Take note, Japan, a country that refuses to allow women to inherit the throne! Today, the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein announced that the country will move from Salic law to the succession of the firstborn child, male or FEMALE!
Salic law means males only. In Liechtenstein, neither women nor their descendants were allowed to succeed to the throne.
Earlier today, Hereditary Prince Alois announced the change in his National Day Speech. Here is the part of the speech that refers to the succession change. Alois is the eldest son of Hans Adam, the Prince of Liechtenstein. In 2004, Hans Adam ceded most of his powers to Alois.
The 58-year-old heir to the throne married HRH Duchess Sophie in Bavaria in 1993. They have four children: Prince Johann Wenzel, 31, Princess Marie Caroline, 29, Prince Georg, 27, and 25-year-old Prince Nikolaus.
"Dear citizens of Liechtenstein, the ability to combine continuity and innovation is also a principle we cultivate within the Princely House. Throughout our centuries-old history, we have fared well by making decisions with a long-term perspective and with careful consideration.
I am pleased to inform you today about a very important decision for our House, one that has been discussed within the family for decades. It involves an amendment to the House Law, which was formally addressed at the end of last year and received the required two-thirds majority of voting family members on Wednesday. This amendment grants all female descendants of the Princely House the same rights of participation in matters concerning the House Law as their male counterparts.
Furthermore, the line of succession will be changed from male primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. This means that in the future, the firstborn child, regardless of gender, will become heir to the throne and later Prince or Princess of Liechtenstein.
With these changes, we want to ensure that responsibility for the House and Country will henceforth lie with those best prepared for the associated tasks. This is usually the children of the ruler, who grew up here and are familiarized with the special characteristics of the country and the princely house from an early age.
Dear citizens of Liechtenstein, our country, its businesses, and its people have never been successful simply by adopting what was being done elsewhere or what was considered modern. Of course, we have observed carefully and learned. But in the end, we have always asked ourselves:
What is truly necessary?
What suits our country, its form of government, its size, its identity, and its society?
Let these questions continue to guide our actions in the future. I sincerely thank everyone who contributed to the planning of our national holiday and wish you all a wonderful celebration and God's blessings."
Liechtenstein joins the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom in vesting succession to the throne in the firstborn child, regardless of sex. This leaves Spain and Monaco with male primogeniture, meaning sons before daughters, brothers before sisters. In Spain, changing the Constitution would require approval from two successive Parliaments and a referendum. Leonor, the Princess of Asturias, is the heir as she has no brothers.
The succession law is not retroactive, which means Alois' second child, Princess Marie Caroline, and all other female members of the princely family continue to have no succession rights. The change will affect the next generation. If Johann Wenzel's first child is a girl, she will eventually succeed as Princess of Liechtenstein.
None of Alois' three sons are married. In August 2025, Princess Marie Caroline married Venezuelan-born investor Leopoldo Maduro Vollmer.
https://royalmusingsblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2025/08/princess-marie-caroline-of.html
In Monaco, Princess Gabriella is several minutes older than her twin brother, Jacques, but she is second in line, and Jacques is the hereditary Prince.
It was not until 1984 that women were granted the right to vote in the tiny Alpine principality, nestled between Austria and Switzerland. The country's first female Prime Minister, Birgitte Haas, was elected last year.
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