Information about Prince Franz I of Liechtenstein

Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein, born Franz de Paula Maria Karl August, was the Prince of Liechtenstein between 1929 and 1938.

Franz I served as the Austro-Hungarian ambassador at the Court of Tsar Nicholas II in St. Petersburg between 1894 and 1899. As Prince of Liechtenstein, he continued the economic reforms initiated by his brother.

He was the 1,204th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria.

Like his brother Johann II, Franz I had no children. His nephew Prince Aloys was heir presumptive, but Aloys removed himself from the line of succession in favor of his son, Franz Josef, in 1923.

In March 1938 the elderly Franz I named Franz Joseph the country's regent. Although he cited old age as his reason for relinquishing his duties, it is widely believed that it was because he had no desire to be ruling if Nazi Germany invaded his small Principality. Franz I died on 25 July 1938, and was formally succeeded by his grandnephew, Franz Joseph II.