悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito), the youngest prince in the Japanese royal family, turned three today.
He is third in line to become the Emperor of Japan.
Next in line behind the current emperor is the Emperor’s oldest son (Prince Hisahito’s uncle) Prince Naruhito, and second in line is the Emperor’s youngest son (Prince Hisahito’s father) Prince Akishino.
If the current Emperor’s oldest son (Prince Naruhito) had a son, he would be in line to the throne before 悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito)…but he has a daughter (Princess Aiko) and no other children.
And 悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito) has two older sisters, but no brothers.
So before 悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito) was born, the Japanese government was in a quandary about who would succeed the throne.
They considered changing the law to allow Japan to be headed by a female empress, so that Princess Aiko could eventually take the throne…but her cousin 悠仁親王 (Prince Hisahito) was born, so that issue became moot.