If a king has a younger brother and a son, and the king dies, who should be the next king?

Answer 1

This isn't as clear cut as simply son inheriting from the father and far more complicated.

In hereditary monarchies, depending of the country, there are different orders of succession specifying which descendant or - if there is no direct heir - which sibling will assume the throne.

Constitutions and law may also regulate the qualifications of successors to the throne. In some cases, the line of succession is reinforced by the coronation of a co-monarch during the life of the actual king.

Also, an elective monarchy may use some election or appointment during the lifetime of the king.

So, you can say that different monarchies use different formulas to determine the line of succession.

Some of them are:

- Salic Law (Agnatic Succession): the exclusion of females of the dynasty and their descendants from the succession. This applied to the former houses of Albania, France, Italy, Korea, Romania, Yugoslavia, and German Empire. It still applies to Liechtenstein, Japan and Jordan.

- Semi-Salic Law: the succession is reserved firstly to ALL the male descendants by order of age, then to the eldest of the female descendants. In that case, she will not necessarily be the oldest heiress, but the closest relative of the king. Luxembourg still operate under Semi-Salic law. Former monarchies included Austria, Bavaria, Hanover, Württemberg, Russia, Saxony, Tuscany, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

- Appointment: the king or some electoral body chooses a heir or a list of heirs before vacancy occurs. In some monarchy, the next king is elected only after the throne becomes vacant. Quite often, appointments and elections favored or were limited to members of a certain dynasty. There may also have been genealogical rules to determine who are entitled to succeed, and who will be favored. Sometimes the order of succession balances branches of a dynasty by rotation.

- Seniority: a king's next sibling (almost always brother) succeeds; not his children. And, if the royal house is more extensive, male cousins and so forth succeed, in order of seniority, which may depend upon actual age or upon the seniority between their fathers.

- Male Primogeniture: The elder sons take precedence over younger sons and younger sons always take precedence over older daughters. The right of succession always belongs to the eldest son of the reigning sovereign, and then to the eldest son of the eldest son. This is the system in Britain, Spain, Denmark, and Monaco. Note that fiefs or titles granted "to "heirs general" follow this system, but daughters are considered equal co-heirs, at least in modern British practice. In the medieval period, actual practice varied with local custom. While women could inherit manors, power was usually exercised by their husbands or their sons.

- Fully Equal Primogeniture (Absolute Primogeniture): the eldest child of the king succeeds to the throne, regardless of gender. This is the system in Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and Nepal.

- Proximity of Blood: the person closest in degree of kinship to the sovereign succeeds, preferring males over females and elder over younger siblings.

- Ultimogeniture: the youngest son (or youngest child) succeeds. This serves the circumstances where the youngest is "keeping the hearth", taking care of the parents and continuing at home, whereas elder children have had time to succeed "out in the world" and provide for themselves.

For more information, check Wikipedia.

Answer 2

The King´s son.

Answer 3

The son of the King.

Answer 4

The lines of succession go to the son of the King.

Answer 5

In the UK it would be the son of the King, but if he wasn't old enough then the brother would become Prince Regent until the son was old enough to take the crown.

Answer 6

Many people proclaiming "the son." While there is sense to this, it would likely depend on the son's age.

For example, if the son were a minor, then the brother would very likely take the throne as custodian until the son is of age. Now picture yourself as the son in this - do you really think your uncle wants to give you the throne he sat on for X number of years just because you are 18? In other words, watch your back.

So Uncle has it till son is of age, then son is killed, and uncle keeps throne. Son's wife stages a coup and fails miserably. Uncle triumphs with a festival, where dead son's gay lover gets uncle with a shiv in the back on the balcony. Son dead, uncle dead, wife dead, scorned gay lover left holding the knife.

Son's mother takes throne, and pardons gay lover of her dead son.

And the woman is in charge.
Because after all, most men take orders from women and do what they want, no matter how vehemently they try to deny it.
Men may run the world, but women run the men. Period.


Mom wins. Go Mom.

Answer 7

The son. The throne would only go to the brother if the king had no heirs.

Answer 8

The King's son who is also the Prince. If he were to die and there were no other siblings then the uncle would then be next in line.

Answer 9

The son would be the next king, according to the laws of primogeniture.

Answer 10

I think It's next of kin (the son) but I know throughout history It's been differant, and there have been many brothers who kill the son and go to the throne.