List of heirs to the Swedish throne

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 or as heir presumptive, since the accession of the House of Holstein-Gottorp 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 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.

Heirs to the Swedish throne

House of Holstein-Gottorp (1751–1818)
Monarch	Heir	Relationship to monarch	Became heir (Date; Reason)	Ceased to be heir (Date; Reason)	Next in line of succession
Adolf Fredrik	Crown Prince Gustav	Son	25 March 1751 Father became king	12 February 1771 Father died, became king	Prince Karl, brother
Gustav III	Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland	Brother	12 February 1771 Brother became king	1 November 1778 Son born to king	Prince Fredrik Adolf, Duke of Östergötland, brother
	Crown Prince Gustav Adolf	Son	1 November 1778 Born	29 March 1792 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
Gustav IV Adolf	Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland	Uncle	29 March 1792 Nephew became king	9 November 1799 Son born to king	Prince Fredrik Adolf, Duke of Östergötland, 1792–1798, brother
					Prince Karl Adolf, Duke of Värmland, 1798, son
					Prince Fredrik Adolf, Duke of Östergötland, 1798–1799, brother
	Crown Prince Gustav	Son	9 November 1799 Born	29 March 1809 Father abdicated, excluded from succession	Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland, 1799–1802, granduncle
					Prince Karl Gustav, Grand Duke of Finland, 1802–1805, brother
					Prince Karl, Duke of Södermanland, 1805–1809, granduncle
Karl XIII	None, 1809–1810
	Crown Prince Karl August	Adopted son	24 January 1810 Elected as heir	28 May 1810 Died	None
	None, 1810
	Crown Prince Karl Johan	Adopted son	21 August 1810 Elected as heir	5 February 1818 Adoptive father died, became king	Prince Oscar, Duke of Södermanland, son
House of Bernadotte (1818–present)
Monarch	Heir	Relationship to monarch	Became heir (Date; Reason)	Ceased to be heir (Date; Reason)	Next in line of succession
Karl XIV Johan	Crown Prince Oscar, Duke of Södermanland	Son	5 February 1818 Father became king	8 March 1844 Father died, became king	None, 1818–1826
					Prince Karl, Duke of Skåne, 1826–1844, son
Oscar I	Crown Prince Karl, Duke of Skåne	Son	8 March 1844 Father became king	8 July 1859 Father died, became king	Prince Gustaf, Duke of Uppland, 1844–1852, brother
					Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland, 1852, brother
					Prince Carl Oscar, Duke of Södermanland, 1852–1854, son
					Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland, 1854–1859, brother
Karl XV	Prince Oscar, Duke of Östergötland	Brother	8 July 1859 Brother became king	13 September 1872 Brother died, became king	Prince Gustaf, Duke of Värmland, son
Oscar II	Crown Prince Gustaf, Duke of Värmland	Son	13 September 1872 Father became king	8 December 1907 Father died, became king	Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland, 1872–1882, brother
					Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Skåne, 1882–1907, son
Gustaf V	Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Skåne	Son	8 December 1907 Father became king	29 October 1950 Father died, became king	Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, 1907–1947, son
					Prince Carl Gustaf, Duke of Jämtland, 1947–1950, grandson
Gustaf VI Adolf	Crown Prince Carl Gustaf, Duke of Jämtland	Grandson	29 October 1950 Grandfather became king	15 September 1973 Grandfather died, became king	Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland, uncle
Carl XVI Gustaf	Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland	Uncle	15 September 1973 Nephew became king	13 May 1979 Son born to king	None
	Crown Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland	Son	13 May 1979 Born	1 January 1980 Law of succession changed	Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland, granduncle
	Crown Princess Victoria, Duchess of Västergötland	Daughter	1 January 1980 Law of succession changed[a]	Incumbent	Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, 1980–2012, brother
					Princess Estelle, Duchess of Östergötland, 2012–present, daughter

1. In 1980, the law of succession was changed from agnatic primogeniture to absolute primogeniture.

See also

• Duchies in Sweden
• Succession to the Swedish throne