Succession and The Constitution
As the firstborn child of the heir apparent, Christian is second-in-line to the Danish throne; at the accession or premature death of his father, Christian will become heir apparent. Since the 16th century, first-born sons of Danish monarchs have traditionally been alternately named Frederik and Christian; Queen Margrethe II, while naturally interrupting this sequence, treated herself as a "Christian" for the purposes of alternation, coming between her father, Frederick IX, and her son, Crown Prince Frederik. Prince Christian will likewise presumably be known as "King Christian XI of Denmark" (following his great-great-grandfather Christian X in that name).
The possibility Mary could be expecting a female child motivated Danish politicians to consider the possibility of adopting absolute primogeniture. Formerly Denmark's throne followed agnatic primogeniture; this was altered by the 1953 Act of Succession, which introduced male-preference cognatic primogeniture, which gives daughters a place in the succession, but behind their brothers. This change allowed the present Queen to become heiress presumptive and eventually inherit the throne. While the Crown Princess was still pregnant with Christian, the Folketing began the lengthy process (which would need in the end the approval of two parliaments and a referendum) to change the Danish constitution to allow absolute primogeniture. The birth of a boy removed some urgency from this drive.
On 11 September 2006, Per Stig Møller, Denmark's Minister for Foreign Affairs, formally wrote and signed a hand-written document confirming Prince Christian's place in the line of succession. The prince's full name, his dates of birth and christening, and the names of his godparents were recorded as dictated by the Royal Law of 1799.
Read more about this topic: Prince Christian Of Denmark
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