Liechtenstein opens succession to women
Saturday 15th August 2026 on 16:00 in
Austria
Liechtenstein will allow women to inherit the throne under an amendment to the princely House Law, ORF reports. The change was approved with the required two thirds majority of voting members of the Princely House on the country’s National Day.
In future, the firstborn child of the reigning prince or princess will become heir regardless of sex. The successor may later rule as either prince or princess of Liechtenstein.
Hereditary Prince Alois said the amendment was intended to ensure that Liechtenstein and the Princely House were governed by the person best prepared for the role. He said the sons and daughters of the reigning prince or princess were generally best prepared because they grew up in Vaduz and became familiar with the principality and the Princely House from a young age.
The House Law is an autonomous family statute adopted by the Princely House and anchored at constitutional level. It regulates, among other things, the hereditary succession and the role of the prince as head of state, head of the Princely House and chairman of the Princely Foundation. The succession had previously been limited to the firstborn male and had followed that rule since 1606.
The change does not affect the current line of succession. Prince Hans Adam II is the reigning prince, followed by Hereditary Prince Alois. Alois’s son, Prince Joseph Wenzel, is second in line. Princess Marie Caroline, Alois’s second-born child, is now third in line, but the new rule applies only to children who have not yet been born.
If Alois were to leave the line of succession, one of Marie Caroline’s younger brothers would therefore still take her place. The new rule will apply to future children of Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie.
Female members of the Princely House will also have the same rights to participate in matters governed by the House Law. The Princely House said the amendment strengthened its long-term approach. Monaco is now the last hereditary monarchy in Europe with exclusively male succession, according to the report.