Overview
- Hereditary Prince Alois announced on Saturday, August 15 that the Princely House changed its House Law to make the firstborn child the heir regardless of gender after a family vote secured the required two-thirds majority.
- The amendment is not retroactive and will not displace existing family members, so the immediate line of succession — currently led by Prince Joseph Wenzel as the eldest descendant — remains unchanged.
- The reform grants female descendants the same participation rights in matters governed by the House Law as male descendants and changes how future heirs will be determined.
- Alois said the move aims to ensure the person best prepared to govern can assume responsibility, noting his children are approaching the age when they must consider princely duties.
- The change brings Liechtenstein in line with most European monarchies on gender and succession while carrying extra weight because the princely office retains wide powers such as vetoing referendums, appointing judges, and dismissing the government.