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The 1783 family pact of the House of Nassau laid down that the grand-ducal Crown had to pass to the Nassau-Weilbourg branch upon the death of the last male descendant in the Orange-Nassau line.
Thus, when William III of the Netherlands died without leaving a male descendant, the Crown of the Grand Duchy passed to Duke Adolphe of Nassau, while the eldest daughter of William III, Wilhelmina, succeeded to her father's throne in the Netherlands, which was governed by a different order of succession from the Grand Duchy. The personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands thus ended with the death of William III.
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The eldest son of Adolphe, William IV, succeeded his father in 1905.
Health problems led him to name his wife, Marie-Anne of Bragance, Lieutenant-Représentant in 1908.
Having had six daughters by his marriage, he had foreseen that succession might be problematic upon his death. On 16 April 1907, the Chamber of Deputies approved the new family statute established by William IV.This provision entered into force on 10 July 1907.
In accordance with the terms of this statute, his eldest daughter, Princess Marie-Adélaïde, was declared heir to the throne.
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Grand Duke William IV died on 25 February 1912. His eldest daughter, who became Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde, was the first sovereign born on Luxembourg soil since John the Blind in 1296.
While taking the oath at the Chamber of Deputies, Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde asserted her interest in political and social questions.
Heavily influenced by her Catholic education and convinced she was sovereign by the grace of God, she claimed the right to intervene in political matters. Although she never went beyond the limits set by the Constitution, she attracted too much resentment from the Left, which demanded her abdication in parliament following the revolutionary unrest in January 1919.
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- 1919 : Grand Duchess Charlotte
Grand Duchess Charlotte came to the throne in difficult times. During her taking of the oath on 15 January 1919 before a delegation from the Chamber of Deputies, she asserted her desire to remain above politics. Her position was strengthened by the results of a political referendum held on 28 September 1919 in which 77.8% of the Luxembourg people voted to keep the dynasty under Grand Duchess Charlotte.
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The revision of the Constitution in 1919 redefined the Crown's prerogatives. It declared the nation as sovereign and limited the sovereign's powers.
German troops invaded Luxembourg on 10 May 1940, violating its neutrality. The Grand Duchess went into exile accompanied by her family and the Government.
From France, she passed through Spain, Portugal and then Britain, the United States and Canada. It was in London that the Grand Duchess sided with the Allies and that the headquarters of the Luxembourg Government were established. From London Grand Duchess Charlotte encouraged the Luxembourg resistance. Her attitude strengthened the people's spirit of unity.
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Grand Duke Jean Grand Duke Jean, Duke of Nassau, Prince of Bourbon-Parma, was born at Berg Castle in Luxembourg on 5 January 1921. He became Grand Duke on 12 November 1964.
On 24 December 1999 Grand Duke Jean announced that he would be abdicating in favour of his son, the Hereditary Grand Duke Henri. Grand Duke Henri took the oath before the Chamber of Deputies on 7 October 2000.
- Summary: The Sovereigns of the Grand Duchy from 1815 to the present day
- William I (1815-1840)
- William II (1840-1849)
- William III (1849-1890)
- Henry of The Netherlands (Lieutenant Representative of the Grand Duke from 1850 to 1879)
- Adolphe of Nassau (1890-1905)
- William IV (1905-1912)
- Marie-Adélaïde (1912-1919)
- Charlotte (1919-1964)
- Jean (1964-2000)
- Henri (2000-)
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Dernière mise à jour de
cette page le 07-08-2003
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