Editing Monarchy of Spain (section)

===Succession and regency===
[[File:Doña Urraca.jpg|thumb|right|Statue of [[Urraca of León and Castile|Queen Urraca]] in the [[Parque del Buen Retiro]] in [[Madrid]]. Urraca succeeded as queen in 1108.]]
According to Article 57 the Crown of Spain is inherited by the successors of King Juan Carlos I de Borbón through ''male preference [[primogeniture]]''.<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78" /><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE" /> While drafting the new constitution, lawyer and liberal congressman [[Joaquín Satrústegui]] (1909–1992) insisted that the phrase "the legitimate heir of the historic dynasty" be included in the text to underscore that the monarchy was a historic institution predating the constitution or the prior regime.<ref name="Self Made Monarch" /> 

{{quote|The Crown of Spain shall be inherited by the successors of HM Juan Carlos I de Borbón, the legitimate heir of the historic dynasty. Succession to the throne shall follow the regular order of primogeniture and representation, the first line having preference over subsequent lines; and within the same line the closer grade over the more remote; and within the same grade the male over female, and in the same sex, the elder over the younger.|Title II ''the Crown'', Article 57 (1), the Spanish Constitution of 1978.<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78" /><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE" />{{NoteTag|{{langx|es|La Corona de España es hereditaria en los sucesores de S. M. Don Juan Carlos I de Borbón, legítimo heredero de la dinastía histórica. La sucesión en el trono seguirá el orden regular de primogenitura y representación, siendo preferida siempre la línea anterior a las posteriores; en la misma línea, el grado más próximo al más remoto; en el mismo grado, el varón a la mujer, y en el mismo sexo, la persona de más edad a la de menos.}}}}}}

[[Male-preference cognatic primogeniture]] has been practiced in Spain since the 11th century in the various Visigothic successor states and codified in the ''[[Siete Partidas]]'', with women able to inherit in certain circumstances.<ref name="Visigothic Women">Klapisch-Zuber, Christine (1992). ''A History of Women'': Book II: "Silences of the Middle Ages". Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 1992, 2000 (5th printing). Chapter 6, "Women in the Fifth to the Tenth Century" by Suzanne Fonay Wemple, p. 74. According to Wemple, Visigothic women of Spain and Aquitaine could inherit land and title and manage it independently of their husbands, and dispose of it as they saw fit if they had no heirs, and represent themselves in court, appear as witnesses (over the age of 14), and arrange their own marriages over the age of twenty.</ref> However, with the succession of Philip V in 1700, the first of the Spanish Bourbons, women were barred from succession until [[Ferdinand VII]] reintroduced the right and designated his elder daughter [[Isabella II of Spain|Isabella]] as his [[Early life of Isabella II of Spain|heir presumptive]] by 1833.

The debate on amending the Crown's succession law came to the forefront on 31 October 2005, when [[Infanta Leonor]] was born to the current King and Queen of Spain. Amending the law to [[absolute primogeniture]] would allow the first-born to inherit the throne, whether the heir be male or female. The Zapatero administration of the day proclaimed its intention to amend the succession law; however, with the birth of the king's second daughter the issue was postponed. Paving the way, in 2006 King Juan Carlos issued a decree reforming the succession to noble titles from male preference primogeniture to absolute primogeniture.<ref name="Spanish Nobility and Grandee Titles" /> Since the order of succession to the Crown is codified in the Constitution, its reform mandates a complicated process that involves a dissolution of parliament, a constitutional election, and a referendum.

If all lines designated by law become extinct, the constitution reserves the right for the Cortes Generales to provide for the succession "in the manner most suitable for Spain".<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78"/><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE"/> The 1978 constitution disinherits members of the royal family (as well as their descendants) from succession if they marry against the expressed prohibition of the monarch and the Cortes Generales.<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78" /><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE" /> Lastly, Article 57 further provides that "Abdications and renunciations and any doubt in fact or in law that may arise in connection with the succession to the Crown shall be settled by an organic act".<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78" />

Constitutionally, the current heirs of Felipe VI are:<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78" /><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE" /><ref>Title II the Crown, Article 57 (1), the Spanish Constitution of 1978.</ref>
# [[Leonor, Princess of Asturias|The Princess of Asturias]], elder daughter of the King
# [[Infanta Sofía of Spain|The Infanta Sofía]], younger daughter of the King
# [[Infanta Elena of Spain|The Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo]], elder daughter of King Juan Carlos I.
# [[Felipe Juan Froilán de Marichalar y de Borbón]], son of Infanta Elena.
# [[Victoria Federica de Marichalar y de Borbón]], daughter of Infanta Elena.
# [[Infanta Cristina of Spain|The Infanta Cristina]], younger daughter of King Juan Carlos I.
# [[Juan Valentín Urdangarín y de Borbón|Juan Urdangarín y de Borbón]], eldest son of Infanta Cristina.
# [[Pablo Nicolás Sebastián Urdangarin y de Borbón|Pablo Urdangarín y de Borbón]], middle son of Infanta Cristina.
# [[Miguel Urdangarín y de Borbón]], youngest son of Infanta Cristina.
# [[Irene Urdangarín y de Borbón]], daughter of Infanta Cristina.

The constitution outlines the [[Regent|regency]] of the monarchy and guardianship of the person of the monarch in the event of his minority or incapacitation.<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78"/><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE"/> The office of Regent(s) and the Guardianship of the monarch (whether the monarch is in his minority or incapacitated) may not necessarily be the same person. In the event of the minority of the monarch, the surviving mother or father, or oldest relative of legal age who is nearest in line to the throne, would immediately assume the office of Regent, who in any case must be Spanish.<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78"/><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE"/> If a monarch becomes incapacitated, and that incapacitation is recognized by the Cortes Generales, then the Prince of Asturias (the heir apparent), shall immediately become Regent, if he is of age. If the Prince of Asturias is himself a minor, then the Cortes Generales shall appoint a Regency which may be composed of one, three, or five persons.<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78"/><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE"/> The person of the king in his minority shall fall under the guardianship of the person designated in the will of the deceased monarch, provided that he or she be of age and of Spanish nationality.<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78"/><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE"/> If no guardian has been appointed in the will, then the father or mother will then assume the guardianship, as long as they remain widowed. Otherwise, the Cortes Generales shall appoint both the Regent(s) and the guardian, who in this case may not be held by the same person, except by the father or mother of direct relation of the king.<ref name="Wiki Source Spa Constitution 78"/><ref name="Spanish Constitution of 1978 BOE"/>