and 1920 respectively. Although whether this actually removed them from all Ernestine successions has been debated. All the surviving agnatic lines however include marriages that are (at least highly likely) morganatic. If only all the renounciations are ignored this adds Prince Richard , Prince Edward and Prince Michael before Simeon II and Albert II of Belgium after

3248-572: The United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms (although, during the Middle Ages, Scotland also supported tanistry and proximity of blood , both through the male and female lines, due to the intermingling of Pictish and Gaelic succession rules). With respect to hereditary titles , it is usually the rule everywhere in Scotland and baronies by writ in the United Kingdom, but usually these English baronies by writ go into abeyance when

3360-722: The Altenburgs and the Weimars, this doubled the Saxe-Weimar possessions and made it again feasible to be divided. In c.  1640 , the remaining brothers finally divided their patrimony, William remaining in Weimar, Albert (Albrecht) receiving seat as Duke of Eisenach and Ernest (by-named "the Pious") also got his share and became known as Duke of Gotha . Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (1601–1675) had married Elisabeth Sophie,

3472-703: The Baroque style eventually led to the ruin of the finances of the Principality, which could not be prevented by the minting of inferior coins. The Baroque Prince, Duke Albert, died in 1699 without any surviving descendants. This was followed by the usual inheritance disputes. Saxe-Hildburghausen got the District of Sonnefeld in 1707. Between Bernhard I of Saxe-Meiningen and his youngest brother John Ernest IV of Saxe-Saalfeld , strife lasted for thirty-five years, ending only in 1735 with several interventions from

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3584-605: The Bulgarian line. If the equality of marriage is also ignored, this adds a further nine Britons before the Bulgarians and six Belgians after them to the list of Wettins. The most beneficial interpretations give the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha line 33 living non-morganatic agnates and the most restrictive gives it only five, who were born in 1937, 1943, 1975, 1977 and 2015. The Mountbatten-Windsors are not considered among

3696-765: The Circle gave the ruler of a state a vote in the Imperial Diet . In the 1792 session of the Imperial Diet , the Duke of Saxe-Weimar was also the Duke of Saxe-Eisenach, and had two votes (as well as three-eights of all the Ernestine lands); the Duke of Saxe-Altenburg was also the Duke of Saxe-Gotha (as senior heir of both Duke John Philip and Duke Ernest the Pious), and had two votes; and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg had one vote. The other Ernestine duchies were never members of

3808-632: The Ducal Ernestines died out in male line. Eventually, primogeniture became the rule for inheritance in the Ernestine duchies, but not before the number of Ernestine duchies had risen to ten at one point. By 1826 the remaining Ernestine duchies were the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (approximately three-eighths of all the Ernestine lands), and the ("Elisabeth-Sophie-line") duchies of Saxe-Gotha -Altenburg, Saxe-Meiningen , Saxe-Hildburghausen and Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld . In 1826, Ernest

3920-688: The Duke but they maintained their own state authorities. Duke Frederick William II died in 1669, followed three years later by his only son, Hereditary Prince Frederick William III , bringing the line of Saxe-Altenburg to extinction. Three quarters of the Altenburger area, including the Coburger Land, were secured, with the Gotha Division Treaty ( Gothaer Teilungsvertrag ) of 1672, for the new sovereign, Ernest I “the Pious” , of Saxe-Gotha , who died in 1675. The administration of Saxe-Gotha

4032-728: The Emperor, Duke John Frederick was released from prison, and given back the Landgraviate of Thuringia. He established his capital in Weimar , and started a university at Jena (to replace the one in Wittenberg lost to Maurice) before his death in 1554. The three sons of John Frederick I shared the territory, with John Frederick II becoming head (and briefly, 1554–1556, holding the electoral title) with his seats in Eisenach and Coburg,

4144-570: The Ernestine Wettins at all due to both their cognatic descent and the fact Elizabeth II was likely a morganatic daughter due to her mother being the daughter of an earl . Succession law An order , line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility . This sequence may be regulated through descent or by statute. Hereditary government form differs from elected government . An established order of succession

