The death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II four years ago, and the abdication of Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II two years later, saw the end of two historic reigns by women.
Now, none of Europe’s monarchies has a reigning queen, but it’s only a matter of time before the situation changes, making way for a new era of young princess-in-waiting for the top job.
(L-R) Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, Princess Leonor of Spain and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. Graphic: Polly Hanning
Five of Europe’s constitutional monarchies have a female as heir to the throne and the newest member of that small, and privileged, group is Norway’s Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra.
The 22-year-old royal has been a visible and prominent figure alongside her father, the new King Haakon VIII following the death of King Harald V who ruled Norway for 35 years.
It was Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra who stood next to the king at his historic swearing-in ceremony last week when her mother Queen Mette-Marit was hospitalised for complications relating to her recent lung transplant.
The young princess − who briefly lived in Australia as a student of Sydney University − also took a lead role in the state funeral of her late grandfather, attended by royals from around the world on Wednesday, and stood with her family on the palace balcony as they marked the beginning of a new chapter following a turbulent period beset by health challenges and scandals.
In Spain, 20-year-old Princess Leonor will one day head the House of Bourbon after her father King Felipe VI.
Princess Catharina-Amalia, 22, will be the next queen of the Netherlands.
In Belgium, the heir is Princess Elisabeth, 24, who recently graduated from Harvard University in the United States.
The eldest of the lot is Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria who, at 49, is also the most experienced.
Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Norway
Ingrid Alexandra is the first royal to benefit from a change to Norway’s succession laws in 1990 that made it possible for the eldest child of the monarch, of either sex, to inherit the throne.
The 22-year-old is now Crown Princess of Norway and first in the order of succession of the House of Glücksburg, which has ruled the Scandinavian country since 1905.
When the time comes, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra will make history by becoming the country’s first queen regnant in 600 years.
Until recently, Ingrid Alexandra lived in Australia. She moved to Sydney in August last year to begin a three-year degree at Sydney University in social science, specialising in international relations and politics.
Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra made her first appearance on the balcony of Oslo Palace on September 9 after the state funeral of her grandfather, the late King Harald V. Her father, Haakon VIII, ascended the throne on August 28. AP Photo/Markus Schreiber
But she rushed home to be with her mother, the now Queen Mette-Marit, whose health had rapidly declined. Mette-Marit had a successful lung transplant days after her daughter’s arrival and now that she is the next in line to the Norwegian throne, Ingrid Alexandra is expected to remain in Oslo to support her father the king.
She transferred to Oslo University as an exchange student in August, but her father did tell the media his daughter hoped to finish her studies in Australia one day.
Haakon VIII was sworn in as Norway’s king with his daughter, Crown Princess Ingrid, by his side. she will one day make history by becoming Norway’s first queen regnant in 600 years. Lise Aserud/Pool Photo via AP
For now, her focus is on her university studies, the Royal House of Norway recently said, but the princess will carry out official duties where possible.
In April 2025, the princess completed her military service after spending 15 months as an engineer soldier and rifleman with the Engineer Battalion in Brigade North. Ingrid Alexandra’s compulsory training was initially planned for 12 months, but she extended it by a further three.
King Haakon previously joked his daughter “would have liked to have been a pro surfer on the World Tour”, had she not been born heir to the throne. In 2020, she was named junior surfing champion in countrywide competition. The young royal is also a keen skier and does kickboxing.
Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra had been largely shielded from the spotlight by her late grandfather who wanted her to focus on her studies before assuming constitutional responsibilities. Ida Bjørvik/The Royal House of Norway
Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra has two siblings: half-brother Marius Borg Høiby, who is Mette-Marit’s son from a relationship before she married into Norway’s royal family, and Prince Sverre Magnus.
Høiby was convicted of rape and assault in June and remains under house arrest at the family’s private estate, Skaugum, with an ankle monitor. Prince Sverre Magnus is not expected to be a full-time working royal like his sister.
Princess Leonor, Spain
The heir to the Spanish throne is Princess Leonor, 20, who is the eldest daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.
