Women were excluded from Liechtenstein’s throne for more than 400 years; a new royal rule now gives the firstborn child, regardless of gender, the right to inherit, and know who’ll now own the throne

Several European nations have female leaders next in line for the throne, but one of them has recently initiated the norm. Liechtenstein has become the latest country to amend its royal rules and allow women to take the throne. During its national day celebrations on Saturday, August 15, the country announced the change.“The order of succession is being changed from male primogeniture to absolute primogeniture,” the House of Liechtenstein said in a statement. “This means that in future the first-born child, regardless of sex, will become heir to the throne and later princess or prince of Liechtenstein.”The decision will not affect the current leadership of the nation of just 44,00 people. Liechtenstein is a tiny, doubly landlocked country tucked away between Switzerland and Austria, whose ruler enjoys sweeping political powers, unlike many of his counterparts in Europe. The current ruler is Prince Hans-Adam II, 81, who has been the head of the royal family since 1989. On Liechtenstein’s national day 22 years ago, August 15, 2004, Prince Hans-Adam named his eldest child, Hereditary Prince Alois, as his regent. This means that, for the past two decades, Prince Alois, 58, has overseen most official royal duties while Prince Hans-Adam remains the official monarch and head of state. (Prince Hans-Adam’s father, the late Prince Franz Joseph II, did the same for him in 1984, five years before his death.)The rule change does not apply to the current members of the royal family. It will go into effect for the future descendants of Prince Alois and his wife, Princess Sophie. The couple shares Prince Joseph Wenzel, 31, Princess Marie Caroline, 29, Prince Georg Antonius, 27, and Prince Nikolaus Sebastian, 25. As of now, Prince Joseph is in the line of succession after his father.“With this change in the law, we want to ensure that both the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Princely House are led by the person who has been best prepared for this responsibility,” said Prince Alois in a statement as per a report by PEOPLE.Rule changes allowing for female monarchs are becoming more common around the world. Several European nations currently have a female next in line to the throne, including Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria, Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth, Spain’s Princess Leonor and the Netherlands’ Princess Catharina-Amalia. In 2011, Great Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth made the Perth Agreement, which replaced male-preference primogeniture with absolute primogeniture, which does not take sex into account in the line of succession. This meant that when Prince Louis was born in April 2018, Princess Charlotte did not move below him, making her the first British princess in history to rank above her brother.However, hesitation to change the rules has led to looming questions about succession in other countries like Japan. In July, the Japanese parliament passed a bill allowing distant male relatives over 15 to be adopted into the imperial line of succession. The rule change , the first amendment to the main text of the Imperial House Law since 1949, comes amid concern about dwindling male heirs.However, no changes have been made to the law that prevents women from inheriting the throne, meaning that Emperor Naruhito’s only child, Princess Aiko, is still ineligible to succeed her father on the throne. Currently, the emperor’s 60-year-old brother, Fumihito, also known as Crown Prince Ashikino, is in line to inherit, followed by his 19-year-old son, Prince Hisahito. Interestingly, per the BBC, recent polls indicate that a majority of Japanese citizens would be in favour of a female empress.