Succession to the Danish throne

The Danish Act of Succession,[1] adopted on 5 June 1953, restricts the throne to those descended from Christian X and his wife, Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, through approved marriages.

Further, when approving a marriage, the monarch can impose conditions that must be met in order for any resulting offspring to have succession rights.

If there is no eligible person(s) to inherit the throne, the Danish Parliament (the Folketing) has the right to elect a new monarch and determine a line of succession.

The consent to Princess Benedikte's marriage to Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg in 1968 was given on the condition that their children (and further descendants) would have to take up permanent residence in Denmark during the age of mandatory education if they were to retain their succession rights.

Before the 1953 Act, the heir presumptive to the throne was Hereditary Prince Knud, the King's younger brother.

As she was marrying a foreign ruler, although he was himself a prince of Denmark, consent to the marriage was given on the condition that Anne-Marie renounced her and her descendants' rights to the Danish throne.

Upon their birth, the twins assumed the fourth and fifth place in the line of succession, according to the absolute primogeniture principle adopted, thereby not giving Prince Vincent precedence over his older sister Princess Isabella.