Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria; born 24 May 1995) is the eldest child of

Prince Alois of Liechtenstein A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

, the Regent and Hereditary Prince of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...

, and his wife

Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein, Countess of Rietberg (born Duchess Sophie in Bavaria; 28 October 1967) was born a member of the House of Wittelsbach, with the courtesy title of Duchess in Bavaria, and second in line for the Jacobit ...

, Duchess in Bavaria, he is also the eldest grandchild of the current ruling prince of Liechtenstein. He is second in the line of succession to the Liechtensteiner throne through his father.

Biography

Prince Joseph Wenzel was born on 24 May 1995 at the Portland Hospital in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

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 ...

to Hereditary Prince Alois and his wife Hereditary Princess Sophie (née Duchess Sophie in Bavaria). He has three younger siblings: Princess Marie Caroline, Prince Georg and Prince Nikolaus. The Prince is named Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria after his ancestor

Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein Josef Wenzel I (Josef Wenzel Lorenz; 9 August 1696 – 10 February 1772), often referred to as just Wenzel, was the Prince of Liechtenstein between 1712 and 1718, and 1748 and 1772, as well as regent of Liechtenstein between 1732 and 1745. He fi ...

, his maternal grandfather

Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria Max-Emanuel Ludwig Maria Herzog in Bayern (sometimes styled Prince Max of Bavaria, Duke in Bavaria; born 21 January 1937) as the younger son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, is the heir presumptive to both the headship of the former Bavarian roy ...

, his paternal uncle and godfather Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, and

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

. He is informally known as Prince Wenzel. Prince Joseph Wenzel was educated at

Malvern College Malvern College is an independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school in the British sense of the term and is a member of the Rugby Group and of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...

, a coeducational boarding school in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

, England. He graduated from Malvern College in 2014. He spent a gap year pursuing an internship at the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

and travelling to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Dynastic ties

Since birth, Joseph Wenzel has borne the titles "

Prince of Liechtenstein The prince regnant of Liechtenstein (german: Fürst von und zu Liechtenstein) is the monarch and head of state of Liechtenstein.Principality of Liechtenstein Family - Die fürstliche Familie (in German) The Liechtenstein family, after which t ...

" and " Count of Rietberg." He is second in line for the throne of

, preceded only by his father, who has been

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

since 15 August 2004.Country profile: Liechtenstein – Leaders
BBC News, 6 December 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2006. However, Joseph Wenzel's grandfather Prince Hans-Adam II formally remains

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state (polity), state#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international p ...

and of the Princely House of Liechtenstein. Upon the accession of his father, Joseph Wenzel would become the hereditary prince ('), i.e. the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the throne. Joseph Wenzel is also third in line in 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 primogeniture, since the deposition of James II and VII in 1688 and his death in 1701. It is ...

as successor to the current heir, his maternal grand-uncle

Franz, Duke of Bavaria Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern (born 14 July 1933), commonly known by the courtesy title Duke of Bavaria, is the head of the House of Wittelsbach, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. His great-grandfather Ki ...

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph Wenzel, Prince Of Liechtenstein 1995 births Living people Princes of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein Roman Catholics People educated at Malvern College People from London