Liechtenstein changes succession rules to allow women to inherit the throne
Liechtenstein has announced on its national day that it is changing its royal succession rules so that the first-born child, regardless of sex, will become heir to the throne. The current line of succession remains unaffected for now.
The tiny European principality of Liechtenstein, home to roughly 44,000 people, used its national day celebrations to announce a significant reform to how its monarchy passes from one generation to the next.
Under the new rules, the throne will no longer automatically favour male descendants. Instead, the country is moving to what is known as absolute primogeniture, meaning the eldest child in a family — whether son or daughter — will become heir apparent and eventually reign as princess or prince.
The ruling House of Liechtenstein said the shift represents a move away from male-only primogeniture toward this gender-neutral system for determining succession.
Prince Hans-Adam II has led the principality since 1989. The reform will not change the position of his heir, Hereditary Prince Alois, who is his eldest child and who has already taken on most of the family's official royal duties over the past two decades. The new rule will only take effect for descendants of Alois and his wife, Hereditary Princess Sophie, whose four children's own offspring will be the first generation covered by the change.
In a statement, Alois said the reform is intended to ensure that both the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Princely House are led by whichever person is best prepared to take on that responsibility.
Liechtenstein, wedged between Switzerland and Austria, is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world. Unlike most of Europe's remaining monarchs, its ruler retains substantial political authority. The United Kingdom made a comparable change to its own succession rules in 2011, granting a monarch's first-born daughter the right to inherit the crown.
