A
Crown Prince or
Crown Princess stands first in line to succeed to the
throne in a royal or imperial
monarchy. In Europe, lineal
succession[?] conventions (see for example
Salic law) usually dictate that the eldest
child (as in
Sweden,
Belgium) or the eldest
son of the current monarch (
United Kingdom,
Spain,
The Netherlands, etc) fills this role, but in
Arab monarchies, for example, succession rules may differ and a Crown Prince may gain the
title on
merit, or because someone is not seen as a threat to the reign of the current monarch; in such cases a person granted the title may also lose it, with it being granted to another member of the Royal Family.
Compare Heir Apparent and Heir Presumptive.
Special titles often attach to a Crown Prince, such as: