Liechtenstein changes succession rule to allow women to ascend the throne

Liechtenstein has updated its royal succession rules to permit women to become monarchs, a decision made on the country's national day. The Central European nation, home to just 44,000 people, is currently governed by Prince Hans-Adam II, who has held this position since 1989. The modification will not impact his heir, Hereditary Prince Alois, who has been performing most official royal duties for the past two decades.

The succession order is being altered from male primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. This means that in the future, the first-born child, regardless of gender, will ascend to the throne and later become Prince or Princess of Liechtenstein. The alteration will only apply to descendants of Hereditary Prince Alois and his wife, Hereditary Princess Sophie, for now.

Hereditary Prince Alois expressed that the change aims to ensure that the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Princely House are led by the most prepared individual for the responsibility. Liechtenstein, a minuscule, doubly-landlocked country nestled between Switzerland and Austria, possesses extensive political authority compared to many of its European counterparts.

In 2011, Britain likewise revised its succession laws to allow first-born daughters of a monarch to inherit the throne.