Succession to the Spanish throne follows male-preference cognatic

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 ...

. A dynast who marries against the express prohibition of the monarch and the

Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets ...

, the legislative chamber of Spain, is excluded from the succession. Upon proclamation by the Cortes Generales, the monarch is to take an oath to discharge his duties faithfully, to abide by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

and the law and ensure they are abided by, and to respect the rights of the citizens and of the

Autonomous Communities eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Line of succession

The historical list of potential successors with dynastic rights is much longer, but the 1978 Constitution of Spain limits the succession to heirs of King Juan Carlos I. 1978 Constitution of Spain art. LVII sec. I

King Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

(born 1938) **

King Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and ...

(b. 1968) *** (1)

Leonor, Princess of Asturias (Leonor de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz; born 31 October 2005) is the heir presumptive to the throne of Spain as the elder daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. In addition to the official title of Princess of Asturias, she bears t ...

(b. 2005) *** (2)

Infanta Sofía of Spain Infanta Sofía of Spain (Sofía de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz; born 29 April 2007) is the younger daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. She has an older sister, Leonor, whom she follows in the line of succession to the Sp ...

(b. 2007) ** (3)

Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo (Elena María Isabel Dominica de Silos de Borbón y de Grecia; born 20 December 1963) is the first child and eldest daughter of Juan Carlos I (King of Spain from 1975 to 2014) and Queen Sofía of Spain, and third ...

(b. 1963) *** (4) ''Don'' Felipe de Marichalar y Borbón, Lord of Tejada (b. 1998) *** (5) ''Doña''

Victoria de Marichalar y Borbón, Lady of Tejada Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

(b. 2000) ** (6)

Infanta Cristina of Spain Infanta Cristina of Spain (Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia de la Santísima Trinidad de Borbón y de Grecia, born 13 June 1965) is the younger daughter of the former King and Queen of Spain Juan Carlos I of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Queen So ...

(b. 1965) *** (7) ''Don'' Juan Urdangarin y Borbón (b. 1999) *** (8) ''Don'' Pablo Urdangarin y Borbón (b. 2000) *** (9) ''Don'' Miguel Urdangarin y Borbón (b. 2002) *** (10) ''Doña'' Irene Urdangarin y Borbón (b. 2005)

Succession uncertainties

Section 1 of Article 57 of the 1978 Constitution of Spain provides that The Crown of Spain is hereditary to the "sucesores" of His Majesty Don

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...

de Borbón. To date, no clarification has been made whether this provision includes anyone beyond the direct descendants of King Juan Carlos. Successors may not be presumed to be synonymous with descendants. Section 3 of Article 57 further states that should all the lines designated by law become extinct, the

shall provide for succession to the Crown in the manner most suitable for the interests of Spain.

Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz and Viscountess of La Torre ( Spanish: ''María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón''; 30 July 1936 – 8 January 2020), sometimes known more simply as ...

and

Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria Infanta Margarita of Spain, Duchess of Soria, 2nd Duchess of Hernani, Grandee of Spain (Margarita María de la Victoria Esperanza Jacoba Felicidad Perpetua de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón; born 6 March 1939), is the younger sister of K ...

, sisters of King Juan Carlos, respectively renounced their rights to the succession upon marriage but before the adoption of the Constitution. Similarly, the rights of earlier generations are clouded by renunciations and unapproved marriages which may or may not exclude them from succession. Section 5 of Article 57 provides that abdications and renunciations and any doubt in fact or in law that may arise in relation to the succession of the Crown shall be settled by an

organic act In United States law, an organic act is an act of the United States Congress that establishes a territory of the United States and specifies how it is to be governed, or an agency to manage certain federal lands. In the absence of an organ ...

. Unless and until one clarifies the rights of the extended Family of the King, it is unknown who or if anyone follows Infanta Cristina's descendants in the line of succession.

Possible interpretations

*The

Congreso de los Diputados The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. It has 350 members elect ...

, the lower house of the Cortes Generales, has the constitutional responsibility to clarify the succession when doubt arises. If "sucesores" is deemed to mean direct descendants, the succession ends with the heirs of Infanta Cristina. * If the renunciations by Infanta Pilar and Infanta Margarita are not deemed valid, their descendants would follow the line of succession: ''

Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona (Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg; 20 June 1913 – 1 April 1993), also known as Don Juan, was a claimant to the Spanish throne as Juan III. He was the third son and designated heir o ...

'' (1913–1993) **

(b. 1938) **'' Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz and Viscountess of La Torre'' (1936–2020) ***(11) Don Juan Gómez-Acebo y Borbón, 3rd Viscount of La Torre (b. 1969) ****(12) Don Nicolás Gómez-Acebo y Carney (b. 2013) ***(13) Don Bruno Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (b. 1971) ****(14) Alejandro Gómez-Acebo y Cano (b. 2004) ****(15) Guillermo Gómez-Acebo y Cano (b. 2005) ****(16) Álvaro Gómez-Acebo y Cano (b. 2011) ***(17) Don Luis Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (b. 1973) ****(18) Luis Felipe Gómez-Acebo y Ponte (b. 2005) ****(19) Juan Gómez-Acebo y Ponte (b. 2016) ****(20) Laura Gómez-Acebo y Ponte (b. 2006) ***(21) Don Fernando Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (b. 1974) ****(22) Nicolás Gómez-Acebo y Halamandari (b. 2016) ***(23) Doña Simoneta Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (b. 1968) ****(24) Luis Juan Fernández-Sastrón y Gómez-Acebo (b. 1991) ****(25) Pablo Fernández-Sastrón y Gómez-Acebo (b. 1995) ****(26) María de las Mercedes Fernández-Sastrón y Gómez-Acebo (b. 2000) **(27) Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria and Hernani (b. 1939) ***(28) Don Alfonso Zurita y Borbón (b. 1973) ***(29) Doña María Zurita y Borbón (b. 1975) ****(30) Carlos Zurita y Borbón (b. 2018)

Planned absolute primogeniture

In its 2004 election manifesto, the victorious

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...

(PSOE) included plans to adopt absolute primogeniture, a proposal which was supported by the leader of the main opposition party, the conservative People's Party. It was initially thought that the change would only apply to future generations but with all the major political parties in agreement that the system of male-preference primogeniture conflicts with the constitutionally established principle of gender equality, it was planned that the law would be changed before the Princess of Asturias bore a son, thereby demoting Infanta Leonor in the line succession. The subsequent announcement, in 2006, that the Princess was pregnant with a second daughter, however, removed any immediate urgency in the passage of the necessary legislation.

References

Citations

Sources

* Navarro i Soriano, Ferran (2019). Harca, harca, harca! Músiques per a la recreació històrica de la Guerra de Successió (1794-1715). Editorial DENES. .