Derbfine

In later Anglo-Saxon England, princes of the royal dynasty who were eligible for the kingship were known as æthelings (eg. Edgar Atheling). In Wales, an edling was the term for an accepted heir apparent of a reigning Welsh monarch. The inheritance of the Norman royal line on the death of Stephen, King of England and his succession by his cousin, Henry II, is similar. Stephen's son was disinherited by consent, and Henry was chosen as the equivalent of tánaiste or next chieftain and succeeded to the English throne in 1154. The system was again attempted during the incapacity of Henry VI of England, when the House of York obtained the support of some royal cousins to take the throne in 1461. By then, the norm in Europe was the system of primogeniture, which led on to the turbulent succession crises and policies of Henry VIII of England in 1527–36. ==See also==