4256-541: The Ernestine lands, conquered Albertine Saxony and proceeded to invade Bohemia (held directly by Emperor Charles V's brother Ferdinand and that latter's wife Anna of Bohemia and Hungary ). Charles' forces drove the Schmalkaldic League troops back and decisively defeated them in the Battle of Mühlberg (1547). John Frederick was wounded and taken prisoner. The Emperor condemned him to death as a rebel, but stayed

4368-719: The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI , in Vienna . Saxe-Meiningen received the District of Neuhaus am Rennweg and the jurisdiction of Sonneberg while Saxe-Saalfeld was united with the remaining territories of Saxe-Coburg to become Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld . In 1753, it grew with the one-third of the Duchy of Saxe-Römhild , which had expired with the death of its only Duke, the childless Henry, Duke of Saxe-Römhild . Duke Johann Ernest of Saxe-Saalfeld died in 1729. Afterwards, his sons Christian Ernest II and Francis Josias ruled

4480-666: The Imperial Circle, and did not have the right to vote in the Imperial Diet as the five duchies that the other duchies did (for example, the principalities of Meiningen and Hildburghausen were such; that was one reason why Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen exchanged his patrimony to that of Altenburg). However they were all autonomous and ultimately, with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire on 6 August 1806, that issue became irrelevant. Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , Saxe-Meiningen , and Saxe-Altenburg were

4592-778: The Lutheran Reformation, while the Emperor, Charles V , avoided direct confrontation with the Protestant princes, as he needed their support in his struggle with France . Charles eventually came to terms with France, and turned his attention to the Protestant lands of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1546 the Schmalkaldic League raised an army. Elector John Frederick led the league's troops south, but shortly thereafter John Frederick's cousin, Duke Maurice of Albertine Saxony (Meissen), invaded Ernestine Saxony. John Frederick hurried back to Saxony, expelled Maurice from

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4704-598: The Mongols' western campaigns because of the upcoming elections. In East Asia, the lateral succession system is first recorded in the pre-historical period starting with the late Shang dynasty 's Wai Bing succeeding his brother Da Ding , and then in connection with a conquest by the Zhou of the Shang, when Wu Ding was succeeded by his brother Zu Geng in 1189 BC and then by another brother Zu Jia in 1178 BC. A drawback of

4816-606: The Pious' senior line of Gotha-Altenburg became extinct. The daughter of its penultimate duke had been married with the Duke of Coburg and Saalfeld, and the couple had two sons – the younger of whom was to become Albert, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom. The patrimony of Gotha-Altenburg was divided between the other three lines stemming from Ernest the Pious and Elisabeth Sophie, causing changes in nomenclature: onwards, they were Saxe-Meiningen -Hildburghausen, Saxe-Altenburg (the former Hildburghausen line) and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha –

4928-646: The Travancore throne is still determined by matrilinear succession. The Akans of Ghana and the Ivory Coast, West Africa have similar matrilineal succession and as such Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II , Asantehene inherited the Golden Stool (the throne) through his mother (the Asantehemaa ) Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II . Ultimogeniture is an order of succession where the subject is succeeded by

5040-529: The Weimar Republic by splitting Gotha and Coburg. On 1 July 1920 the Free State of Coburg was joined into the Free State of Bavaria . The other four states were merged on 1 May 1920 alongside Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen into the Free State of Thuringia . This reorganisation has remained to the present day, although it was de facto nonexistent during Nazi Rule , when

5152-401: The accession of a new dynasty. Imperial France established male primogeniture within the descent of Napoleon I , but failing male issue the constitution allowed the emperors to choose who among their brothers or nephews would follow them upon the throne. The Kingdom of Italy was designated a secundogeniture for the second surviving son of Napoleon I Bonaparte but, failing such, provided for

5264-592: The basis of future Ernestine lines, and both have surviving male lineage up to today. After the division of the inheritance of the first Altenburg line, the senior, Weimar, line held somewhat less than half of the Ernestine lands, and the junior, Gotha-Altenburg, line held more than half. Gotha-Altenburg line subdivided more and Weimar line not so much, and ultimately all the said Weimar line's possessions were concentrated in primogenitural hands in 1741 and in 1815 were raised to grand ducal title of Weimar. Duke Ernest of Gotha and Duchess Elisabeth Sophie's numerous sons divided

5376-414: The body" are limited to the male-line descendants of the grantee; those to "heirs male general" may be inherited, after the extinction of the grantee's male-line descendants, by the male-line descendants of his father, paternal grandfather, etc.) Agnatic-cognatic (or semi-Salic) succession, prevalent in much of Europe since ancient times, is the restriction of succession to those descended from or related to

5488-533: The country together but in different residences. Christian Ernest remained in Saalfeld while Francis Josias chose Coburg as his residence and his decision would stand until the end of the monarchy in 1918. In 1745, Francis Josias inherited parts of Saxe-Coburg from his brother. In 1747, he was able to anchor his birthright ( primogeniture ) in the Line of Succession Laws and confer it on his rapidly growing family for

5600-449: The death of the monarch. ( Shahu I adopted Rajaram II who ruled as king and he in turn adopted Shahu II who ruled as the next king. Princess Bharani Thirunal Parvathy Bayi, the mother of the reigning Queen Gowri Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore , had been adopted). Often, the wife or mother of a childless king were allowed to succeed to the throne as well and allowed to rule as queen regnants in their own right, until their death, after which

5712-434: The duchy among his three sons. In 1596 the brothers agreed to split the lands between them. After Frederick William's death, the land was split between his young sons and his brother. After the death of John Casimir without heirs, the inheritance fell to his younger brother. After the death of John Ernest without heirs, his principality was divided between Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Altenburg. Elector Ernest died in 1486, and

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5824-652: The duchy to his sons John I and Albert II , who gradually divided Saxony into the duchies of Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg with definite effect of 1296. Saxe-Wittenberg was recognized as the electorate of Saxony in the Golden Bull of 1356 . When the last duke of Saxe-Wittenberg died without heir in 1422, the Emperor Sigismund gave the duchy to Frederick IV of the house of Wettin , Margrave of Meissen and Landgrave of Thuringia, who thereby became Frederick I, Elector of Saxony . The name Saxony

5936-497: The dynasty. The only current monarchy that operated under semi-Salic law until recently is Luxembourg , which changed to absolute primogeniture in 2011. Former monarchies that operated under semi-Salic law included Austria (later Austria-Hungary ), Bavaria , Hanover , Württemberg , Russia , Saxony , Tuscany , and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies . If a female descendant should take the throne, she will not necessarily be

6048-567: The early death of their youngest brother, there was a preliminary division of the Ernestine properties, in which the surviving brothers agreed to have a “ Mutschierung ”, i. e., a change in government, every three years. John Frederick II reigned in Gotha, Eisenach and Coburg. But he failed in his efforts to regain the rank of the Elector for himself and his House, fell into conflict with the Emperor ( Grumbachsche Händel , or “ Grumbach Feud ”), and

6160-399: The elective succession of the male descendants of Siol Alpein ( House of Alpin ) until the accession of King Malcolm II in 1005, who introduced the concept of hereditary monarchy in Scotland. He did so to try to eliminate the strife caused by the elective law , which encouraged rival claimants to fight for the throne. The earlier Pictish kingdoms had allowed female-line succession to

6272-428: The emperor's stepson, Eugène de Beauharnais , to succeed, even though the latter had no blood relationship to the House of Bonaparte . Serbia's monarchy was hereditary by primogeniture for male descendants in the male line of Prince Alexander I , but upon extinction of that line, the reigning king could choose any among his male relatives of the House of Karađorđević . In Romania, on the other hand, upon extinction of

6384-449: The execution because he did not want to take the time to capture Wittenberg, defended by John Frederick's wife Sybille of Cleves . To save his life, John Frederick conceded in the Capitulation of Wittenberg to resign the Electorate and the government of his country in favor of Maurice of the Albertine Saxony, and his punishment was changed into imprisonment for life. When the newly minted Elector Maurice, having again changed sides, attacked

6496-429: The expansion of his baroque residence in Coburg began. He based his life on the customs of his royal and princely contemporaries and tried to imitate their households on a smaller scale in Coburg. His court library consisted of 4,757 volumes. His plans to raise the Gymnasium Casimirianum to the rank of university failed because of the tight finances. The reconstruction of the Schloss Ehrenburg, burned in 1690, in

6608-410: The governance of the clan were built upon descent from a similar ancestor. The office was noted from the beginning of recorded history in Ireland, and probably pre-dates it. A story about Cormac mac Airt refers to his eldest son as his tanist. Following his murder by a member of the Deisi , another roydammna , Eochaid Gonnat , succeeded as king. The royal succession in Celtic Scotland was limited to

6720-496: The government of their Principality. In 1596, the Principality was cut in half to give John Ernest his own Duchy of Saxe-Eisenach and John Casimir remained in Coburg to reign alone. His remaining territories were the Districts of Coburg, with the jurisdictions of Lauter , Rodach and Gestungshausen ; Heldburg with the jurisdictions of Hildburghausen, Römhild , Eisfeld , Schalkau , Sonneberg , Neustadt bei Coburg , Neuhaus am Rennweg , and Mönchröden ; and Sonnefeld . Under

6832-429: The grantee, according to the same rules, upon the death of each subsequent heir. Each person who inherits according to these rules is considered an heir at law of the grantee and the inheritance may not pass to someone who is not a natural, lawful descendant or relative of the grantee. Collateral relatives, who share some or all of the grantee's ancestry, but do not directly descend from the grantee, may inherit if there

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6944-430: The houses of Reuss and Schwarzburg led to all of Thuringia becoming a tangle of small states from the late 15th century until the early 20th century. Count Bernhard of Anhalt , youngest son of Albert "the Bear" (1106–1170), inherited parts of the old Saxon duchy, primarily around Lauenburg and Wittenberg , in 1180. He had two sons, Albert and Henry. Albert inherited the Duchy of Saxony . In 1260 Albert bequeathed

7056-454: The inheritance (five-eighths of all Ernestine lands) initially to seven parts: Gotha-Altenburg, Coburg, Meiningen, Römhild, Eisenberg, Hildburghausen and Saalfeld. Of them, Coburg, Römhild and Eisenberg did not survive past that one generation and were apportioned between the four persevering lines. The Ernestine territories in Thuringia were thus divided and recombined many times as Dukes left more than one son to inherit, and as various lines of

7168-442: The inheritance of property were passed from the maternal uncle to nephews or nieces. The right of the child was with the maternal uncle or the mother's family rather than the father or the father's family. Through this bloodline, surnames, titles, properties, and everything of the child are inherited from his uncle or mother. Almost all the kingdoms in Kerala practised this system, including the Kingdom of Calicut , Kingdom of Cochin ,

7280-427: The kingdom of Kolathunadu and the Kingdom of Valluvanad , to name a few. The Arakkal kingdom followed a similar matrilineal system of descent: the eldest member of the family, whether male or female, became its head and ruler; the male rulers were called Ali Rajah and the female rulers were called as Arakkal Beevis. Usually after one king, his nephew through his sister succeeded to the throne, and his own son receives

7392-456: The last male titleholder dies leaving more than one surviving sister or more than one descendant in the legitimate female line of the original titleholder. In England, Fiefs or titles granted "in tail general" or to "heirs general" follow this system for sons, but daughters are considered equal co-heirs to each other, which can result in abeyance. In the medieval period, actual practice varied with local custom. While women could inherit manors, power

7504-464: The lateral succession is that, while ensuring a most competent leadership for the moment, the system inherently created derelict princely lines not eligible for succession. Any scion of an eligible heir who did not live long enough to ascend to the throne was cast aside as not eligible, creating a pool of discontented pretenders called Tegin in Turkic and Izgoi in Rus dynastic lines. The unsettled pool of derelict princes would eventually bring havoc to

7616-418: The male line descended from Carol I of Romania , the constitution stipulated that the male line of his brother, Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern , would inherit the throne and, failing other male line issue of that family, a prince of a "Western European" dynasty was to be chosen by the Romanian king and parliament. By contrast, older European monarchies tended to rely upon succession criteria that only called to

7728-490: The middle brother John William staying in Weimar ( Saxe-Weimar ), and the youngest, John Frederick III (namesake of the eldest brother, which has caused much confusion in history writing) establishing residence in Gotha ( Saxe-Gotha ). When John Frederick III of Gotha died unmarried and heirless in 1565, John William of Weimar tried to claim succession to Saxe-Gotha, but the sons of the imprisoned John Frederick II entered their own claim. The contenders reached agreement in 1572 in

