Prince Royal

Prince Royal
Prince Royal's coronet
Incumbent Heitor since 11 April 2021
Style	His Royal Highness
Residence	Sankt Therese Castle
Appointer	Monarch of Ebenthal
Term length	Life tenure or until accession as Sovereign
Inaugural holder	Mateus I ("Prince of Arturia")
Formation	13 August 2014
Succession	Semi-salic

Prince Royal (f. Princess; Portuguese: Príncipe Real; f. Princesa), often called Prince Royal of Ebenthal, is the substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Ebenthal.

The title of the heir to the Ebenthali throne originated in 2014 as Prince of Arturia, inspired by the title of the heir to the Spanish throne, Prince of Asturias and referring to the country's capital, then called Arturia, and was bestowed upon Mateus Beato, brother and heir of King Arthur I. On 5 July 2018, inspired by the title of the heir to the British throne, Prince of Wales, which makes reference to an important and historic region of the United Kingdom, and seeking to avoid confusion with the title of the heir of the Spanish throne, Prince of Asturias, the Government of Ebenthal changed the title from Prince of Arturia to Prince of Belmonte, in reference to the then Principality of Belmonte, at the time the country's most populous administative division. As a consequence, the heir to the throne of Ebenthal also became the subnational monarch of Belmonte, but the administration over that region was bestowed upon a regency chosen by the King and formally appointed by the Prince of Belmonte. Later, on 11 March 2021, through Decree No. 5-2021, Élida, then Princess of Belmonte, renounced her title, which was then disassociated from the position of heir to the throne and returned to the Belmontine administration upon their demands; Her son Heitor succeeded her as heir apparent to the throne under the new title of Prince of Altenburg after the country's homonymous capital city following the reform which abolished the sub-national monarchies. Finally, the title was established as "Prince Royal" in order to provide stability after so many changes.

The title of the heir to the throne of Ebenthal is defined by article 85 of the Constitution of 2015 which was amended in 2018 and twice in 2021. The Prince Royal has the treatment of Royal Highness and has a number of privileges such as being the Deputy Grand Master of all chivalric orders of Ebenthal, as well as second in order of precedence, behind only the monarch and his consort. In case of temporary or perpetual inability of the monarch to exercise his function, the regency of the country automatically falls to the Prince Royal; if he is a minor, parliament then appoints a regency that remains in power until the monarch can exercise his responsibilities or the Prince Royal reaches the legal age of 14.

Titles and roles

The Prince Royal, as crown prince, is the first in the line of succession to the Ebenthali throne and as the treatment of Royal Highness. Article 85 of the constitution, which establishes the title and position, also provides that in case of inability, temporary or perpetual, for the monarch to exercise his functions, the Prince Royal, being of legal age and having taken an oath to the Konkrëse , is automatically sworn in as regent and assumes all powers and responsibilities of the monarch, having to surrender them immediately in case the monarch regains his ability to govern.

Upon reaching the age of majority (that of 14 years in Ebenthal), the Prince Royal must take an oath before the Konkrëse to faithfully carry out his duties, to keep and enforce the constitution and laws, and to respect the rights of citizens and provinces, as well as show fidelity to the King. The Konkrëse, in turn, also pledge allegiance to the Prince Royal in the absence or incapacity of the King and in his succession to the throne.

Succession

The succession to the Ebenthali throne is governed by statutes such as the 2020 Royal Code. The succession rules currently applied follow the Semi-Salic Law. It is different from Salic Law in that females inheritance can be traced also through female lines. Still, female lines are ranked after male lines of the same relation. Primogeniture means that the oldest candidate inherits, in this case the oldest son (if any) or next closer relative. All heirs through male lines of the oldest son rank above those of the second oldest son in the line of inheritance, then come heirs of daughters sorted by age. Upon the death of a sovereign, the Prince Royal immediately and automatically succeeds as King (hence the phrase "The king is dead, long live the king!"), and its heir also succeeds as Prince Royal according to the Ebenthali succession rules.

List of heirs to the throne

No.	Name	Portrait	Arms	Tenure		Monarch	House	Title
I	Mateus Beato			11 August 2014	24 June 2019	Arthur I	House of Beato	Prince of Arturia (2014-2018) Prince of Belmonte (2018-2019)
I)II	Élida van der Bruyn			29 December 2019	11 March 2021	Arthur II	House of Bruyn	Princess of Belmonte
I)III	Heitor van der Bruyn			11 March 2021	present	Arthur II	House of Bruyn	Prince of Bruges (2021-2022) Prince of Altenburg (2022–present)

See also

• King of Ebenthal
• Prince of Ebenthal