Succession to the Liechtensteiner throne is governed by the house laws of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, which stipulate agnatic primogeniture. In 2004, the head of state, Hans-Adam II, publicly responded to criticism from a committee of the UN which had voiced concerns about the exclusion of women from the line of succession, stating that the rule was older than the state itself.
In 1606, the first prince of Liechtenstein, Karl I, and his younger brothers, Maximilian and Gundakar, signed a Family Covenant, agreeing that the headship of the family should pass according to agnatic primogeniture to the heir of the most senior line. [1] The family continued to be governed by various statutes until 1993, when it was decided that some of the provisions were outdated and that they should be amended. The statute was repealed on 26 October, [2] and the new house law was published on 6 December. [3] According to the house law, the right to succeed to the throne of Liechtenstein is reserved for male patrilineal descendants of Prince Johann I Joseph born to married parents, excluding issue born of marriage to which the sovereign did not consent. Should there be no more eligible male patrilineal descendants left, the sovereign has the right to adopt an heir presumptive. It is explicitly stated that if a member of the princely family adopts a prince who is in the line of succession, the adoptee's place in the line will not be altered. [3] There is no scenario under which a woman could succeed to the throne of Liechtenstein. [4] The house law also provides for a possibility of renunciation of succession rights. [3]
Prince Johann I Josef (1760–1836) Prince Alois II (1796–1858) Prince Johann II (1840–1929) Prince Franz I (1853–1938) Prince Franz Josef II (1906–1989)
Prince Hans-Adam II (born 1945) In 2004, a United Nations committee questioned the compatibility of agnatic primogeniture, which prevents women from becoming head of state of Liechtenstein, with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [5] and later raised concern about it. [6] In response to the United Nations' demands for gender equality in 2007, Prince Hans-Adam II explained that the succession law is older than the Principality of Liechtenstein itself and that it is a family tradition that does not affect the country's citizens; the Constitution of Liechtenstein stipulates that succession to the throne is a private family matter. [7]
Political identity came to the territory now occupied by the Principality of Liechtenstein in 814, with the formation of the subcountry of Lower Rhætia. Liechtenstein's borders have remained unchanged since 1434, when the Rhine established the border between the Holy Roman Empire and the Swiss cantons.
Hans-Adam II is the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, since 1989. He is the son of Prince Franz Joseph II and his wife, Countess Georgina von Wilczek. He also bears the titles Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, and Count of Rietberg. Under his reign, a 2003 constitutional referendum expanded the powers of the Prince of Liechtenstein. In 2004, Hans-Adam transferred day-to-day governmental duties to his eldest son Hereditary Prince Alois as regent, like his father had granted him in 1984 to prepare him for the role.
Josef Wenzel I, often referred to as just Wenzel, was the Prince of Liechtenstein between 1712 and 1718, and 1748 and 1772, as well as regent of Liechtenstein between 1732 and 1745. He first succeeded his distant cousin Hans-Adam I, even though he was not next in line. The actual heir was his uncle Anton Florian, he was not very popular among the family and therefore Hans-Adam chose Josef Wenzel as his heir. He later decided to hand over the Principality in exchange for him getting the Dominion of Rumburk in 1718. Thirty years later he inherited Liechtenstein again after his nephew Prince Johann Nepomuk Karl died without male issue.
Franz Joseph II was the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein from 25 July 1938 until his death in November 1989.
Karl Eusebius was the Prince of Liechtenstein. He inherited this title in 1627 from his father Karl I. He was 16 and thus considered underage, and his uncles Prince Gundakar and Maximillian acted as regents until 1632. From 1639 to 1641 Karl was Chief Captain of High and Low Silesia.
Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein, born Franz de Paula Josef Johann Nepomuk Andreas, was the Prince of Liechtenstein from 1772 until his death.
Franz I was Prince of Liechtenstein from 11 February 1929 until his death in 1938.
The House of Liechtenstein, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by hereditary right over the principality of Liechtenstein. Only dynastic members of the family are eligible to inherit the throne. The dynasty's membership, rights and responsibilities are defined by a law of the family, which is enforced by the reigning prince and may be altered by vote among the family's dynasts, but which may not be altered by the Government or Parliament of Liechtenstein.
Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein is the fourth child and second and youngest daughter of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. As the sister of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and the sister-in-law of Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, she is a princess of two current realms and a member of the Luxembourg and Liechtenstein reigning dynasties.
Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg is the eldest child of Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, and his wife, Duchess Sophie Elizabeth Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria, He is also the eldest grandchild of the current ruling prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II, and Countess Marie Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau.
The House Order of Hohenzollern was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses and medals which could be awarded to lower-ranking soldiers and civilians.
The House of Hohenberg is an Austrian and Czech noble family that descends from Countess Sophie Chotek (1868–1914), who in 1900 married Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria-Este (1863–1914), the heir presumptive to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As their marriage was a morganatic one, none of their children were in the line of succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Nevertheless, they represent the senior agnatic line of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
Prince Alois of Liechtenstein was the son of Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein (1842–1907) and Princess Henriette of Liechtenstein (1843–1931), daughter of Alois II of Liechtenstein. The maternal nephew and first cousin, once removed, of Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein, Prince Alois renounced his rights to the succession on 26 February 1923, in favor of his son Franz Joseph II, as he was concerned about his age should be assume the role.
Prince Eduard Franz of Liechtenstein was a son of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein (1760–1836) and wife Landgravine Josepha of Fürstenberg-Weitra, nephew of Aloys I, brother of Aloys II and uncle of Johann II and Franz I.
Alois, Hereditary Prince and Regent of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg, is the eldest son of Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and Countess Marie Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau. The heir apparent to the throne of Liechtenstein, Alois has also been regent of the country since 15 August 2004. He is married to Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, who is a member of the House of Wittelsbach, and second in line for the Jacobite succession.
The monarchy of Liechtenstein is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of Liechtenstein. The current monarch is Prince Hans-Adam II. The House of Liechtenstein, after which the sovereign principality was named in 1719, hails from Liechtenstein Castle in Lower Austria, which the family possessed from at least 1140 to the thirteenth century, and from 1807 onward. It is the only remaining European monarchy that practises strict agnatic primogeniture.
Princess Henriette of Liechtenstein was a Princess of Liechtenstein and member of the Princely House of Liechtenstein.
Prince Johannes of Liechtenstein, was an Austro-Hungarian noble and military leader.
Portuguese in Liechtenstein are citizens and residents of Liechtenstein who are of Portuguese descent.