7840-416: The multiple divisions of the Frankish Empire under the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, and similarly Gavelkind in the British Isles. In seniority successions, a monarch's or fiefholder's next sibling (almost always brother) , succeeds; not his children. And, if the royal house is more extensive, (male) cousins and so forth succeed, in order of seniority, which may depend upon actual age or upon

7952-448: The older son of John Frederick II, and John Ernest (died heirless 1638), the younger son of John Frederick II, received together the territory of Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach , but were appointed a legal guardian because they were minors. In 1596 the brothers agreed to split the duchy into Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Eisenach . Johann II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (or John II), died young leaving eight surviving sons (including Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar ,

8064-524: The only child of Johann Philipp, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Gotha (1597–1638), the eldest son of Frederick William I. When Elisabeth Sophie's cousin Frederick William III, Duke of Altenburg, died unmarried 1672, the entire first Altenburg line became extinct in male line, opening a succession strife. Ultimately, Ernest and Elisabeth Sophie's sons received the lion's share of Altenburg inheritance, on basis of Duke John Philip's testament (as it

8176-492: The only remaining duchies (Weimar-Eisenach was the merger of the personal union of Weimar and Eisenach into one title since 1809, being raised to a Grand Duchy in 1815, and officially Grand Duchy of Saxony since 1903) at the time of the German Revolution of 1918 . Their legal privileges and status as Dukes were abolished under the new republican regime and remain so. The four duchies became five constituent states of

8288-446: The past called cognatic primogeniture) the monarch's eldest son and his descendants take precedence over his siblings and their descendants. Elder sons take precedence over younger sons, but all sons take precedence over daughters. A female member of a dynasty can succeed to the throne if and only if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants. Children represent their deceased ancestors, and

8400-442: The possessions of the House of Henneberg – Schleusingen were divided between his widow, Jutta of Brandenburg-Salzwedel, and Henry's younger brother, John, and Jutta was given the so-called “ neues Herrschaft ” ("new lordship"), with Coburg among other properties. The death of Jutta six years later was followed by the division of the new Herrschaft amongst three of her daughters. The second daughter, Catherine of Henneberg ,

8512-512: The present Saxe-Coburg-Gothas led by Andreas, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 21 March 1943), the House of Windsor , the Royal Family of Belgium and the Royal Family of Bulgaria . Francis and his nephew Ludwig Frederick Emil von Coburg are also ancestors to morganatic lines. Prince Andreas has two sons and a grandson. The line of succession is usually presumed to then go to the former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria (b. 16 June 1937), who has three sons and seven grandsons, but his marriage to

8624-518: The reign of John Casimir, there was a building boom in Coburg. Above all, he established as the nucleus of Coburger government an administrative apparatus that would survive for a long time after his death and through many wars and political upheavals. Casimir, the founder of the Coburger State, died in 1633. His Principality then fell to his brother, the Duke of Saxe-Eisenach, John Ernest, who

8736-535: The right of his wife, Louise of Hesse . Some cultures pass honours down through the female line. A man's wealth and title are inherited by his sister's children, and his children receive their inheritance from their maternal uncles. In Kerala , southern India, a custom known as Marumakkathayam was practiced by the Nair nobility, the Malabar Muslims and the royal families. Through this system, descent and

8848-620: The senior heiress by primogeniture, but usually the nearest relative to the last male monarch of the dynasty by proximity of blood . Examples are Christian I of Denmark 's succession to Schleswig-Holstein, Maria Theresa of Austria (although her right ultimately was confirmed in consequence of her victory in the War of the Austrian Succession launched over her accession), Marie-Adelaide and Charlotte of Luxembourg , Anne of Brittany , as well as Christian IX of Denmark 's succession in

8960-465: The senior line of descent always takes precedence over the junior line, within each gender. The right of succession belongs to the eldest son of the reigning sovereign (see heir apparent ), and next to the eldest son of the eldest son. This is the system in Spain and Monaco , and was the system used in the ancient kingdoms of England and Scotland and later, the Kingdom of Great Britain and finally,

9072-546: The seniority between their fathers. The rota system , from the Old Church Slavic word for "ladder" or "staircase", was a system of collateral succession practised (though imperfectly) in Kievan Rus' and later Appanage and early Muscovite Russia. In this system, the throne passed not linearly from father to son, but laterally from brother to brother and then to the eldest son of the eldest brother who had held

9184-571: The sons of the defeated John Frederick II. The younger son was John William of Saxe-Weimar, who received, among other properties, the cities of Jena , Altenburg and Saalfeld . Because the elder son, John Frederick II “the Middle” was still in prison for life in Austria, his sons, John Casimir and John Ernest, were given the new Principality of Saxe-Coburg, with Coburg chosen as their residence and “Duke” as their titles. The Principality consisted of

9296-472: The southern and western parts of Thuringia, including the cities of Eisenach , Gotha and Hildburghausen . One of the guardians for the sons was the enemy of their father, Augustus, Elector of Saxony , who supervised their education and who, for his own reasons, began in Coburg a corrupt Regency with Saxon officials from his Electorate. Only after the death of Elector Augustus of Saxony in 1586 were Duke John Casimir and his brother John Ernest able to take over

9408-809: The southernmost part of the Saxon territories. By the Treaty of Leipzig in 1485, the Great Division of the Saxon States ( Großen Sächsischen Landesteilung ) between the Albertine and Ernestine lines, this Coburgish land, together with the greater part of the Landgraviate of Thuringia and the possessions in the Vogtland , was allotted to Ernest, Elector of Saxony , and thus to the Ernestine side of

9520-469: The succession order and dismemberment to the state. When a monarch dies without a clear successor, a succession crisis often ensues, frequently resulting in a war of succession . For example, when King Charles IV of France died, the Hundred Years War erupted between Charles' cousin, Philip VI of France , and Charles' nephew, Edward III of England , to determine who would succeed Charles as

9632-624: The succession, unless there were no living males to inherit. The Salic law applied to the former royal or imperial houses of Albania , France , Italy , Romania , Yugoslavia , and Prussia / German Empire . It currently applies to the house of Liechtenstein , and the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan . In 1830 in Spain the question whether or not the Salic law applied – and therefore, whether Ferdinand VII should be followed by his daughter Isabella or by his brother Charles – led to

9744-517: The third oldest son, the Principality received full sovereignty in the Imperial Confederation. However, the Districts of Coburg, Neustadt bei Coburg, Sonneberg, Mönchröden, Sonnefeld and Neuhaus am Rennweg were considerably smaller than they were before, because Römhild and Hildburghausen were separated to supply the younger brother, the sixth oldest son, who became Ernest II , the first Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Under Duke Albert,

9856-440: The throne and in middle age Scotland, Pictish and Gaelic succession rules were intermingled. Since Malcolm had only daughters, the throne passed to his grandson through his eldest daughter and later, their descendants. The Irish monarchies, for their part, never at any stage allowed for female line succession. Order of succession can be arranged by appointment: either the incumbent monarch or some electoral body appoints an heir or

9968-480: The throne are called " dynasts ". Constitutions, statutes, house laws , and norms may regulate the sequence and eligibility of potential successors to the throne. Historically, the order of succession was sometimes superseded or reinforced by the coronation of a selected heir as co-monarch during the life of the reigning monarch. Examples are Henry the Young King and the heirs of elective monarchies , such as

10080-426: The throne descendants of past monarchs according to fixed rules rooted in one or another pattern of laws or traditions. In hereditary succession, the heir is automatically determined by pre-defined rules and principles. It can be further subdivided into horizontal and vertical methods, the former favoring siblings, whereas vertical favors children and grandchildren of the holder. In male-preference primogeniture (in

10192-529: The throne passed to the next closest relative. An early example of this is Queen Didda of Kashmir , who ascended the throne of Kashmir in 980 CE after the death of her grandson and ruled until 1003 CE. Another example is Qudsia Begum who became the Nawab of Bhopal in 1819 CE after the death of her husband and ruled until 1837 CE. Other famous queens include Rudrama Devi , Keladi Chennamma , Ahilyabai Holkar , Velu Nachiyar and Gowri Lakshmi Bayi . Razia Sultana

