Category Archives: Liechtenstein Royals

Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg, Princess of Liechtenstein

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2014

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Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg was born Princess Margaretha Antonia Marie Félicité of Luxembourg. Born on May 15, 1957, at Betzdorf Castle in Luxembourg, she is the second daughter of the two daughters and the fourth of the five children of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. Through her birth and marriage, Princess Margaretha is a member of two currently reigning royal families.

Margaretha (standing) with her parents and siblings, 1971; Credit – Wikipedia

photo: Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor

Wedding of Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg and Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein photo: Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor

Princess Margaretha married Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, son of Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein and Countess Georgina von Wilczek on March 20, 1982, at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Their marriage would be the last between two reigning royal houses in Europe. They had four children:

  • Prince Leopold (born and died 1984)
  • Princess Maria-Anunciata (born 1985), married Emanuele Musini
  • Princess Marie-Astrid (born 1987), married Raphael Worthington
  • Prince Josef-Emanuel (born 1989), married María Claudia Echavarría Suárez
Princess Margaretha with her husband, daughters and younger son, 2010. photo: www.royaltyonline.blogspot.com

Princess Margaretha and Prince Nikolaus with their children, 2010. photo: www.royaltyonline.blogspot.com

Princess Margaretha is active in charity work. She is the patron of Dyslexia International, Princess Margaretha Luxembourgeois Girl Guides of Leudelange and the Crèche de Luxembourg.

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Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

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Duchess Sophie Elizabeth Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria was born on October 28, 1967, in Munich, Germany. She is the eldest of five daughters of Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria and Countess Elizabeth Douglas.

Sophie has four younger sisters:

  • Duchess Marie-Caroline in Bavaria (born 1969), married Duke Philipp of Württemberg, had three daughters and one son
  • Duchess Helena Eugenie in Bavaria (born 1972), unmarried
  • Duchess Elisabeth Marie in Bavaria (born 1973), married Daniel Terberger, had one son and one daughter
  • Duchess Maria Anna in Bavaria (born 1975), married (1) Klaus Runow, no children, divorced  (2) Baron Andreas von Maltzahn, had two sons

Sophie was raised on the family’s estate, Wildbad Kreuth, about 65 kilometers south of Munich,  Germany, where she began her primary schooling. She then attended the Girls’ Home Primary School of the English Lady in Heiligenstadt, followed by the Girls’ Secondary Boarding School Hohenburg in Lenggries. In 1984, she enrolled in the Adolf Weber High School in Munich, graduating in 1988.

Following several months in London where she attended the Inchbald School of Interior Design, Sophie began studying history and English language and literature at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in 1989.

photo: Corbis

photo: Corbis

On July 3, 1993, Sophie married Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein at the Vaduz Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. He is the eldest son of Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein and Countess Marie Aglaë Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau. They had met some seven years earlier at a party hosted by a mutual friend.  The couple has four children:

  • Prince Joseph Wenzel (born 1995)
  • Princess Marie-Caroline (born 1996)
  • Prince Georg (born 1999)
  • Prince Nikolaus (born 2000)

The family initially lived in London but returned to Liechtenstein in 1996, where her husband began working for The Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation, which oversees and manages the various assets of the Princely Family.

The Hereditary Princess often accompanies her husband on foreign visits, as well as many events within Liechtenstein itself. She serves as a patron for many organizations and events, often relating to children, education, and the arts. She has been the President of the Liechtenstein Red Cross since 2015.

In 2006, she founded the Sophie of Liechtenstein Foundation for Woman and Child. “The goal of the foundation is to give women, who unintentionally become pregnant, a more positive life perspective for themselves and their child.” (Source: The Princely Family of Liechtenstein). The Foundation is funded by the Princely Family and by private donations, and the Hereditary Princess serves as President.

Sophie is a member of the House of Wittelsbach, formerly the reigning house of the Kingdom of Bavaria. She is second in line to the Jacobite succession to the British throne. The Jacobites sought to restore the British crown to King James II of England after he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and subsequently, to his heirs. The current Jacobite heir is Sophie’s childless uncle Franz, Duke of Bavaria, who has never pursued the claim. Franz’s heir is Sophie’s father, Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria who only has five daughters. As the eldest of her father’s daughters, Sophie will be his heir to the Jacobite claim and her eldest son is her heir.

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Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

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Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein

Prince Alois Philipp Maria of Liechtenstein was born on June 11, 1968, in Zurich, Switzerland. He is the eldest son of Prince Hans-Adam II and Countess Marie Aglaë Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau. At the time of his father’s accession in 1989, he became The Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein.

