It was jointly adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates, convened in Örebro on 26 September 1810, and Charles XIII, as a logical consequence following the election on 21 August of Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as Crown Prince.

This happened at a tumultuous time for Sweden, as only one year earlier the former king, Gustav IV Adolf (and his sons) had been deposed and replaced by his childless uncle, Charles XIII.

The Act in the current version specifies that: If any of these provisions are violated: all rights of succession for the person concerned and all descendants are lost.

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.

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.