Editing Primogeniture (section)

===Male-preference (cognatic) primogeniture===
{{anchor|Male-preference primogeniture}}
[[File:Male-preference primogeniture diagram.svg|thumb|Male-preference primogeniture diagram. Legend: {{unordered list|Grey: incumbent|Square: male|Circle: female|Black: deceased|Diagonal: cannot be displaced}}]]

Male-preference primogeniture (in the past called cognatic primogeniture) provides that a [[Dynasty#Dynast|dynast]]'s sons and their lines of descent all come before the dynast's daughters and their lines. Older sons and their lines come before younger sons and their lines. It accords succession to the throne to a female member of a [[dynasty]] if and only if she has no living brothers and no deceased brothers who left surviving legitimate descendants. Then, older daughters and their lines come before younger daughters and their lines, thus a daughter inherits before her uncle and his descendants.

It was practised in the succession to the once-separate thrones of [[Kingdom of England]] and [[Kingdom of Scotland]], then in the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], and then the [[United Kingdom]] until 2015, when the [[Succession to the Crown Act 2013]] (effective March 26, 2015) changed it to absolute primogeniture (to the eldest legitimate child, regardless of sex). This rule change was simultaneously adopted by the other [[Commonwealth realm]]s that have the same monarch as their head of state. With respect to [[hereditary title]]s, it is usually the rule everywhere in Scotland and [[Hereditary peer#Writs of summons|baronies by writ]] in the United Kingdom, but usually these baronies by writ go into [[abeyance]] when the last male titleholder dies leaving more than one surviving sister or more than one descendant in the legitimate female line of the original titleholder. In England, Fiefs or titles granted "in tail general" or to "heirs general" follow this system for sons, but daughters are considered equal co-heirs to each other, which can result in abeyance. In the medieval period, actual practice varied with local custom. While women could inherit manors, power was usually exercised by their husbands (''[[jure uxoris]]'') or their sons (''[[jure matris]]''). However, in Scotland, Salic law or any of its variations have never been practised, and all the hereditary titles are inherited through male-preference primogeniture, where in the extinction of a male line, the eldest sister automatically receives the titles, and rules in her own right, not in the right of her son. A famous example of this is [[Marjorie, Countess of Carrick]], mother of [[Robert the Bruce]], who was the Countess of Carrick in her own right.

A similar system was practised in many of the kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent from the Middle Ages to the [[Indian independence movement]]. In many of these kingdoms, adoption was allowed from a relative if a monarch did not have children, and the adopted child could succeed to the throne at the death of the monarch. ([[Shahu I]] adopted [[Rajaram II of Satara|Rajaram II]] who ruled as king and he in turn adopted [[Shahu II of Satara|Shahu II]] who ruled as the next king. Princess Bharani Thirunal Parvathy Bayi, the mother of the reigning Queen [[Gowri Lakshmi Bayi]] of [[Travancore]], had been adopted). Often, the wife or mother of a childless king were allowed to succeed to the throne as well and allowed to rule as queen regnants in their own right, until their death, after which the throne passed to the next closest relative. An early example of this is [[Didda|Queen Didda of Kashmir]], who ascended the throne of Kashmir in 980 CE after the death of her grandson and ruled until 1003 CE. Another example is [[Qudsia Begum, Begum of Bhopal|Qudsia Begum]] who became the [[Nawabs of Bhopal|Nawab of Bhopal]] in 1819 CE after the death of her husband and ruled until 1837 CE. Other famous queens include [[Rudrama Devi]], [[Keladi Chennamma]], [[Ahilyabai Holkar]], [[Velu Nachiyar]] and [[Gowri Lakshmi Bayi]]. [[Razia Sultana]] was a rare example of a queen who succeeded her father even when her brothers were alive. She was the reigning queen of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] from 1236 to 1240 CE.

Male-preference primogeniture is currently practised in succession to the thrones of [[Monaco]] (since [[Jean I, Lord of Monaco|1454]]) and [[Spain]] (before 1700 and since [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1830|1830]]).