Alderni Laws of Succession

The Alderni laws of succession have changed a number of times over the history of the Sovereignty. At present, they stand as such:

The Council of Accession

The Council of Accession is called upon the death of the Queen, and consists of the nine Matriarchs of the High Houses. If, as is often the case, the Queen was also Matriarch of her House, the seat of that House on the Council is held in abeyance until the new Matriarch is confirmed - the traditions around this vary between the High Houses, and in many cases it may not be inherited by the same person to whom the Throne might pass.
Having been called, the Council of Accession is duty-bound to come to an agreement on the identity of the rightful heir to the Throne before the New Moon following the death of the Queen; the Council can thus sit for no longer than a month, and often has a much shorter timespan to come to an agreement. The shortest recorded sitting of a Council of Accession was in 1057 AK, following the death of Queen Emelia II two days before the new moon.
Whilst a simple majority is always required, the degree of agreement required by the Council traditionally varies depending on how close the day of the new moon approaches: if the moon is waxing or full, then unanimity is required; when the moon begins to wane, a candidate must gather the support of six Matriarchs; when it reaches the third quarter, a candidate requires five; when it is as a waning crescent, three; and upon the first night of the new moon, a candidate need only have the support of two Matriarchs, provided that no other candidate has been proposed who has gathered the support of more than a single Matriarch.

General Principles

• Only noblewomen of the Nine High Houses with a proven line of descent from Erastes Tideborn can inherit the throne.
• No unmarried woman may inherit the throne, save for one who has been widowed after producing a legitimate female heir; this requirement may be waived should an otherwise eligible dynast be betrothed but not yet married.
• As a consequence of the above, no woman under the age of eighteen may inherit the throne; this requirement may be waived should there be unanimity among the council of accession, and a regent appointed until such a time as the Queen is of age.
• A dynast who has a legitimate daughter is treated in preference to one who does not
• Within a sept, it is not permissible to trace back more than a single generation to find an eligible heir; thus a descendant of an aunt of the Queen may in some circumstances inherit, but a descendant of a great-aunt of the Queen may not.
• The Council of Accession may bar any given individual from the throne, should a majority of Matriarchs agree; each Matriarch can only propose to bar a single person from the succession, regardless of whether the Council upholds this or not. This power is intended to allow the Council to bypass potential heirs who may be manifestly unsuitable to rule (for example, one who is in such a state of ill health as their survival until the time of coronation would be in question; or one who is of exceptionally questionable moral character), but has been used to political ends on a number of occasions.

Precedence within the Royal Sept

1. The Crown Princess of Aldernord, if she is not the eldest daughter of the Queen
2. The eldest daughter of the Queen
3. The daughters of the eldest daughter of the Queen, in order of seniority
4. Other daughters of the Queen, and their daughters in turn, per matrilineal primogeniture
5. Sisters of the Queen, their daughters, and so on, per matrilineal primogeniture
6. Aunts and cousins of the Queen, their daughters, and so on, per matrilineal primogeniture

Precedence beyond the Royal Sept

Should there be no eligible members of the Royal Sept, the council of accession is permitted to grant the throne to another person - this must be a noblewoman of one of the High Houses with a proven line of descent from Erastes Tideborn, regardless of all other considerations. There are a number of legally permissible candidates for the throne under such circumstances, who are known to include:

• Any noblewoman of the High Houses who it can be verified beyond all doubt was the chosen successor of the late Queen
• The Matriarch of the High Houses with the most generationally proximal descent from Erastes Tideborn, per the Kasimiran Convention
• An eligible candidate endorsed with unanimity by the nine Apertori of the Daughters of Null
• A claimant of more generationally proximal descent from Erastes Tideborn than the Matriarch of the most generationally proximal descent, provided that this is verified beyond all doubt
• A claimant who can trace her descent from a scion of a Royal House who was bypassed for accession to the throne for reasons unrelated to their spiritual or moral qualities (such as the descendant of a daughter who was not of age and was not granted the throne under a regent; these would include a direct descendant of Dorotea, daughter of Queen Altea III Vottellian, or of Helena Bheuren, the so-called Hidden Heir)

The Matter of the Queensknife

Though the exact ceremonial and constitutional role of the Queensknife herself - as opposed to the Office of the Queensknife - is something of a guarded secret, it is generally known that under certain situations the one holding this title may intercede and alter the line of succession. There are said to be several legal mechanisms by which this can occur; the most widely reported being the provision of a sealed writ from the Queen, to be opened and acted upon under circumstances determined by her command. It is unclear how often this, or any other similar mechanism of law, has been invoked.

The Present Order of Succession

As of 1344, the order of succession stands as follows:

1. Crown Princess Hildegard Bheuren van Erling, daughter of Queen Margaretha IV Bheuren
2. Princess Beatrix Bheuren van Crassen, daughter of Crown Princess Hildegard Bheuren van Erling (providing that she marries)
3. Countess Gertrude Bheuren van Perleren, sister of Queen Margaretha IV Bheuren
4. Margrave Honora Bheuren van Nestabren, granddaughter of Countess Gertrude Bheuren van Perleren
5. Josephina Bheuren, daughter of Margrave Honora Bheuren van Nestabren (not of age, and thus would require unanimity of the accession council)

Beyond the Royal Sept, there are no widely-known candidates; discussing such a possibility in any real depth is sometimes considered to be verging on sedition. It is however known to a handful of people that Fiordelise Votellian van Bovelden has a technical claim to the throne, as does her legitimate daughter, Galiana.