[whrobbins]

"Smooth transition of power" is a good way to put it in the modern era. In centuries past, citizens would pray on their hands and knees for a system as quick and streamlined as this one.

When there is ambiguity in who holds power, there is conflict, instability, bloodshed, etc. This is why countries used to throw enormous festivals celebrating the birth of a monarch's first-born son — it means the succession plan has become entirely unambiguous, and stability has been ensured for years to come.