Alois has three younger siblings:

Raised at Vaduz Castle in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, Prince Alois attended primary school in Vaduz-Ebenholz and graduated from the Liechtenstein Gymnasium in 1987. He then enrolled in the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in England. Upon being commissioned as a second lieutenant, he served with the Coldstream Guards in London and Hong Kong for six months. Following his military service, Prince Alois enrolled in the University of Salzburg in Austria, earning his Master’s Degree in 1993. He subsequently worked for an accounting firm in London from September 1993 until May 1996.

photo: Corbis

photo: Corbis

On July 3, 1993, Alois married Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, at the Vaduz Cathedral. Sophie is the daughter of Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, and Countess Elizabeth Douglas. They have four children:

  • Prince Joseph Wenzel (born 1995)
  • Princess Marie-Caroline (born 1996)
  • Prince Georg (born 1999)
  • Prince Nikolaus (born 2000)

The couple initially settled in London before returning to Liechtenstein in 1996, where Prince Alois began working for the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation, which oversees and manages the various assets of the Princely Family.

On August 15, 2004, Prince Hans-Adam II appointed Alois as his “permanent representative for exercising the sovereign powers due to him, in preparation for his succession to the throne.” Alois now performs all his father’s duties both within the principality and internationally, however, Hans-Adam remains Head-of-State.  (Source: The Princely House of Liechtenstein)

 

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Principality of Liechtenstein Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Princess Marie of Liechtenstein

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Princess Marie of Liechtenstein; Credit – By Presse- und Informationsamt, Vaduz, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=109131702

Countess Marie Aglaë Bonaventura Theresia Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau was born April 14, 1940, in Prague, Czechoslovakia, now in the Czech Republic. She was the fourth of seven children of Count Ferdinand Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau and Countess Henriette Caroline of Ledebur-Wicheln.

In 1945, the family fled to Germany where Marie began her education. Following elementary school, she attended boarding school at the Wald Monastery in Württemberg. In 1957, she spent an extended period in England to improve her English and graduated from boarding school in 1958. She then attended the Academy for Applied Arts at the University of Munich, graduating in 1961. Following some time in Paris to perfect her French, she began working as an industrial designer for a printing house in Dachau, Germany.

Marie became engaged to her second cousin, once removed Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein in 1965. He was the eldest son of Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein and Countess Georgina von Wilczek. On July 30, 1967, the couple was married at Vaduz Cathedral  (also known as St. Florian Cathedral) in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. They had four children:

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In November 1989, Hans-Adam succeeded his father as the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein. Princess Marie was involved in many organizations within Liechtenstein, with her focus being on education, culture, and the arts. In 1985, Marie became President of the Liechtenstein Red Cross, a position previously held (and originated) by her mother-in-law. The Princess handed the position over to her daughter-in-law Hereditary Princess Sophie in 2014.

After suffering a stroke three days earlier, Princess Marie of Liechtenstein died at a hospital in Grabs, Switzerland on August 21, 2021, at the age of 81. The Princely House of Liechtenstein released the following statement:

Her Serene Highness Princess Marie von und zu Liechtenstein died on 21 August 2021 at 4:43 pm in the hospital in Grabs. After her health steadily deteriorated following a stroke on 18 August 2021, she passed away today in the presence of her family and after receiving the Last Rites, peacefully and with great trust in God.

Princess Marie’s funeral was held at Vaduz Cathedral (also known as St. Florian Cathedral) in Vaduz, Liechtenstein on August 28, 2021. Three hundred guests attended including Queen Sofia of Spain, Princess Caroline of Hanover (Monaco), Hereditary Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg, Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, and members of the Royal Family of Bavaria and the Austrian Imperial Family. Princess Marie was buried in the Princely Crypt at Vaduz Cathedral.

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Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein

by Scott Mehl    © Unofficial Royalty 2014

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Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein

Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein was born on February 14, 1945, in Zurich. He is the eldest son of Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein and Countess Georgina von Wilczek.

Hans-Adam has four younger siblings:

The Prince attended elementary school in Vaduz and then attended the Schottengymnasium (Scots School) in Vienna, and the Lyceum Alpinum in Zuoz, Switzerland. After briefly working as an intern in a bank in London, he enrolled at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, graduating in 1969 with a Masters Degree in Business and Economic Studies.

On July 30, 1967, Hans-Adam married Countess Marie Aglaë Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau, his second cousin once removed, at Vaduz Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The couple had four children:

In 1970, Prince Hans-Adam took over the management and reorganization of all of the Princely family’s assets. Hans-Adam established the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation, essentially a holding company for the various assets, businesses, museums, and collections owned by the Princely Family. One of these companies, the LGT Group, is the largest family-owned private wealth and asset manager in Europe.

