House of Liechtenstein

House of Liechtenstein
Country	Liechtenstein
Titles	Prince of Liechtenstein Duke of Troppau Duke of Jägerndorf Count of Rietberg
Founded	1608
Founder	Karl I
Current head	Hans-Adam II

The House of Liechtenstein, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by constitutional, hereditary right over the nation of Liechtenstein. Only dynastic members of the family are eligible to inherit the throne. The dynasty's membership, rights and responsibilities are defined by a law of the family, which is enforced by the reigning Prince and may be altered by vote among the family's dynasts, but which may not be altered by the Government or Parliament of Liechtenstein.^[1]

History

The family comes from Castle Liechtenstein in Lower Austria, which the family possessed from at least 1140 to the 13th century, and from 1807 onwards. Heinrich I. von Liechtenstein (d. 1265) was lord of Nikolsburg, Liechtenstein and Petronell. Through the centuries, the dynasty acquired vast swathes of land, predominantly in Moravia, Lower Austria, Silesia and Styria, though in all cases, these territories were held in fief under other more senior feudal lords, particularly under various lines of the Habsburg family, to whom several Liechtenstein princes served as close advisors. Thus, and without any territory held directly under the Imperial throne, the Liechtenstein dynasty was unable to meet a primary requirement to qualify for a seat in the Imperial Diet (Reichstag).

A seat in the Imperial government would add power, and would be afforded by lands which would be immediate, or held without any feudal personage other than the Holy Roman Emperor himself having rights on the land. The head of the family was able to arrange the purchase from the Hohenems family of the minuscule Lordship of Schellenberg in 1699, and the County of Vaduz in 1712. Schellenberg and Vaduz indeed had no feudal lord other than their comital sovereign and the suzerain Emperor.

On 23 January 1719, after the purchase had been made, Charles VI as Holy Roman Emperor decreed Vaduz and Schellenberg to be united and raised to the dignity of a Principality by the name of "Liechtenstein", in honour of "[his] true servant, Anton Florian of Liechtenstein". On this date, Liechtenstein became a member state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Princes of Liechtenstein did not set foot in their new principality for several decades, a testament to the pure political expediency of the purchases.

According to the Constitution of the Princely House of Liechtenstein of 26 October 1993, all members other than the reigning prince shall bear the titles of Prince or Princess of Liechtenstein and Count or Countess of Rietberg.

21st-century princely family (closest members)

Styles of Princes(ses) of Liechtenstein
Reference style	His/Her Serene Highness
Spoken style	Your Serene Highness
Alternative style	Sir/Ma'am

Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein (born 1945), current head of the house and sovereign ruler of the principality

• TSH Prince Hans-Adam II and Princess Marie
  • HSH Hereditary Prince Alois and HRH Hereditary Princess Sophie
    • HSH Prince Joseph Wenzel
    • HSH Princess Marie-Caroline
    • HSH Prince Georg Antonius
    • HSH Prince Nikolaus Sebastian
  • TSH Prince Maximilian and Princess Angela
    • HSH Prince Alfons
  • TSH Prince Constantin and Princess Marie
    • HSH Prince Moritz
    • HSH Princess Georgina
    • HSH Prince Benedikt
  • HSH Princess Tatjana
• TSH Prince Philipp Erasmus and Princess Isabelle
  • TSH Prince Alexander and Princess Astrid
    • HSH Princess Theodora
  • HSH Prince Wenzeslaus
  • TSH Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım
    • HSH Princess Laetitia
    • HSH Prince Karl Ludwig
• HSH Prince Nikolaus and HRH Princess Margaretha
  • HSH Princess Maria-Annunciata
  • HSH Princess Marie-Astrid
  • HSH Prince Josef-Emanuel
• HSH Princess Nora, Dowager Marchioness of Mariño

Tree list

Below are all male and male-line dynastic descendants of Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein. The numbers represent the positions in the line of succession.

Palaces and residences

• 
  Vaduz Castle, the Sovereign's residence in the Principality of Liechtenstein
• 
  Castle Liechtenstein in Lower Austria, ancestral seat, now family museum
• 
  Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna (painted by Canaletto 1759/60), now home to the princely 16th - 18th-century art collection
• 
  Liechtenstein City Palace in Vienna, private residence and home to the princely 19th-century art collection
• 
  Wilfersdorf Castle, Lower Austria, the prince's Austrian country estate
• 
  Valtice Castle in the Czech Republic used to be the principal seat of the Liechtenstein family until after World War II, when the government confiscated it.
• 
  Lednice Castle in the Czech Republic (confiscated in 1945)
• 
  Velké Losiny Castle in the Czech Republic (confiscated in 1945)
• 
  Riegersburg Castle, Austria, seat of a branch line
• 
  Frauental Castle, Austria, seat of a branch line
• 
  Waldstein Castle, Deutschfeistritz, Austria, seat of a branch line
• 
  Rosegg House, Austria, seat of a branch line
• 
  Hollenegg Castle, Austria, seat of a branch line

See also

• List of Princes of Liechtenstein
• List of Princesses of Liechtenstein
• Line of succession to the Throne of Liechtenstein
• Liechtenstein Museum for the important princely art collection

References

External links

• The Princely House of Liechtenstein