It is a requirement that Prince Christian makes a solemn declaration of his intention to abide by the Constitution before the Prince will be able to be appointed as regent in the event that both HM The Queen and HRH The Crown Prince are prevented from governing. Already, TRH The Crown Princess, Princess Benedikte and Prince Joachim can function as acting regent and thus perform the duties of head of state.

When Prince Christian, in the presence of The Queen, The Crown Prince and the government, has made his solemn declaration, for the first time in more than 100 years there will be a situation in which there are both a successor to the throne and an heir to the throne of legal age who can step in as regent. 

The last time this was the case was in 1902, when the future Christian X as heir to the throne made a solemn declaration in the Council of State with a view to being installed as regent. The immediate reason was that the king – Christian IX – and the successor to the throne, the future Frederik VIII, at the same time was out of the kingdom – The Crown Prince took part in the coronation of King Edward VII, whose wife, Queen Alexandra, was the daughter of Christian IX and Queen Louise.

The King was absent from the meeting of the Council of State in June 1902 when the future Christian X made his solemn declaration, which is why there were “only” two generations of the line of succession represented.

When both The Queen and The Crown Prince witness Prince Christian making his solemn declaration at the Council of State on 14 November 2023, it will thus presumably be the first time in the history of the Constitution that three generations in the line of succession are present in the Council of State at the same time.