Why will Jacques of Monaco succeed the throne and not his older sister, Gabriella?
This Friday, December 10, the twins of Charlene and Albert of Monaco are celebrating their seven years. If Gabriella is the eldest of the siblings, it is Jacques who is the first on the list of the succession to the throne.
While in most monarchies the eldest monarch in place, whether boy or girl, can claim the throne, in Monaco, theThe rules of succession are somewhat different. Jacques and Gabriella, the twins of Albert and Charlene of Monaco, who are celebrating their seven years this Friday, December 10, are the next to be able to reign on the Rock. Only if Gabriella was born two minutes earlier than her twin brother, it is Jacques who will succeed the throne. It is the Monegasque Constitution that defined this very precise rule. “The succession to the throne, opened as a result of death or abdication, takes place in the direct and legitimate descent of the reigning Prince, in order of primogeniture with male priority to the same degree of kinship», Specifies article 10.
Concretely, it is the first boy of the reigning prince who will succeed his father. Whether he has one or more older sisters, it will not change the estate since there is a “male priority“. The case of Jacques and Gabriella of Monaco is not uncommon. In 2005, when Prince Rainier III died, it’s Albert who succeeded him and not Caroline, yet older than him. However, that does not mean that there will be no woman who will reign on the Rock. If the reigning prince has no direct male heir, it will be his first daughter who will become the reigning princess.
Very different characters
Although Gabriella and Jacques de Monaco are twins, they don’t have the same character. According to Albert of Monaco, the eldest is “extrovert and with a well-awaited language“, while Jacques is “a little more shy and a little calmer“. In public, they do not adopt the same behavior. Charlène and Albert’s son is “a great observer“while Gabriella”has no embarrassment in front of people“.
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias.
Photo credits: Claudia Albuquerque / Bestimage