The royal family of Liechtenstein has announced that women will finally be able to succeed to the country’s throne and they won’t be outranked by men.
The tiny principality has adopted absolute primogeniture meaning that, from now on, the only thing that determines succession is birth order. It won’t be applied retrospectively. And the change means that there are now just two countries where men outrank women in the succession.
The first is Spain where male primogeniture still holds. According to the rules governing succession to he throne, a baby boy will always move above any older sisters in the line.
At the moment, it’s not a problem as King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia only have daughters. Their eldest, Princess Leonor, has been heir since 2014 when her father took the throne. The 20 year old also has the traditional title of an heir and is known as the Princess of Asturias. Her younger sister, 19 year old Infanta Sofia, is second in line.
However, their father ended up on the throne because of male primogeniture. King Felipe VI is the youngest of the three children of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. His eldest sister, Infanta Elena, is now third in line to the throne while his other sister, Infanta Cristina, is sixth.
And King Juan Carlos himself had an older sister. The man who ruled Spain for almost forty years had an older sister, Infanta Pilar, born almost two years before him.
Changing the laws of succession in Spain is complicated and would involve the dissolution of parliament and a referendum which is one reason why the alteration hasn’t been made.
But it means that, in time, should Princess Leonor have a daughter first and then a son, her second child could overtake her first in the succession.
Men still outrank women in Monaco as well and that’s had an impact on succession in the two most recent generations.
Right now, Prince Albert II is ruler of the tiny principality and he has two legitimate children. The twins were born to his wife, Princess Charlene, on December 10 2014 in Monte Carlo.
The first twin to be born was the couple’s daughter, Princess Gabriella, who arrived just minutes before her brother, Prince Jacques. However, as Monaco’s succession laws still promote men above women, baby Jacques instantly became first in line to the throne. It’s not clear if Gabriella was counted as heir for the few minutes before the birth of her brother.
However, Prince Albert himself does have a sister who has been counted as heir. The first child of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace was Princess Caroline, born just a year after their fairytale marriage. The little princess was first in line for over a year before the arrival of her little brother, Albert, who instantly became first in line.
Caroline remained second in line throughout the reign of her father and when Rainer III died, in 2005, ,she became heir to the throne again. At the time of his succession, Albert was unmarried and had no legitimate children. For the first nine years of his reign, Caroline was first in line until the arrival of Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella, Princess Caroline is now third in line to the throne.
All other European monarchies have absolute primogeniture although some changes have been recent. Luxembourg only agreed that men and women had equal rights in 2011, a year before the same change was adopted in the UK.
As a result of changes to succession around Europe, far more monarchies have female heirs than ever before. Currently, the first in line to the thrones of the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden are all princesses and all are part of monarchies with absolute primogeniture. While Leonor is also heir, Spain’s royals remain governed by male preference primogeniture.
The change in Liechtenstein won’t impact the direct succession to the throne as the heir, and regent, is Prince Alois and his eldest child is Prince Joseph Wenzel.
