Agnatic seniority is a
patrilineal principle of
inheritance where the
order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children (the next generation) succeed only after the males of the elder generation have all been exhausted. Agnatic seniority essentially excludes females of the
dynasty and their descendants from the succession. Contrast
agnatic primogeniture, where the king's sons stand higher in succession than his brothers.