On August 26, 1984, Prince Franz Josef II appointed Hans Adam as his deputy, handing over most of his duties as Head of State. Franz Josef died on November 13, 1989, and Hans-Adam became the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II.

In a similar move, in 2004, Prince Hans-Adam II appointed his son, Hereditary Prince Alois, as his deputy. While Hans-Adam remains Head of State, the Hereditary Prince has assumed most of the duties of the position. Prince Hans-Adam now focuses primarily on the management of the assets of the Princely Family.

The succession to the throne of Liechtenstein is based upon agnatic primogeniture which forbids women to succeed.  A United Nations committee raised concerns regarding gender equality with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In 2007, Prince Hans-Adam II explained that the succession law is older than the Principality of Liechtenstein itself,  is a family tradition that does not affect the citizens, and the Constitution of Liechtenstein Constitution states that succession to the throne is a private family matter.

After suffering a stroke three days earlier, Hans-Adam’s wife Princess Marie died at a hospital in Grabs, Switzerland on August 21, 2021, at the age of 81.

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Princess Nora of Liechtenstein

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

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Her Serene Highness Princess Norberta (Nora) Elizabeth Maria Assunta Josefine Georgine et omnes sancti was born on October 31, 1950, in Zurich, Switzerland, the fourth of the five children and only daughter of Prince Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein and Countess Georgina von Wilczek.

Princess Nora has four brothers:

After her primary schooling in Liechtenstein, Nora attended the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. She has worked for the World Bank and the International Institute for Environment and Development and speaks French, English, German and Spanish.

In June 1988, Princess Nora married Don Vicente Sartorius y Cabeza de Vaca, the 4th Marquess of Mariño, a former Olympic bobsledder. He passed away in July 2002. The couple had one daughter:

  • María Teresa Sartorius y de Liechtenstein (born 1992)

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Princess Nora has been actively involved in both the Liechtenstein and International Olympic organizations. She served as President of the Liechtenstein Olympic Committee from 1982-1992 and has been President of Special Olympics Liechtenstein since 2002. She has also been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1987.

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Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein

Aloys of Liechtenstein with his wife Elisabeth Amalie and their oldest son, the future Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

June 17, 1869 – Birth of Aloys of Liechtenstein

Aloys’ Wikipedia page

Born in Hollenegg, Austria, Aloys was the son of cousins Alfred of Liechtenstein (grandson of Johann I Joseph, ruling Prince of Liechtenstein) and Henriette of Liechtenstein (a daughter of Aloys II, Prince of Liechtenstein). Aloys was also the nephew and first cousin of Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein, who was childless.

Aloys was described as very studious and well-educated. As great-grandson of the reigning prince and with a living older brother, Aloys’ chances of succeeding in Liechtenstein were remote for most of his life. However, as the main line of Liechtenstein princes slowly died out, it became clearer that Aloys would eventually become first in line. Finding a suitable bride as a possible future consort and mother of his heirs became paramount.

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Aloys’ engagement to Elisabeth was announced in October 1902. There was some question at the time that the marriage was not equal given Elisabeth’s close connections with the Austrian Emperor and Aloys’ rather minor status in an obscure principality. Aloys was actually considered an Austrian citizen before the engagement; a marriage with an ordinary Austrian citizen would have robbed Elisabeth of her titles. However, the marriage had the full blessing of Franz Josef, who agreed to consider the Liechtenstein princes as foreign so Elisabeth would still be considered Her Imperial and Royal Highness.

Aloys and Elisabeth married on April 20, 1903 in Vienna, with Franz Josef in attendance. As a token of their appreciation to the Emperor, the couple named their first son (the future Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein) for him and had Franz Josef stand as godfather to the child. The two raised their family of eight children at several castles in Austria, including Gross-Ullersdorf Castle in Moravia and Frauenthal Castle. The family also spent at least part of the year in Liechtenstein, unusual for the princely family up until that time.

As the years went by, Aloys realized that if he were to inherit the princely throne, he would do so as an older man. Aloys surrendered his rights to the throne of Liechtenstein in 1923 in favor of his son Franz Joseph with the hopes of providing a long-lived ruler to the principality. Franz Joseph became the reigning prince in 1938 following the abdication of his granduncle Franz I.

Aloys died at Vaduz Castle in 1955 at the age of 86 following a bout of influenza. Elisabeth survived him by five years, dying in 1960 at the age of 82. The two are buried in St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.