10304-598: The throne. The system was begun by Yaroslav the Wise , who assigned each of his sons a principality based on seniority. When the Grand Prince died, the next most senior prince moved to Kiev and all others moved to the principality next up the ladder. The Tanistry is a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. In this system the Tanist ( Irish : Tánaiste ; Scottish Gaelic : Tànaiste ; Manx : Tanishtey )

10416-660: The title, it is inherited by a single individual. Many titles and offices are not hereditary (such as democratic state offices) and they are subject to different rules of succession. A hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body , or may also pass to collateral lines, if there are no heirs of the body, depending on the succession rules. These concepts are in use in English inheritance law. The rules may stipulate that eligible heirs are heirs male or heirs general – see further primogeniture (agnatic, cognatic, and also equal). Certain types of property pass to

10528-466: The types of rules governing succession in monarchies and autocracies and the frequency with which coups or succession crises occur. In Tibetan Buddhism , it is believed that the holders of some high offices such as the Dalai Lama are reincarnations of the incumbent: the order of succession is simply that an incumbent is followed by a reincarnation of himself. When an incumbent dies, his successor

10640-580: The use of the title King of the Romans for the Habsburg emperors. In the partially elective system of tanistry , the heir or tanist was elected from the qualified males of the royal family. Different monarchies use different rules to determine the line of succession. Hereditary monarchies have used a variety of methods and algorithms to derive the order of succession among possible candidates related by blood or marriage. An advantage of employing such rules

10752-611: The younger son, shared governance of the Wettin lands. In 1485, by the Leipziger division , the brothers split the Wettin possessions, with Ernest receiving northern Meissen, southern Thuringia, and Wittenberg, and Albert receiving northern Thuringia and southern Meissen. A study of the list of members of the House of Wettin will reveal many of the different strands of the ducal house and their possessions. In 1554, John Frederick I split

10864-628: The youngest line (originally Saalfeld line) receiving the "maternal" seat of Gotha which had been the seat of Ernest the Pious, progenitor of all these seven lines. All of the Ernestine duchies ended with the abolition of the monarchy and princely states in Germany shortly after the end of World War I . Five of the Ernestine duchies were members of the Upper Saxon Circle of the Holy Roman Empire: Membership in

10976-435: The youngest son (or youngest child). This serves the circumstances where the youngest is "keeping the hearth", taking care of the parents and continuing at home, whereas elder children have had time to succeed "out in the world" and provide for themselves. Proximity of blood is a system wherein the person closest in degree of kinship to the sovereign succeeds, preferring males over females and elder over younger siblings. This

11088-472: The youngest, the famed general) and a will ordering them to rule jointly. When the eldest of them, John Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar died in action (1626) unmarried, two more of his brothers were already deceased without children, leaving five dukes of Saxe-Weimar, with Wilhelm the eldest. Two more died within fifteen years, including Bernhard in 1639, without heirs. In 1638, the senior Coburg-Eisenach line became extinct and its possessions were divided between

11200-540: Was a rare example of a queen who succeeded her father even when her brothers were alive. She was the reigning queen of the Delhi Sultanate from 1236 to 1240 CE. Absolute primogeniture is a law in which the eldest child of the sovereign succeeds to the throne, regardless of gender, and females (and their descendants) enjoy the same right of succession as males. This is currently the system in Sweden ( since 1980 ),

11312-742: Was also childless. During this time, the Coburger Land was hit hard by the Thirty Years War as the staging area for numerous armies. The population fell from 55,000 to 22,000. In 1638, the Ernestine line of Saxe-Eisenach died out and its territories were divided between the Duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Altenburg. By drawing lots, the Coburger Land fell in 1640, with the Districts of Coburg, Sonnefeld , Sonneberg , Neuhaus am Rennweg, Neustadt bei Coburg, Hildburghausen and Römhild to Frederick William II of Saxe-Altenburg . The principalities of Altenburg and Coburg were ruled in personal union by

