Liechtenstein Opens Its Throne to Women After Centuries of Male-Only Succession
Liechtenstein's ruling family announced on 15 August 2026 that women can now succeed to the country's throne, ending a system that for centuries barred princesses from the line of inheritance.
The change came through a revision to the house laws, the internal rules governing the Princely House of Liechtenstein, which were approved by the necessary two-thirds majority of those eligible to vote within the dynasty. The family adopted absolute primogeniture, meaning succession is now determined by birth order alone, regardless of sex.
Until now, women did not appear in Liechtenstein's line of succession at all. A woman could inherit the throne only if no male heir existed anywhere in the dynasty. In 2004, a United Nations committee criticised the principality for that exclusion.
The new rules take effect immediately and are not retroactive. Princesses born before the change cannot jump ahead of any siblings in the existing order. That matters for the current generation: Princess Marie Caroline, daughter of the heir Prince Alois and Princess Sophie, never appeared in the line to the throne — and under the new rules she cannot overtake her two younger brothers.
Prince Alois has served as regent since 2004, when his father, Prince Hans-Adam, handed over day-to-day running of the country. Hans-Adam remains the ruling prince. Alois and Sophie have four children; their eldest, Prince Joseph Wenzel, is second in the succession.
The official announcement said it was important that the best prepared person inherited the throne, according to Royal Central.
Liechtenstein is a small principality between Switzerland and Austria, and the Princely House gave the country its name. The family has served as head of state for over 300 years, and the principality describes itself as a unique monarchy in which the prince and the people jointly exercise state power, according to the Princely House's own website.
The UK made a similar shift in 2012, switching to absolute primogeniture ahead of the birth of the first child of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Those rules applied only to those born after October 2011, which is why Princess Charlotte kept her place ahead of her younger brother Prince Louis.
Only two European monarchies still operate male primogeniture, where a man outranks a woman regardless of birth order: Spain and Monaco. Spain's King Felipe VI has only daughters with Queen Letizia, and their eldest, Princess Leonor, is heir — so the male-preference rule has never been triggered. In Monaco, the mechanics are starker: Prince Jacques was born minutes after his twin sister, Princess Gabriella, and has been heir since birth.
For Liechtenstein, the paperwork is now signed and the house laws updated. Princesses born from here on will take their place in the succession by birth order, the same as their brothers.
