List of heirs to the Danish throne

House of Oldenburg, Absolute monarchy 1665-1863

Frederick III adopted a Semi-salic law of succession.

Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Became heir		Ceased to be heir		Next in succession relation to heir, dates	Monarch
Heir	Status	Relationship to Monarch	Date	Reason	Date	Reason	Next in succession relation to heir, dates	Monarch
Christian	heir apparent	son	14 November 1665	Hereditary succession established	9 Feb 1670	became king	George brother	Frederick III
George	heir presumptive	brother	9 Feb 1670	brother became king	11 Oct 1671	son born to king	Anna Sophie sister	Christian V
Crown Prince Frederick	heir apparent	son	11 Oct 1671	born	25 Aug 1699	became king	George, Duke of Cumberland uncle (1671-1672, 1673-1675)
							Christian William brother (1672-1673)
							Christian brother (1675-1695)
							Charles, Count of Holstein brother (1695-1697, 1698-1699)
							Christian son (1697-1698)
Charles, Count of Holstein	heir presumptive	brother	25 Aug 1699	brother became king	10 Dec 1699	son born to king	William brother	Frederick IV
Crown Prince Christian	heir apparent	son	10 Dec 1699	born	12 Oct 1730	became king	Charles, Count of Holstein uncle (1699-1701, 1702-1703, 1704–1723)
							Frederick brother (1701-1702)
							George brother (1703-1704)
							Frederick son (1723-1730)
Crown Prince Frederick	heir apparent	son	12 Oct 1730	father became king	6 Aug 1746	became king	Louise sister (1730-1735)	Christian VI
Crown Prince Frederick	heir apparent	son	12 Oct 1730	father became king	6 Aug 1746	became king	Christian son (1745-1746)	Christian VI
Crown Prince Christian	heir apparent	son	6 Aug 1746	father became king	3 Jun 1747	died	Sophia Magdalena sister	Frederick V
Sophia Magdalena	heir presumptive	daughter	3 Jun 1747	brother died	29 Jan 1749	son born to king	Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark sister
Crown Prince Christian	heir apparent	son	29 Jan 1749	born	14 Jan 1766	became king	Sophia Magdalena sister (1749-1753)
Crown Prince Christian	heir apparent	son	29 Jan 1749	born	14 Jan 1766	became king	Frederick brother (1753-1766)
Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark	heir presumptive	brother	14 Jan 1766	brother became king	28 Jan 1768	son born to king	Sophia Magdalena sister	Christian VII
Crown Prince Frederick	heir apparent	son	28 Jan 1768	born	13 Mar 1808	became king	Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark uncle (1768-1805)
Crown Prince Frederick	heir apparent	son	28 Jan 1768	born	13 Mar 1808	became king	Christian cousin (1805-1808)
Christian	heir presumptive	cousin	13 Mar 1808	cousin became king	3 Dec 1839	became king	Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Denmark brother (1808)	Frederick VI
Christian	heir presumptive	cousin	13 Mar 1808	cousin became king	3 Dec 1839	became king	Frederick son (1808-1839)	Frederick VI
Crown Prince Frederick	heir apparent	son	3 Dec 1839	father became king	20 Jan 1848	became king	Ferdinand uncle	Christian VIII
Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Denmark	heir presumptive	uncle	20 Jan 1848	nephew became king	29 Jun 1863	died	disputed, eventually:	Frederick VII
Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Denmark	heir presumptive	uncle	20 Jan 1848	nephew became king	29 Jun 1863	died	Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg 1st cousin, once removed (1852-1863 by legislation)
Christian	heir presumptive	2nd cousin	29 Jun 1863	heir died	15 Nov 1863	became king	Frederik son

House of Glücksburg

With both Frederick VII and his uncle, Ferdinand childless, legislation was passed in 1852 to give the Danish throne to Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a great-grandson of Frederick V. Semi-salic law continued to be used until 1953 when male-preference primogeniture was adopted. This lasted until 2009 when absolute primogeniture was put in place.

Heirs to the Danish throne
House of Glücksburg (1863–present)
Monarch	Heir	Relationship to monarch	Became heir (Date; Reason)	Ceased to be heir (Date; Reason)	Next in line of succession
Christian IX	Crown Prince Frederik	Son	16 November 1863 Father became king	29 January 1906 Father died, became king	Prince Valdemar^[a], 1863–1870, brother
Christian IX	Crown Prince Frederik	Son	16 November 1863 Father became king	29 January 1906 Father died, became king	Prince Christian, 1870–1906, son
Frederik VIII	Crown Prince Christian	Son	29 January 1906 Father became king	14 May 1912 Father died, became king	Prince Frederik, son
Christian X	Crown Prince Frederik	Son	14 May 1912 Father became king	20 April 1947 Father died, became king	Prince Knud, brother
Frederik IX	Hereditary Prince Knud	Brother	20 April 1947 Brother became king	5 June 1953 Law of succession changed	Prince Ingolf, son
	Princess Margrethe	Daughter	5 June 1953 Law of succession changed^[b]	14 January 1972 Father died, became queen	Princess Benedikte, 1953–1968, sister
	Princess Margrethe	Daughter	5 June 1953 Law of succession changed^[b]	14 January 1972 Father died, became queen	Prince Frederik, 1968–1972, son
Margrethe II	Crown Prince Frederik	Son	14 January 1972 Mother became queen	14 January 2024 Mother abdicated, became king	Prince Joachim, 1972–2005, brother
Margrethe II	Crown Prince Frederik	Son	14 January 1972 Mother became queen	14 January 2024 Mother abdicated, became king	Prince Christian, 2005–2024, son
Frederik X	Crown Prince Christian	Son	14 January 2024 Father became king	Incumbent	Princess Isabella, sister

Notes

^ Prince Vilhelm, second son of Christian IX, became king of Greece before his father ascended the throne and deferred his succession rights.
^ In 1953, the law of succession was changed from agnatic primogeniture to male-preference primogeniture.

[1] Prince Vilhelm, second son of Christian IX, became king of Greece before his father ascended the throne and deferred his succession rights.

[2] In 1953, the law of succession was changed from agnatic primogeniture to male-preference primogeniture.

[a]

[b]