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Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein

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Alois
Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
Count of Rietberg
Alois in 2024
Alois in 2024
Regent of Liechtenstein
Regency 15 August 2004 – present
Monarch Hans-Adam II
Born 11 June 1968
Zürich, Switzerland
Spouse Duchess Sophie in Bavaria
(m. 1993)
Issue Prince Joseph Wenzel
Princess Marie Caroline
Prince Georg Antonius
Prince Nikolaus Sebastian
Names
Alois Philipp Maria
House Liechtenstein
Father Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein
Mother Countess Marie Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau

Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein (Alois Philipp Maria; born 11 June 1968) is the eldest son of Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and Countess Marie Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau, and the heir apparent to the throne of Liechtenstein. Alois has been regent of the country since 15 August 2004, while his father remains the head of state.[1]

He also holds the title of Count of Rietberg. 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.[2][3]

Early life

Alois attended the Liechtensteinisches Gymnasium in Vaduz and then the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. He was a second lieutenant serving in the Coldstream Guards in Hong Kong and London for six months, resigning his commission in the Coldstream Guards on 8 August 1988.[4] He entered the University of Salzburg, from which he earned a master's degree in jurisprudence in 1993. Until 1996, Alois worked at a firm of chartered accountants in London. In May of that year, he returned to Vaduz and became active in managing the princely family's finances.[1]

Hereditary prince

In the 2003 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum, Alois and his father Hans-Adam II pushed for constitutional amendments that granted the prince sweeping powers (the right to veto laws and elect judges).[1][5] Hans-Adam had threatened to abdicate the throne and leave the country if it was not successful. However, it was accepted by voters.[5] The next year, on 15 August 2004, Hans-Adam made Alois his regent and turned over the powers of prince to him, though Hans-Adam remains the official head of state, much like his father Franz Joseph II had done for him in 1984.[1][6]

On 27 November 2005, Liechtenstein voters rejected an initiative that would prohibit abortion and birth control in the country. The initiative was supported by Roman Catholic Archbishop Wolfgang Haas. Alois was initially sympathetic to the proposal, but he became neutral during the run-up to the vote. Instead, a government-sponsored counter-proposal was ratified.[7] In 2011, Alois announced he would veto any relaxing of the ban on abortion in Liechtenstein, which was to be the subject of a referendum later that year.[8] Such a veto was not necessary, however, as the voters rejected the proposal.[9]

Following the prince's threat, an initiative called "Damit deine Stimme zählt" ("So that your voice counts") was launched to change the constitution of Liechtenstein to prevent the prince from vetoing legislation approved in referendums. The referendum was held on 1 July 2012, and 76% of voters upheld the prince's power to veto referendum results.[10]

On 11 August 2022, Prince Alois said that same-sex marriage is "not a major problem".[11] In a speech made in August 2024, he supported Liechtenstein's accession to the International Monetary Fund.[12]

Personal wealth

Alois is set to inherit an extensive art collection, much of which is displayed for the public at the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna. As of July 2022, his father's net worth was estimated by Bloomberg Billionaires Index around US$6.20 billion, making him the 380th richest person on earth.[13] However, he placed these assets in a family foundation, the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation, from which each family member receives an equal annual allowance and which maintains the family's castles, cultural assets, collections and museums and last but not least, the costs of the princely court including even some salaries for princes who are ambassadors abroad, which are not a burden on the taxpayer.

Marriage and issue

On 3 July 1993 at St. Florin's Cathedral in Vaduz, Alois married Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, now also Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein and Countess of Rietberg.

They have four children:[2]

Honours

National

Foreign

Arms

Coat of arms of Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
File:Staatswappen-Liechtensteins.svg Coronet
Ducal hat of Liechtenstein
Escutcheon
Quarterly: I Or, an eagle displayed Sable crowned and armed Or charged with a crescent treflée, issuing from the middle thereof a cross pattée Argent (Silesia); II barry of eight Or and Sable, a crown of rue bendways throughout Vert (Kuenring); III per pale Gules and Argent (Duchy of Troppau); IV Or, a harpy displayed Sable the human parts Argent crowned and armed Or (Cirksena); on a point entée Azure, a bugle-horn stringed Or (Duchy of Jägerndorf); en surtout, an inescutcheon per fess or and Gules (House of Liechtenstein).[24]

Ancestry

See also

References

  1. Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 Back to citation occurrence 1.3 Wanger, Harald (31 December 2011). "Liechtenstein, Alois von (*1968)". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  2. Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 "Hereditary Prince Alois". Fuerstenhaus.li. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  3. Back to citation Giles Hattersley (16 October 2011). "Sorry, Wills, Franz gets the crown". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  4. Back to citation "Page 10256 | Supplement 51467, 12 September 1988 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 August 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  5. Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 "Liechtenstein prince wins powers". BBC News. 16 March 2003. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  6. Back to citation Wanger, Harald (31 December 2011). "Liechtenstein, Franz Josef II". Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein (in German). Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  7. Back to citation Rosenbaum, Harry (28 November 2005). "Voters defeat restrictive initiative". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  8. Back to citation "Liechtenstein prince threatens to veto referendum". Associated Press/The Oklahoman. 8 September 2011. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  9. Back to citation Zeldin, Wendy (27 September 2011). "Liechtenstein: No to Legalized Abortion". Global Legal Monitor. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  10. Back to citation Foulkes, Imogen (30 June 2012). "Liechtenstein referendum rejects curbs on royal powers". BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 August 2025. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  11. Back to citation Böhler, Silvia (11 August 2022). ""Die 'Ehe für alle' an sich dürfte kein grösseres Problem sein"". Volksblatt (in German). Archived from the original on 21 February 2023.
  12. Back to citation Fritz, Daniela (15 August 2024). ""Dem IWF sollten wir auf alle Fälle noch beitreten"". Liechtensteiner Vaterland (in German). Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  13. Back to citation "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Prince Hans Adam II". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  14. Back to citation William Bortrick. "HSH Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein. The Royal Family of Liechtenstein. House of Liechtenstein". Burke's Peerage. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  15. Back to citation "H.S.H. Hereditary Prince Alois". Liechtenstein Princely House Official Website. 30 March 2021. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022. “Princess Marie Caroline, born 17 October 1996”
  16. Back to citation "Marie Caroline Liechtenstein". Parsons Paris. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  17. Back to citation Macleod, Melanie (30 August 2025). "Princess Marie Caroline dazzles in showstopping crown and sheer lace dress for her wedding". Hello!. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  18. Back to citation "Die jungen Royals aus Liechtenstein: Marie Caroline & ihre Brüder" [The young Royals from Liechtenstein: Marie Caroline & her brothers]. adelswelt.de. 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  19. Back to citation "Coronation of Willem Alexander of the Netherlands". Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  20. Back to citation "Parliamentary question" (PDF). p. 1381. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  21. Back to citation "eliechtensteinensia" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  22. Back to citation "Vanitatis". Archived from the original on 22 August 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  23. Back to citation "Sovereign Military Order of Malta". Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  24. Back to citation "The Emblems". The Princely House of Liechtenstein. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  25. Back to citation "H.S.H. Hereditary Prince Alois". The Princely House of Liechtenstein. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
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