Editing Heir apparent (section)

=== Women as heirs apparent ===
In a system of absolute primogeniture that disregards gender, female heirs apparent occur. As succession to titles, positions, or offices in the past most often favoured males, females considered to be an heir apparent were rare. Absolute primogeniture was not practised by any modern monarchy for succession to their thrones until the late twentieth century, with Sweden being the first to adopt absolute primogeniture in 1980 and other Western European monarchies following suit.

Since the adoption of absolute primogeniture by most of the Western European monarchies, examples of female heirs apparent include [[Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden|Crown Princess Victoria]] of Sweden, [[Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange|Princess Catharina-Amalia]] of the Netherlands, and [[Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant|Princess Elisabeth]] of Belgium; they are, respectively, the oldest children of Kings [[Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden|Carl XVI Gustaf]], [[Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands|Willem-Alexander]], and [[Philippe of Belgium|Philippe]]. [[Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway]] is heir apparent to her father, who is heir apparent to the Norwegian throne, and Victoria herself has a female heir apparent in her elder child, [[Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland|Princess Estelle]]. Victoria was not heir apparent from birth (in 1977), but gained the status in 1980 following a change in the [[Swedish Act of Succession]]. Her younger brother [[Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland|Carl Philip]] (born 1979) was thus heir apparent for a few months (and is a rare example of an heir apparent losing this status without a death occurring).

In 2015, pursuant to the 2011 [[Perth Agreement]], the [[Commonwealth realm]]s changed the rules of succession to the 16 thrones of [[Elizabeth II]] to absolute primogeniture, except for male heirs born before the Perth Agreement. The effects are not likely to be felt for many years; the first two heirs at the time of the agreement (Charles, Prince of Wales, later [[Charles III]], and his son [[William, Prince of Wales]]) were already eldest born children, and in 2013 William's first-born son [[Prince George of Wales]] became the next apparent successor.

But even in legal systems that apply male-preference primogeniture, female heirs apparent are by no means impossible: if a male heir apparent dies leaving no sons but at least one daughter, then the eldest daughter would replace her father as heir apparent to whatever throne or title is concerned, but only when it has become clear that the widow of the deceased is not pregnant. Then, as the representative of her father's line she would assume a place ahead of any more distant relatives. For example, had [[George IV|George, Prince of Wales]] (the future George IV) predeceased his father, King [[George III]], between 1796 and 1817, the former's daughter, [[Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817)|Princess Charlotte]], being his only legitimate child, would have become heir apparent to the British throne. Such a situation has not to date occurred with the English or British throne; several times an heir apparent has died, but each example has either been childless or left a son or sons. However, there have been several female heirs apparent to British peerages (e.g. [[Frances Ward, 6th Baroness Dudley]], and [[Henrietta Wentworth, 6th Baroness Wentworth]]).

In one special case, however, England and Scotland had a female heir apparent. The [[Glorious Revolution|Revolution]] [[Bill of Rights 1689|settlement]] that established [[William III of England|William]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary]] as joint monarchs in 1689 only gave the power to continue the succession through issue to Mary II, elder daughter of the previous king, [[James II of England|James II]].  William, by contrast, was to reign for life only, and his (hypothetical) children by a wife other than Mary would be placed in his original place (as Mary's first cousin) in the line of succession—after Mary's younger sister [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Anne]]. Thus, after Mary's death William continued to reign, but he had no power to beget direct heirs,<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=37644 "King James’ Parliament: The succession of William and Mary – begins 13/2/1689"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928035800/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=37644 |date=2007-09-28 }} ''The History and Proceedings of the House of Commons: volume 2: 1680–1695 (1742)'', pp. 255–277.  Accessed: 16 February 2007.</ref> and Anne became the heir apparent for the remainder of William's reign. She eventually succeeded him as Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland.