%3Aformat(jpg)%3Aquality(99)%3Awatermark(f.elconfidencial.com%2Ffile%2F0f2%2F6d9%2F13e%2F0f26d913e1b27ca111e62b656aa354da.png%2C0%2C275%2C1)%2Ff.elconfidencial.com%2Foriginal%2F213%2F703%2F1bf%2F2137031bf23dd385a2b60c20c29862a3.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
Europe · 15 August, 2026 · 2 min read
Liechtenstein Changes Succession Rules So Women Can Ascend The Throne
Liechtenstein to allow women to inherit the throne, ending male-only succession. Change approved by two-thirds of eligible royal family members on National Day.
Political context: monarchy modernisation focus vs abortion-backlash linkage.
3 of 4 outlets skipped it: reform approved by two-thirds of eligible voting family members on Wednesday.
22outlets compared
Same story, two versions
tap a side to read it in full
El Mundo
“This bombshell this Saturday in Liechtenstein. The regent prince Alois has just announced”Read the original ↗
El Mundo links the change to abortion unrest; BBC stays with succession mechanics.
Liechtenstein ends male-only rule
Liechtenstein announced it has changed royal succession rules to allow women to ascend the throne, with the declaration made on the national day of the central European country.
“The order of succession is being changed from male primogeniture to absolute primogeniture”
Hereditary Prince Alois said the change was approved on Wednesday by the necessary two-thirds majority of family members who can vote on such matters, and he described the shift as moving from male primogeniture to absolute primogeniture.
A statement from the princely house specified that the change will apply only to descendants of the children of Alois and his wife, Hereditary Princess Sophie, who are born in the future, leaving today’s line of succession unchanged.
Prince Hans-Adam II remains the head of state, but in 2004 handed over most of his powers to Alois, his eldest son, who is now 58, and the eldest of Alois’ four children is 31-year-old Prince Joseph Wenzel.
Alois’ rationale and voting
In his speech marking Liechtenstein’s national day, Alois said, according to a text of his remarks posted on the princely house’s website, that "The ability to combine continuity with renewal is a principle that we foster inside the princely house."
Alois also said that "in the future, the first-born child will, regardless of sex, become the heir to the throne and later the princess or prince of Liechtenstein," framing the reform as a rule change that would apply prospectively.
The BBC reported that the change will not affect his heir, Hereditary Prince Alois, who was his first-born, and that it will only apply to descendants of the four children of Alois and Sophie.B
CBS News added that the vote granted "all female descendants of the Princely House" the same participation rights in matters governed by the House Law as male descendants.
Who is affected next
The reform’s practical impact is limited for now because it does not affect the immediate succession, with Prince Hans-Adam II still head of state and Alois carrying out most official duties since 2004.
“The change shouldn't affect the top of the line of succession in the immediate future”
CBS News reported that the change shouldn’t affect the top of the line of succession in the immediate future, and it said the eldest of Alois’ four children is 31-year-old Prince Joseph Wenzel.
Hello! Magazine described how the rule could matter for future generations by saying that if Joseph Wenzel’s first issue is a daughter, then she would become the first Princess of Liechtenstein in the country’s history.
The Los Angeles Times noted that Liechtenstein granted women the right to vote in national elections in 1984, and it said last year Brigitte Haas became its first female prime minister, underscoring that the succession change is arriving in a country already led by a woman in government.