This page is a list of heirs to the Swedish throne. The list includes all individuals who were considered to inherit the throne of the Kingdom of Sweden, either as

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

or as

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

, since the accession of the

House of Holstein-Gottorp Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp () is the Historiography, historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein, also known as ...

on 25 March 1751. Those who succeeded as King of Sweden are shown in bold in the table below. In 1809 a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

against King Gustav IV replaced him with his uncle Karl XIII. As the new king was childless, he and the ruling government arranged for the adoption of an heir to succeed him. The new constitution also suppressed

male-preference primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

in favour of strict male-line primogeniture. {, class="wikitable" , - ! rowspan="2", Heir ! rowspan="2", Relationship to monarch
(status) ! colspan="2", Became heir ! colspan="2", Ceased to be heir ! rowspan="2", Next in line of succession ! rowspan="2", Monarch , - ! Date ! Reason ! Date ! Reason , - , Crown Prince Gustav , Eldest son
Heir apparent , 25 March 1751 , Father became king , 12 February 1771 , Father died,
became king , Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland, brother , Adolf Fredrik , - , Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland , Brother
Heir presumptive , 12 February 1771 , Brother became king , 1 November 1778 , Son born to king , Prince Fredrik Adolf, Duke of Östergötland, brother , rowspan="4",

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

, - , rowspan="3", Crown Prince Gustav Adolf , rowspan="3", Eldest son
Heir apparent , rowspan="3", 1 November 1778 , rowspan="3", Born , rowspan="3", 29 March 1792 , rowspan="3", Father died,
became king , Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland, 1778–1782, uncle , - , Prince Karl Gustav, Duke of Småland, 1782–1783, brother , - , Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland, 1783–1792, uncle , - , rowspan="3", Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland , rowspan="3", Uncle
Heir presumptive , rowspan="3", 29 March 1792 , rowspan="3", Nephew became king , rowspan="3", 9 November 1799 , rowspan="3", Son born to king , Prince Fredrik Adolf, Duke of Östergötland, 1792–1798, brother , rowspan="6",

Gustav IV Adolf Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...

, - , Prince Karl Adolf, Duke of Värmland, 1798, son , - , Prince Fredrik Adolf, Duke of Östergötland, 1798–1799, brother , - , rowspan="3", Crown Prince Gustav , rowspan="3", Eldest son
Heir apparent , rowspan="3", 9 November 1799 , rowspan="3", Born , rowspan="3", 29 March 1809 , rowspan="3", Father abdicated,
family excluded from succession , Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland, 1799–1802, great-uncle , - , Prince Karl Gustav, Grand Duke of Finland, Duke of Småland, 1802–1805, brother , - , Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland, 1805–1809, great-uncle , - , Crown Prince Karl August , Adopted son
Heir apparent , 11 January 1810 , Adopted by king , 28 May 1810 , Died , ''none'' , rowspan="2", Karl XIII , - , Crown Prince Carl Johan , Adopted son
Heir apparent , 21 August 1810 , Elected as heir , 5 February 1818 , King died,
became king , Prince Oscar, Duke of Södermanland, son , - , rowspan="2", Crown Prince Oscar, Duke of Södermanland , rowspan="2", Eldest son
Heir apparent , rowspan="2", 5 February 1818 , rowspan="2", Father became king , rowspan="2", 8 March 1844 , rowspan="2", Father died,
became king , ''none 1818–1826'' , rowspan="2", Carl XIV Johan , - , Prince Carl, Duke of Skåne, 1826–1844, son , - , rowspan="4", Crown Prince Carl, Duke of Skåne , rowspan="4", Eldest son
Heir apparent , rowspan="4", 8 March 1844 , rowspan="4", Father became king , rowspan="4", 8 July 1859 , rowspan="4", Father died,
became king ,

Prince Gustaf, Duke of Uppland Prince Gustaf of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Uppland (''Frans Gustaf Oscar'', 18 June 1827 – 24 September 1852), also known officially as Gustav, was the second son of Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, and the younger brother ...

, 1844–1852, brother , rowspan="4", Oscar I , - , Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland, 1852, brother , - ,

Prince Carl Oscar, Duke of Södermanland Prince Carl Oscar of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland (Carl Oscar Vilhelm Frederik; 14 December 1852 – 13 March 1854) was a prince of Sweden and Norway. Biography Born in Stockholm, Carl Oscar was the only son and younger child in the marriag ...

, 1852–1854, son , - , Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland, 1854–1859, brother , - , Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland , Brother
Heir presumptive , 8 July 1859 , Brother became king , 13 September 1872 , Brother died,
became king , Prince Gustaf, Duke of Värmland, son , Carl XV , - , rowspan="2", Crown Prince Gustaf, Duke of Värmland , rowspan="2", Eldest son
Heir apparent , rowspan="2", 13 September 1872 , rowspan="2", Father became king , rowspan="2", 8 December 1907 , rowspan="2", Father died,
became king , Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland, 1872–1882, brother , rowspan="2",

Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

, - , Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Skåne, 1882–1907, son , - , rowspan="2", Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Skåne , rowspan="2", Eldest son
Heir apparent , rowspan="2", 8 December 1907 , rowspan="2", Father became king , rowspan="2", 29 October 1950 , rowspan="2", Father died,
became king ,

Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (Gustaf Adolf Oscar Fredrik Arthur Edmund; 22 April 1906 – 26 January 1947) was a Swedish prince, who for most of his life was second in the line of succession to the Swedish throne. He was the eldest ...

, 1907–1947, son , rowspan="2", Gustav V , - , Prince Carl Gustaf, Duke of Jämtland, 1947–1950, grandson , - , Crown Prince Carl Gustaf, Duke of Jämtland , Grandson
Heir apparent , 29 October 1950 , Grandfather became king , 15 September 1973 , Grandfather died,
became king ,

Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland (Bertil Gustaf Oskar Carl Eugén; 28 February 1912 – 5 January 1997), was a member of the Swedish royal family. He was the third son of King Gustaf VI Adolf and his first wife, Princess Margaret of Connaught, ...

, uncle ,

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf Ado ...

, - ,

, Uncle
Heir presumptive , 15 September 1973 , Nephew became king , 13 May 1979 , Son born to king , ''none'' , rowspan="4", Carl XVI Gustaf , - , Crown Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland , Eldest son
Heir apparent , 13 May 1979 , Born , 1 January 1980 , Succession law changed ,

, great-uncle , - , rowspan="2", Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland , rowspan="2", Eldest child
Heir apparent , rowspan="2", 1 January 1980 , rowspan="2", Succession law changed , rowspan="2" colspan="2", ''Incumbent'' ,

Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland (Carl Philip Edmund Bertil; born 13 May 1979) is the only son and the second of three children of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. , Prince Carl Philip is fourth in the line of successi ...

, 1980–2012, brother , - ,

Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland Princess Estelle of Sweden, Duchess of Östergötland (Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary; born 23 February 2012) is the elder child of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. She is the eldest grandchild of King Carl XVI Gustaf ...

, 2012–present, daughter

See also