Crown prince

Crown prince
"Crown Princess" redirects here. For the ship, see Crown Princess (ship).
Throngs before the Imperial Palace in Japan awaiting the appearance of the Crown Prince Hirohito for the recent proclamation of his official recognition as the heir apparent to the Japanese Imperial Throne -- New York Times, 1916.

A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess.

The term is now borne as a title only in Thailand and the Scandinavian monarchies;[citation needed] but it may also be used generically to refer to the person or position of the heir apparent in other kingdoms. However, heirs apparent to non-imperial and non-royal monarchies (i.e., wherein the hereditary sovereign holds a title below that of king/queen, e.g., grand duke or prince), crown prince is not used as a title, although it is sometimes used as a synonym for heir apparent.

In Europe, where primogeniture governs succession to all monarchies except those of the Papacy and Andorra, the eldest son (Spain) or eldest child (Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, and Sweden) of the current monarch fills the role of crown prince or princess, depending upon whether females of the dynasty enjoy personal succession rights. The eldest living child of a monarch is sometimes not the heir apparent or crown prince, because that position can be held by a descendant of a deceased older child who, by "right of representation", inherits the same place in the line of succession that would be held by the ancestor if he or she were still living (e.g., Carl Gustaf, Duke of Jämtland was de facto Crown Prince of Sweden from 1950 to 1973, as the senior grandson by male primogeniture of King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, although the former Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland was Gustaf VI's eldest living son, and Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland his eldest living dynastic son during those years).

In some monarchies, those of the Middle East for example, in which primogeniture is not the decisive factor in dynastic succession, a person may not possess the title or status of crown prince by right of birth, but may obtain (and lose) it as a result of an official designation made on some other legal or traditional basis, e.g., former Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan.

Compare heir apparent and heir presumptive. In Scandinavian kingdoms, the heir presumptive to the crown holds a different title than the heir apparent; Hereditary Prince (German: Erbprinz, French: prince héréditaire). That is also the title borne by the heirs apparent of Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, and by the heir or heiress presumptive of Monaco. In the Germanic monarchies abolished in 1918, hereditary prince, rather than crown prince, was also the title borne by the heirs apparent of the kingdoms of Bavaria, Hanover, Saxony, and Württemberg, as well as those of grand duchies, of sovereign duchies and principalities, and of mediatized princely families.

Contents

Christian/Western traditional titles

Many monarchies use or did use unique titles for their heirs apparent, often of historical origin:

Some monarchies have used (although not always de jure) a territorial title for heirs apparent which, though often perceived as a crown princely title, is not automatically hereditary. It generally requires a specific conferral by the sovereign, which may be withheld.

Current and past titles in this category include:

Other specific traditions

Islamic cultures:

  • In Egypt, Prince of the Sa'id, meaning Prince of Upper Egypt
  • In Persia, Qajar dynasty, the full style was Vala Hazrat-i-Humayun Vali Ahad, Shahzada (given name) Mirza, i.e. His August Imperial Highness the Heir Apparent, Prince ...;
  • the above component vali ahad meaning 'successor by virtue of a covenant' (or various forms and etymological derivations) was adopted by many oriental monarchies, even some non-Muslim, e.g. Walet as alternative title for the Nepali (Hindu) royal heir apparent; first used Crown Prince Trailokya in the middle of the nineteenth century, taken from the Mughal title 'Vali Ahad'

Hindu tradition (Indian subcontinent):

  • Yuvaraja was part of the full title in many princely states of India, e.g.
    • in Jammu & Kashmir, the heir apparent was styled Maharaj Kumar Shri Yuvaraj (personal name) Singhji Bahadur
  • Tika
  • Nepal, where the King was styled Maharajadhiraja:
    • the heir apparent was styled: Sri Sri Sri Sri Sri Yuvarajadhiraj ('Young King of Kings', i.e. Crown Prince) (personal name) Bir Bikram Shah Deva;
    • the eldest son of the heir apparent was styled: Sri Sri Sri Sri Sri Nava Yuvaraj ('Young Crown Prince') (personal name) Bir Bikram Shah Deva

East Asian traditions:

  • The cognates of Chinese Chinese Huang Taizi (皇太子, "Great Imperial Son"): Japanese Kōtaishi, Korean Hwangtaeja (황태자), Vietnamese Hoàng Thái Tử -- if a son of the reigning emperor. In case the heir is a grandson, the title Huang Taisun (皇太孫), Kōtaison, Hwangtaeson (황태손), and Hoàng Thái Tôn, literally "Great Imperial Grandson", are used
  • During the Joseon Dynasty in Korea, the crown prince was referred as Dong-gung(동궁, 東宮) due to the location of his residence from the main palace; or wangseja (王世子 왕세자). He was not necessarily the first born son, wonja (元子 원자).

Southeast Asian traditions:

  • Siam Makutrajakuman (สยามมกุฎราชกุมาร) in Thailand since 1886.
  • Krom Phrarajawangboworn Sathanmongkol or Phra Maha Uparaja or commonly called Wang Na (or Front Palace) in Thailand prior to 1886.
  • Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Anom in Yogyakarta sultanate and Surakarta, Indonesia.
  • Raja Muda or Tengku Mahkota in the Malay sultanates of Malaysia.
  • Pengiran Muda Mahkota in Brunei

Equivalents in other cultures:

See also

Sources and references


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Crown Prince — Crown Crown (kroun), n. [OE. corone, coroun, crune, croun, OF. corone, corune, F. couronne, fr. L. corona crown, wreath; akin to Gr. korw nh anything curved, crown; cf. also L. curvus curved, E. curve, curb, Gael. cruinn round, W. crwn. Cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Crown Prince — Crown Princes N COUNT: usu the N in sing; N TITLE A Crown Prince is a prince who will be king of his country when the present king or queen dies. ...the crown prince s palace. ...Sultan Mahmood s son, Crown Prince Ibrahim Mahmood …   English dictionary

  • crown prince — noun count a prince who will become king after the present king or queen dies …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • crown prince — n the son of a king or queen, who is expected to become the next king …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • crown prince — crown′ prince′ n. a male heir apparent to a throne • Etymology: 1785–95 …   From formal English to slang

  • Crown prince — ► NOUN ▪ (in some countries) a male heir to a throne …   English terms dictionary

  • crown prince — n. the male heir apparent to a throne …   English World dictionary

  • crown prince — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms crown prince : singular crown prince plural crown princes a prince who will become king after the present king or queen dies …   English dictionary

  • Crown Prince — Their heir to the throne, ranking in precedence above all other princes in a kingdom. In England, the Prince of Wales was the Crown Prince for most of the high middle ages. This usage continues today both in reference to the Royal house of… …   Medieval glossary

  • crown prince — noun (C) the boy or man who is expected to become the next king: Crown Prince Frederick …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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