Prince Alois of Liechtenstein announced a significant change to the country’s succession laws on August 15, allowing future generations of women to inherit the throne on equal terms with men. The move ended a three-century-old tradition and was widely seen as overdue progress for a nation that was Europe’s last to grant women the right to vote in 1984. However, this announcement coincided with a broader consolidation of power within the Princely House, the ruling family of Europe’s wealthiest monarchy.
Internal documents reveal that on August 12, the Princely House approved amendments to the Hausgesetz, or House Law, which govern the monarchy’s internal affairs. The changes enhance Prince Alois’s authority over the dynasty, while reducing the oversight previously exercised by other family members. Notably, the prince gains increased discretion over dynastic membership and new rights to regulate family names, titles, and coats of arms.
Since 2004, Prince Alois, 58, has carried out the functions of head of state after his father, Hans-Adam II, transferred day-to-day sovereign powers to him while retaining the title of reigning prince. He already possesses extensive powers uncommon among European monarchs, including the ability to veto legislation, dismiss the government, dissolve parliament, appoint judges, and overturn referendums. Earlier this year, Alois publicly stated he would veto a citizens’ initiative to legalize abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, regardless of a popular vote in favor.
The Princely House wields influence bolstered by substantial private wealth, primarily through ownership of LGT, an international private banking group managed by Alois’s brother, Prince Max. The bank oversees approximately $482 billion in client assets, including the family fortune, and paid the princely family a dividend of roughly $878 million in the previous year. This financial strength intertwines the dynasty closely with the Liechtenstein state, a small Alpine nation situated between Switzerland and Austria.
The reforms also adjust the structure of the Family Council, the body responsible for overseeing dynastic matters. The council will expand from three to five members but will lose its veto power over pardons, with the prince’s consent now required only in a consultative capacity. Meanwhile, the overhaul broadens family voting rights within the House Law from adult males eligible for succession to all adult family members by birth.
Experts describe these changes as a marked increase in the prince’s authority. Wouter Veenendaal, a specialist in royal affairs at Leiden University, noted that such concentrated monarchical power would be exceptional in larger European constitutional monarchies. Some aspects of the reforms—for example, the introduction of female succession—appear liberalizing, but overall they reduce internal constraints on the ruling prince.
The Princely House dismissed concerns about an erosion of constitutional balance, stating that many amendments were technical clarifications or codifications of existing practices. The reforms were approved through a family vote rather than by Liechtenstein’s parliament or electorate. Eligible voters—adult males in the dynasty—were sent only a proposal for the amendments in June and cast postal ballots by August 11. The count took place behind closed doors in Vaduz Castle, with six family members and two unidentified non-family participants present, including Hans-Adam II and Alois.
Following the vote, the family was informed of a 70 percent majority in favor of the changes and asked to maintain confidentiality until Alois’s public announcement. The communication also acknowledged some dissent within the family, urging unity going forward. The latest legal adjustments underscore the ongoing evolution of Liechtenstein’s unique constitutional monarchy, where princely authority remains unusually robust and centralized.