Succession to the Bavarian throne

The Kingdom of Bavaria was abolished in 1918. The current head of its formerly ruling House of Wittelsbach is Franz, Duke of Bavaria.

The succession is determined by Article 2 of Title 2 of the 1818 Constitution of the Kingdom of Bavaria, which states, "The crown is hereditary among the male descendants of the royal house according to the law of primogeniture and the agnatic lineal succession." The succession is further clarified by Title 5 of the Bavarian Royal Family Statute of 1819.

In 1948 and 1949 Crown Prince Rupprecht, with the agreement of the other members of the house, amended the house laws to allow the succession of the sons of princes who had married into comital houses. In 1999 Duke Franz, with the agreement of the other members of the house, amended the house laws further to allow the succession of the sons of any princes who married with the permission of the head of the house.

Franz has never married. The heir presumptive to the headship of the House of Wittelsbach is his brother Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria. Because Max has five daughters but no sons, he is followed in the line of succession by his and Franz's first cousin (and second cousin in the male line) Prince Luitpold.

Line of Succession on 13 November 1918

 * Simple silver crown.svg King Ludwig I (1786–1868) (abdicated 1848)
 * Simple silver crown.svg King Maximilian II (1811–1864)
 * Simple silver crown.svg King Ludwig II (1845–1886)
 * Simple silver crown.svg King Otto (1848–1916)
 * Simple silver crown.svg King Otto of Greece (1815–1867)
 * Luitpold, Prince Regent (1821–1912)
 * Simple gold crown.svg King Ludwig III (b.1845)
 * (1) Crown Prince Rupprecht (b.1869)
 * (2) Prince Albrecht (b.1905)
 * (3) Prince Karl (b.1874)
 * (4) Prince Franz (b.1875)
 * (5) Prince Ludwig (b.1913)
 * (6) Prince Leopold (b.1846)
 * (7) Prince Georg (b.1880)
 * (8) Prince Konrad (b.1883)
 * Prince Adalbert (1828–1875)
 * (9) Prince Ludwig Ferdinand (b.1859)
 * Infante Ferdinand of Spain, former Prince Ferdinand (b.1884) (renounced rights)
 * Infante Luis Alfonso of Spain (b.1906)
 * Infante José Eugenio of Spain (b.1909)
 * (10) Prince Adalbert (b.1886)
 * (11) Prince Alfons (b.1862)
 * (12) Prince Joseph Clemens (b.1902)

Current Line of Succession

 * Simple silver crown.svg Ludwig I of Bavaria (1786-1868)
 * Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria (1821-1912)
 * Simple silver crown.svg Ludwig III of Bavaria (1845-1921)
 * Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria (1869-1955)
 * Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria (1905-1996)
 * Franz, Franz, Duke of Bavaria (born 1933)
 * (1) Prince Max of Bavaria, Duke in Bavaria (born 1937)
 * Prince Franz of Bavaria (1875-1957)
 * Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (1913-2008)
 * (2) Prince Luitpold of Bavaria (born 1951)
 * (3) Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (born 1982)
 * (4) Prince Heinrich of Bavaria (born 1986)
 * (5) Prince Karl of Bavaria (born 1987)
 * Prince Rasso of Bavaria (1926-2011)
 * (6) Pater Florian von Bayern, O.S.B. (born 1957)
 * (7) Prince Wolfgang of Bavaria (born 1960)
 * (8) Prince Tassilo of Bavaria (born 1992)
 * (9) Prince Richard of Bavaria (born 1993)
 * (10) Prince Philipp of Bavaria (born 1996)
 * (11) Prince Christoph of Bavaria (born 1962)
 * (12) Prince Corbinian of Bavaria (born 1996)
 * (13) Prince Stanislaus of Bavaria (born 1997)
 * (14) Prince Marcello of Bavaria (born 1998)
 * Prince Adalbert of Bavaria (1828-1875)
 * Prince Ludwig Ferdinand of Bavaria (1859-1949)
 * Prince Adalbert of Bavaria (1886-1970)
 * Prince Konstantin of Bavaria (1920-1969)
 * (15) Prince Leopold of Bavaria (born 1943) - current heir to Otto I, King of Greece (Leopold's eldest son Prince Manuel of Bavaria was born out of wedlock and is not in the line of succession)
 * (16) Prince Konstantin of Bavaria (born 1986)
 * (17) Prince Adalbert of Bavaria (born 1944)
 * (18) Prince Hubertus of Bavaria (born 1989)

In fiction

 * H.G. Wells, describing in "The Shape of Things to Come" the rise of a world government and its unification of the world, depicts a "Prince Manfred of Bavaria" as the leader of a widespread rebellion against that nascent government, occurring at the end of the 20th Century (see ).