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 An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

to the throne of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

. Alois has been

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of the country since 15 August 2004, while his father remains the official head of state. 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 The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

, and second in line for the

Jacobite succession The Jacobite succession is the line through which Jacobites believed that the crowns of England, Scotland, and Ireland should have descended, applying male preference primogeniture, since the deposition of James II and VII in 1688 and his deat ...

Early life

Alois attended the Liechtenstein Grammar School in Ebenholz (Vaduz) and then the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He served in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for six months before entering the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (, ), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (federal state), Salzburg State, ...

, from which he earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

in 1993. He resigned his commission as second lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards on 8 August 1988. Until 1996, Alois worked at a firm of chartered accountants in London. In May of that year, he returned to

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.'' ...

and became active in managing the princely family's finances.

Hereditary prince

In the 2003 Liechtenstein constitutional referendum, Alois and his father Hans-Adam II pushed for constitutional amendment that granted the prince sweeping powers (the right to

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

laws and elect judges). Hans-Adam had threatened to abdicate the throne and leave the country if it was not successful. However, it was accepted by voters. 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. On 27 November 2005, Liechtenstein voters rejected an initiative that would prohibit

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

and birth control in the country. The initiative was supported by

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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. In 2011, Alois announced he would veto any relaxing of the ban on abortion in Liechtenstein, which was an subject for referendum later that year. Such a veto was not necessary, however, as the voters rejected the proposal. Following the prince's threat, an initiative called "'" ("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. On 11 August 2022, Prince Alois said that same-sex marriage is "not a major problem". In a speech made in August 2024, he supported Liechtenstein's accession to the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

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. 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: * Prince Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (born 24 May 1995 at

Portland Hospital The Portland Hospital for Women and Children is a private hospital, private maternity hospital on Great Portland Street, City of Westminster, London, England, owned by the Hospital Corporation of America. History The Portland was conceived b ...

). Educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging coeducational boarding school, boarding and day school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school ...

. * Princess Marie Caroline Elisabeth Immaculata of Liechtenstein, Countess of Rietberg (born 17 October 1996 in Grabs, Canton of St. Gallen). Graduated from Parsons Paris School of Art and Design in 2020. On 21 October 2024, her engagement to

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

Leopoldo Maduro Vollmer was announced. * Prince Georg Antonius Constantin Maria of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (born 20 April 1999 in Grabs). He attended

and graduated in 2017. He then studied at the University of St. Gallen and continued his education at the ESCP Business School. Professionally known as Georg Liechtenstein, he works as a visiting analyst at Atlantic Labs in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. * Prince Nikolaus Sebastian Alexander Maria of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (born 6 December 2000 in Grabs).

Honours

National

* : Grand Star of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein.

Foreign

* : Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria (08/06/2000). * : Recipient of the King Willem-Alexander Inauguration Medal (04/30/2013). * : Recipient of the King Carl XVI Gustaf's Jubilee Commemorative Medal for the 70th Birthday (04/30/2016). * : Grand Cross pro Merito Melitensi – civilian special class – (09/16/2011).

Arms

Ancestry

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alois Of Liechtenstein, Hereditary Prince 1968 births 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Coldstream Guards officers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Heirs apparent Liechtenstein Roman Catholics Living people Liechtenstein princes 21st-century regents University of Salzburg alumni Sons of princes regnant Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Principality of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein people of Czech descent