Leonor, whose official title is the Princess of Asturias, became next-in-line to the throne when she was just eight years old in 2014 following the abdication of her grandfather, the scandal-plagued King Juan Carlos I.
Princess Leonor of Spain started university at the Getafe Campus of the Carlos III University of Madrid on Monday. @CasaReal
Leonor has one sibling, her younger sister, Infanta Sofia, 19, who is second-in-line to the throne and the House of Bourbon.
However, in the unlikely scenario that King Felipe, 58, and his wife Queen Letizia, 53, have a son he would take priority over his elder sisters because of Spain’s male-preference cognatic primogeniture, under the constitution.
Princess Leonor recently completed three years of military service in the army, navy and air force and will one day hold the rank of supreme commander of the Armed Forces, the first woman in Spain’s history to do so. Getty
On Monday, September 7, Princess Leonor joined thousands of students beginning university at Carlos III University of Madrid, where she is now doing a degree in political science. Leonor previously studied at the UWC Atlantic College in Wales where she completed her International Baccalaureate, similar to the Higher School Certificate in Australia.
She became the first Spanish royal woman to fly a military plane solo, last year, during three years of military service which included a sting in the airforce, navy and army.
When she is Queen of Spain, Leonor will also hold the rank of supreme commander of the Armed Forces. She will become the first woman in Spanish history to hold the title.
Princess Leonor and her younger sister Infanta Sofia have grown up in the spotlight. However, if their parents had a son he would jump to the top of the line of succession. Patrick van Katwijk/WireImage
Although she has been a public figure for some time, Princess Leonor significantly increased her royal duties in 2020 by joining her father and mother during their months-long tour of Spain supporting regions suffering economic turmoil caused by widespread shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic.
In March 2021, Princess Leonor carried out her first-ever solo engagement, visiting the Cervantes Institute in Madrid, a public institution founded to promote Spanish language and culture, named after Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.
Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia, the Netherlands
The daughter of King Willem-Alexander, 59, and Queen Maxima, 55, Princess Catharina-Amalia has been learning the ropes for some time.
In the past few years the 22-year-old has become a fixture at state banquets, wearing a number of historic tiaras from the Dutch collection, following her mother’s penchant for fashion and jewels.
Princess Catharina-Amalia is the heir to the Dutch throne and is now a regular at state banquets, including here in June, wearing the historic Mellerio ruby tiara. Getty Images
Know as Princess Amalia, she regularly attends royal-centric events across the world and most recently, she joined her parents in Norway for the state funeral of King Harald V. She was also among the royals invited to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III in Britain as part of a pre-event party inside Buckingham Palace.
Amalia’s official title is the Princess of Orange and she is the first female to assume the title in her own right. Previously, there have only been Queen Regents of the Netherlands.
In late 2022, the princess made headlines when her safety at university was compromised because of a terror plot. She had just begun a degree in politics, psychology, law and economics at the University of Amsterdam, and had moved from the palace into shared student accommodation, when threats to her life emerged.
Princess Amalia and then-Prime Minister Mark Rutte appeared in organised crime communications, which indicated they may become a target of kidnapping or an attack. Security measures around the royal and Dutch PM were increased and Princess Amalia moved to Spain to continue her education via correspondence, in secret.
Princess Amalia lived in Madrid for a year and was able to enjoy greater freedom there.
In April 2025, she returned to Spain in an official capacity in what would be her first solo engagement abroad, dedicating a tulip garden named in her honour, outside the royal palace in the Plaza de Oriente.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, along with their daughter Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia attended the funeral of Norway’s King Harald V on Wednesday. Getty Images
The princess, who speaks fluent Spanish as her mother grew up in Argentina, described Madrid as “a second home…especially at a time that was difficult in the Netherlands”.
This year, Amalia began a bachelor’s degree in Dutch Law at the University of Amsterdam. Alongside her studies, she is also doing military training but won’t begin the physical component of the course until she fully recovers from a break to her arm during a horse riding accident in June last year.
She is the first member of the Dutch royal house to join the military in a work-study role as a reservist.
Princess Amalia has two younger sisters: Princess Alexia, 21, and Princess Ariane, 19.
Princess Elisabeth, Belgium
When the time comes, Princess Elisabeth, the Duchess of Brabant, will make history as the country’s first queen regnant.
The 24-year-old princess is the daughter of King Philippe of Belgium, 66, and Queen Mathilde, 53, and in May she graduated from Harvard University in the US with a master’s in public policy.
The heir of the Belgian throne is 24-year-old Princess Elisabeth, who recently graduated from Harvard University in the US. Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Getty Images
Prior to arriving at Harvard, Elisabeth studied her undergraduate course at Oxford University, earning a bachelor’s degree in history and politics from Oxford’s Lincoln College. She also completed her International Baccalaureate at UWC College in Wales.
The future queen has also undergone military training.
Like Princess Amalia of the Netherlands, and Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, Elisabeth will make history when she ascends the throne from her father.
Elisabeth will be the first woman to rule the country in her own right, as previous queens of Belgium were always consorts, the wife of the reigning king.
She regularly attends official events alongside her parents including formal occasions requiring a tiara.
Princess Elisabeth is the eldest daughter of Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. Getty Images
In September last year, the Royal House of Belgium was forced to shut down rumours Elisabeth was dating Prince George of Liechtenstein after artificial intelligence-generated photos emerged of them online. Prince George recently announced his engagement to a member of German nobility.
Princess Elisabeth has three siblings: Prince Gabriel, 23, Prince Emmanuel, 20, and Princess Eléonore, 18.
Crown Princess Victoria, Sweden
Arguably the royal most ready for the role of queen is Crown Princess Victoria who, at 49, has been a prominent figure of Sweden’s royal family, known as the Bernadotte dynasty, for years.
She became heir to the throne when the law changed, bringing in gender-neutral succession rights and allowing women to inherit the throne for the first time.
The move was historic and Sweden became the first European monarchy to introduce gender-neutral succession, in 1979, with the change coming into effect on January 1, 1980.
Prior to the change, Victoria’s younger brother Prince Carl Philip − born two years after her − held the title of crown prince.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, seen here in April with her husband Prince Daniel and daughter Princess Estelle. Victoria became heir after a change to Sweden’s succession laws in 1980. Michael Campanella/Getty Images
After Crown Princess Victoria, the next queen of Sweden will be her eldest daughter Princess Estelle, 14.
Crown Princess Victoria is the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf, 80, and Queen Silvia, 82.
In 2023, the king described his daughter and heir as “an extraordinary asset to me, my family and our country”.
Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria was the only foreign royal who spoke during the state funeral of Norway’s King Harald V on Wednesday, reading The Prayer of Saint Francis. Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB Scanpix via AP
Crown Princess Victoria is consistently voted the most popular public figure in Sweden, her approval rating stemming from her dedication to royal duties − she’s been a key figure at public events since her teenage years.
In 1995 when she turned 18, Victoria gave her first national address which was broadcast on television.
Speaking at a ceremony in the Hall of State at the Royal Palace, Victoria said: “I will always remain loyal to The King and to the Riksdag [Sweden’s Parliament]. I will also carefully respect Sweden’s constitutional laws.”
She married personal trainer Daniel Westling in June, 2010, after a romance that her father, at first, did not agree with due to Westling’s background as a commoner. He had wanted Victoria to marry a Danish prince instead.
Crown Princess Victoria, pictured here at the gala banquet in celebration of her father’s 80th birthday on April 30, is a regular fixture on the global stage. Clément Morin/The Royal Court of Sweden
As heir to the throne, Crown Princess Victoria has for many years now been preparing for her future role as head of state.
She has been working with the king to gain a deeper knowledge about national and international issues and often represents Sweden, and the king, at major events including state visits at home and abroad.
It was the Victoria who accompanied King Carl XVI Gustaf to London for the coronation of King Charles III in 2023, instead of Queen Silvia, cementing her place as heir and her importance in global affairs.