11424-576: Was awarded the southeastern part of the Coburgish land. After their wedding in 1346, Catherine's husband, Frederick III , the Margrave of Meissen from the House of Wettin , asked for his wife's dowry, the Coburgish land called the Pflege Coburg ; but his father-in-law resisted the devolution, and Frederick III could not touch it until after the death of Jutta in 1353. The Coburgish land was

11536-523: Was based on descent from a king to a few degrees of proximity. Usually descent from the male lines of a king was the norm, however in Scotland, descent through the female lines of a king was also accepted, possibly because of an intermingling with the Pictish succession rules. An example of this is King Eochaid who claimed the Scottish throne as the son of the daughter of Kenneth I . The composition and

11648-628: Was eventually outlawed and imprisoned until his death. His rule initially fell to his brother, John William, who had participated in the Reichsexekution on the side of Augustus, Elector of Saxony , but it was returned, in the Erfurter Teilung (“Erfurter Division”) of 1572, to the sons of John Frederick. With the Erfurter Division Treaty of 1572 the remaining lands were eventually and forcibly divided between

11760-525: Was later also used and expanded by various Dukes of Saxe-Coburg. When John Ernest died childless in 1553, the former Elector John Frederick I was now only the Duke of Saxony, just released from prison only to die in 1554. The Coburger Land was given to Elector John Frederick II “the Middle” as his share of the inheritance. He reigned from Gotha together with his brothers John William , residing in Weimar , and John Frederick III “the Younger”. After

11872-587: Was succeeded by his brother, John the Steadfast (1525–1532). John was a leader in the Schmalkaldic League of Protestant princes in the Holy Roman Empire . John died in 1532 and was succeeded by his son John Frederick I . For the first ten years of his reign, John Frederick shared the rule of Ernestine Saxony with his stepbrother, John Ernest , titularly Duke of Saxe-Coburg , who died childless. John Frederick increasingly hardened his support of

11984-809: Was succeeded by his son, Frederick the Wise . Leipzig, the economic center of Saxony, as well as the seat of the only university in Saxony, was located in Albertine Saxony. Wanting a university in his lands, for example, to educate civil servants and pastors, Frederick founded the University of Wittenberg in 1502. It was there that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses. Frederick protected Luther, refusing to extradite him to Rome for trial. Frederick, like other German princes, allowed Lutheran reforms to be implemented in his domain. Frederick III died in 1525; he

12096-459: Was then generally applied to all of the Wettin's domains, including those in Thuringia, because Saxony was a ducal title, the highest they possessed, and all house members used it, although many of them held lands only in Thuringia. Frederick I was succeeded by his son, Frederick II . After the death of Frederick II in 1464, his oldest son, Ernest , became elector, and Ernest and Duke Albert ,

12208-438: Was to be assigned to the heir in proximity of blood of the last fief-holder. In Scotland, Robert de Brus tried to claim the Scottish crown by order of proximity. He was not successful, but his grandson later successfully claimed the crown as Robert I of Scotland . In some societies, a monarchy or a fief was inherited in a way that all entitled heirs had a right to a share of it. The most prominent examples of this practice are

12320-471: Was ultimately recognized that the Salic law does not prevent an agnate to will all his possessions to those other agnates of the house he desires to make his heirs, leaving other agnates without; and if those favored agnates also happened to be the testator's son-in-law and maternal grandsons, that is in no way prohibited), but a portion (one-fourth of the original Altenburg moiety) passed to the Saxe-Weimar branch. These two lines: Weimar and Gotha(-Altenburg) form

12432-583: Was undertaken by his eldest son, Frederick I , at the request of his father, together with his six other brothers. Because the trial of the common administration of the territories failed at the Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha, the inheritance had to be distributed on 24 February 1680 among the seven brothers. The second eldest son of Ernst I “the Pious” of Saxe-Gotha, Albrecht, received the Principality of Saxe-Coburg. Like Saxe-Gotha under Duke Frederick and Saxe-Meiningen under Duke Bernhard I ,

12544-432: Was usually exercised by their husbands ( jure uxoris ) or their sons ( jure matris ). However, in Scotland, Salic law or any of its variations have never been practised, and all the hereditary titles are inherited through male-preference primogeniture, where in the extinction of a male line, the eldest sister automatically receives the titles, and rules in her own right, not in the right of her son. A famous example of this

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