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:''Crown Princess redirects here, for the ship, see Crown Princess (ship).''
A 'Crown Prince' or 'Crown Princess' is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. (Crown Princess is also the title of the wife of the Crown Prince.)
In Europe, lineal succession conventions (see primogeniture) usually dictate that the eldest ''child'' (as in Sweden, Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands) or the eldest ''son'' of the current monarch (Spain, United Kingdom, Denmark, etc) fills this role, but in Arab monarchies, for example, succession rules may differ and a Crown Prince may gain the title on merit, or because someone is not seen as a threat to the reign of the current monarch; in such cases a person granted the title may also lose it, with it being granted to another member of the Royal Family.
Compare heir apparent and heir presumptive.
It should however be noted that, although it is often used as a generic term for heir apparent, it is often not an official title in the European monarchies. Currently, only the heirs apparent to the Scandinavian monarchies officially bear the title, while the heir presumptive normally would be titled Hereditary Prince.

Contents

Christian/western traditional titles

Other specific traditions

Single crown princes

See also

Sources and references

Christian/western traditional titles

Many monarchies use or have used special titles:

★ Dauphin (the kingdom of France), originally not unique but an alternative comital title in chief of the Dauphiné region

★ Diadochos in the kingdom of the Hellenes (post-Ottoman Greece; see also below)

★ Prince Imperial in the Second French Empire, in the Brazilian Empire, and in the (''de facto'' French protectorate) Habsburg empire of Mexico

★ Prince Royal in France (monarchy of 1789-91 and July Monarchy) and in Portugal since 1808

★ Rex iunior (Latin 'junior king'), heir to his Apostolic Majesty the king of Hungary, so called because he was crowned during the incumbent (often his father)'s life

★ Tsesarevich (Imperial Russia)

★ Duke of Cornwall (England, Great Britain, United Kingdom)

★ Duke of Rothesay (Scotland, Great Britain, United Kingdom)
Many customarily (often not ''de jure'') assign a primogeniture or award a hollow territorial title of princely rank; while often perceived as a crown princely title, these are not technically so, generally requiring a specific decision from the Sovereign, which may be withheld.
Current and past titles in this category include:

★ King of the Romans (Holy Roman Empire) – an elective, rather than an inherited title, for the designated successor – usually the son, but sometimes the brother – of the Emperor.

★ Prince of Asturias (used in the former kingdom of Castile, also maintained after the unification under one dynasty in the present kingdom Spain)

★
★ Prince of Gerona (Aragon, Spain, and now is a title united with ''Prince of Asturias'')

★
★ Prince of Viana (Kingdom of Navarre, and now is a title united with ''Prince of Asturias'')

★ Prince of Piedmont/Naples (Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia and Kingdom of Italy)

★ Duke of Aosta (Kingdom of Italy)

★ Prince of Brazil (title of the Portuguese heir from 1645 to 1808)

★ Prince of Beira (title of the eldest son of the Portuguese heir)

★ Prince of Grão-Para (title of the eldest son of the Brazilian heir)

★ Duke of Scania (House of Bjelbo) (Sweden during the time when Magnus IV of Sweden also was King of Terra Scania)

★ Duke of Estonia and Laland (Denmark during at least Christopher II and Valdemar IV)

★ Prince of Ani (Kingdom of West Armenia)

★ Yoyng King and Grand Prince of Zeta in Medieval Serbia

★ Prince of Turnovo (Kingdom of Bulgaria)

★ Prince of Alba Julia (Kingdom of Romania)

★ Grand Duke of Grahavo (Kingdom of Montenegro)

★ King of Rome (First French Empire)

★ Prince of Norway and Duke of Slesvig (House of Oldenburg) (Denmark-Norway in 15th-19th centuries)

★ Prince of Orange (House of Orange-Nassau) (The Netherlands)

★ ''Prince de Venise'' 'Prince of Venice', see Prince Eugène de Beauharnais—for the Heir Presumptive to Napoleon I in his kingdom of Italy.

★ Duke of Brabant (kingdom of Belgium) is not a true primogeniture: the title is not reserved, so it may still be occupied causing the Heir to be given another title, as present king Albert II remained Prince of Liège after his childless brother ascended the throne

★ Duke of Calabria (Kingdom of the Two Sicilies)

★ Duke of Sparta (Kingdom of the Hellenes), the aforementioned ''Diadochos''

★ Prince of Wales (England, Great Britain, United Kingdom)

Other specific traditions

In Islamic cultures:

★ ''al-Amir as-Sa'id'' 'Blessed Prince' (Egypt annex the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan)

★ In Persia, under the 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 and taken from the Mughal title 'Vali Ahad'
In the Hindu tradition (Indian subcontinent):

★ Yuvaraja was part of the fullin many princely states of India, e.g.

★
★ in Kashmir, the Heir Apparent was styled ''Maharaj Kumar Shri Yuvaraj'' (personal name) ''Singhji Bahadur''

★ Tika

★ in Nepal, where the King has the rank of Maharajadhiraja:

★
★ the Heir Apparent: ''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: ''Sri Sri Sri Sri Sri 'Nava Yuvaraj''' ('Young Crown Prince') (personal name) ''Bir Bikram Shah Deva''
In Far Eastern traditions:

★ Siam Makutrajakuman (สยามมกุฎราชกุมาร) in Thailand.

★ Huang Taizi (皇太子) (Imperial China) if a son; Huang Taisun (皇太孫) if a grandson of the reigning Emperor

★ Hwangtaeja (황태자) (Imperial Korea), if the Emperor's son; Hwangtaeson (황태손) if a grandson

★ Kōtaishi (皇太子) (Japan), if the Emperor's son; kōtaison (皇太孫) if a grandson

★ Thái tử (太子) (Imperial Vietnam until 1945) was the term used by past dynasties for their Crown princes. Normally, a crown prince was also bestowed with other titles depending on the grace of the ruler.

★ Raja Muda or Tengku Mahkota in the Malay sultanates of Malaysia.

★ Pengiran Muda Mahkota in Brunei
Equivalents in other cultures:

★ Jaguar Prince (Mesoamerica)

Single crown princes

See also

★ Caesar (title) (since the tetrarchy) and Consors imperii

★ Princeps iuventutis

★ Prince of the blood

★ "Crown Prince Party" of the People's Republic of China

Sources and references

★ RoyalArk- see each present country

★ Heraldica.org- here napoleonic section