Alois of Liechtenstein
His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Alois Philipp Maria von und zu Liechtenstein (born 11 June 1968) became Regent of Liechtenstein (Stellvertreter des Fürsten) on 15 August 2004.
Born in Zürich, he is the eldest son of Fürst Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein (b. 1945) and his wife, formerly Marie Aglaë Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (b. 1940).
He attended the Liechtenstein Grammar School in Vaduz-Ebenholz and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. He served in the Coldstream Guards in Hong Kong and London for six months before entering Salzburg University, graduating with a master's degree in jurisprudence in 1993.
Until 1996 he worked at a London auditing company; in May 1996 he returned to Vaduz and became active in managing his father's finances, and took an increasingly active role in political discussions and consultations, and in undertaking representative duties for Liechtenstein.
On Liechtenstein Day (15 August) in 1990, he and his father publicly and jointly swore to uphold the Constitution.
Hans-Adam II won sweeping new powers (the right to veto laws and elect judges) in a Constitutional referendum in 2003.
On Liechtenstein Day 2004 Prince Hans-Adam II formally turned the power of making day-to-day governmental decisions over to his son Erbprinz Alois, as a way of transitioning to a new generation. (Hans-Adam remained Head of State).
On 3 July 1993, at St. Florin's in Vaduz, Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein married Duchess Sophie in Bavaria (b. 1967). Sophie is considered heiress presumptive to the British throne by Jacobites.
They have four children:
- Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria (b. 1995)
- Marie-Caroline Elisabeth Immaculata (b. 1996)
- Georg Antonius Constantin Maria (b. 1999)
- Nikolaus Sebastian Alexander Maria (b. 2000)
