Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein (Nikolaus Ferdinand Maria Josef Raphael; born 24 October 1947) is a Liechtensteiner lawyer, diplomat and member of the Liechtenstein princely family. He is a younger brother of the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II. He is also the non-resident Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

Early life

Nikolaus was born in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Z ...

as the third son of

Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein Franz Joseph II (Franz Josef Maria Aloys Alfred Karl Johannes Heinrich Michael Georg Ignaz Benediktus Gerhardus Majella; 16 August 1906 – 13 November 1989) was the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein from 25 July 1938 until his death. Franz Jose ...

and his wife, Countess Georgina of Wilczek. In 1950 at the age of three Nikolaus was made a Knight of Justice in minority of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

. When the class of knights in minority was abolished in 1961, Nikolaus received his present rank in the order as a Knight of Honour and Devotion. Nikolaus completed his primary education in Vaduz before attending the Schottengymnasium in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and the Lyceum Alpinum Zuoz. From 1968 to 1972 he studied law at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hi ...

from which he graduated with the degree Doctor iuris.

Career

From 1973 to 1974, Nikolaus was

Wissenschaftlicher Assistent Wissenschaftlicher Assistent, often shortened to Assistent, literally "scientific assistant", is an academic position at German universities for researchers with doctoral degrees and additional academic qualifications, who are typically employed t ...

at the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

. From 1975 to 1976, he worked for courts in

Vaduz Vaduz ( or , High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' Hrsg. ...

. From 1977 to 1978, he was an advisor to the Office of International Relations of the Liechtenstein government. From 1979 to 1989, Nikolaus was Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

. From 1986 to 2017, he was non-resident Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the Holy See. From 1989 to 1996, he was Ambassador of Liechtenstein to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. From 1996 to September 2010, he was Ambassador of Liechtenstein to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Marriage and family

Nikolaus married on 20 March 1982, at Notre Dame Cathedral in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg, youngest daughter of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. For the time being, this is the last dynastically equal marriage between two sovereign houses currently reigning in Europe. They have had four children and one grandchildren: * Prince ''Leopold'' Emmanuel Jean Marie of Liechtenstein (b.

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, 20 May 1984 – d.

, 20 May 1984). Buried at

Royal Crypt (Belgium) The Royal Crypt lies underneath the Church of Our Lady in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium. It is the official burial place of the Belgian Royal Family. Several members of the family are buried elsewhere, however, due to their marriage with foreign roy ...

. * Princess ''Maria-Anunciata'' Astrid Joséphine Veronica of Liechtenstein (b.

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city an ...

, 12 May 1985). Married to Carlo ''Emanuele'' Musini (b. 1979, Camden,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, UK) in a civil ceremony on 26 June 2021 in

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and '' comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The religious ceremony took place on 04 September 2021 at the Scots Basilica in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. * Princess ''Marie-Astrid'' Nora Margarita Veronica of Liechtenstein (b.

, 26 June 1987). On 25 September 2021, married to Raphael Worthington V (b. 05 April 1985, USA) at Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in

Orbetello Orbetello is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Grosseto ( Tuscany), Italy. It is located about south of Grosseto, on the eponymous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve. History Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan sett ...

. The couple has a daughter: ** ''Althaea'' Georgina Worthington (b. 01 July 2022). * Prince ''Josef-Emanuel'' Leopold Marie of Liechtenstein (b.

, 07 May 1989). Married to Colombian María Claudia "Cloclo" Echavarría Suárez (b. 1988,

), founder of a creative consultancy for Latin American brands named Sí Collective, on 25 March 2022 at St. Peter Claver Church in

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

Scouting

Niklaus was Chief Scout (german: Korpsführer) of Fürstlich Liechtensteinische Pfadfinderkorps St. Georg from 1971 to 1989. Today he is an honorary member of the Scout association. Nikolaus spoke at the European Forum of Guild-Scouts in

Grossarl Grossarl (Großarl) is a market town in the St. Johann im Pongau district in the state of Salzburg in western central Austria. The valley Grossarltal got its name from Grossarl. Geography Location The market town is located in the Grossarl ...

in 1990 about the topic of hunting and nature protection.

Red Cross

Nikolaus is Delegate for International Affairs of Liechtenstein Red Cross.

Honours

National honours

* : Grand Star of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein, 1st Class * : Recipient of the 70th Birthday Medal of Prince Franz Joseph II

Foreign honours

* : Grand Cross of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria, Silver * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Pope Pius IX The Order of Pope Pius IX ( it, Ordine di Pio IX), also referred as the Pian Order ( it, Ordine Piano), is a papal order of knighthood originally founded by Pope Pius IV in 1560. Currently, it is the highest honor conferred by the Holy See (being ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Adolphe of Nassau The Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau (french: Ordre de Mérite civil et militaire d’Adolphe de Nassau) is an order of merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for meritorious service to the Grand Duke, the Grand-Ducal House a ...

* : Recipient of the Grand Duke Jean Silver Jubilee MedalMedals of the World
/ref> * : Knight of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, 3rd First Class

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, Prince 1947 births Living people University of Vienna alumni Princes of Liechtenstein People associated with Scouting Liechtenstein Roman Catholics Scouting in Liechtenstein Ambassadors of Liechtenstein to the Holy See Ambassadors of Liechtenstein to Belgium Ambassadors of Liechtenstein to Switzerland Sons of monarchs Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX