List of heirs to the throne of Luxembourg

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This page is a list of heirs to the throne of Luxembourg. The list includes all individuals who were considered to inherit the throne of Luxembourg, either as heir apparent or as heir presumptive, since the constitution of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on 15 March 1815. Those who actually succeeded as Grand Duke or Grand Duchess of Luxembourg are shown in bold.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna and given to the new King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in exchange for his ancestral Principality of Orange-Nassau, which went to Prussia; as a result, the first Grand Dukes of Luxembourg were Dutch kings also, and their heirs were eligible for both thrones. This union began to crack in 1884, when the last son of the King-Grand Duke died, leaving no male heir in the Orange-Nassau line. While the King's daughter Wilhelmina could (and would) inherit the Dutch throne, Luxembourg, a "German" territory, followed the Nassau Family Pact of 1783, wherein Salic law (barring females from inheriting) applied. Instead, the throne passed to the only remaining branch of the Nassau family, the House of Nassau-Weilburg. [1]

This branch would face a similar situation only twenty years later: the Grand Duke had six daughters but no sons, and had deemed his cousins the Counts of Merenberg, issue of a morganatic marriage, illegible to inherit the throne. Instead (to the protest of the Count of Merenberg), [2] he instituted a solution, whereby his daughters (and their male heirs) became eligible to succeed. [3]

In 2011 the law of succession was changed to allow women to inherit the throne with equal right to men. [4]

Heirs to the Luxembourgish throne
In personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1890)
MonarchHeirRelationship
to monarch
Became heir
(Date; Reason)
Ceased to be heir
(Date; Reason)
Next in line of succession
Willem I Prince Willem, Prince of Orange Son16 March 1815
Father became grand duke
7 October 1840
Father abdicated, became grand duke
Prince Frederik, 1815–1817, brother
Prince Willem , 1817–1840, son
Willem II Prince Willem, Prince of Orange Son7 October 1840
Father became grand duke
17 March 1849
Father died, became grand duke
Prince Willem, son
Willem III Prince Willem, Prince of Orange Son17 March 1849
Father became grand duke
11 June 1879
Died
Prince Maurits, 1849–1850, brother
Prince Hendrik, 1850–1851, uncle
Prince Alexander, 1851–1879, brother
Prince Alexander, Prince of Orange Son11 June 1879
Brother died
21 June 1884
Died
Prince Frederik, 1879–1881, granduncle
Adolph, Duke of Nassau , 1881–1884, 18th cousin [a]
Adolph, Duke of Nassau 17th cousin
once removed
21 June 1884
18th cousin died
23 November 1890
17th cousin once removed died,
became grand duke
Hereditary Prince Wilhelm of Nassau , son
After the personal union (1890–present)
MonarchHeirRelationship
to monarch
Became heir
(Date; Reason)
Ceased to be heir
(Date; Reason)
Next in line of succession
Adolphe Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume Son23 November 1890
Father became grand duke
17 November 1905
Father died, became grand duke
Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau, 1890–1905, half-uncle
None, 1905
Guillaume IV None, 1905–1907
Hereditary Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde Daughter10 July 1907
Guillaume IV's daughters and
their heirs male declared eligible
25 February 1912
Father died, became grand duchess
Princess Charlotte , sister
Marie-Adélaïde Princess Charlotte Sister25 February 1912
Sister became grand duchess
14 January 1919
Sister abdicated, became grand duchess
Princess Hilda, sister
Charlotte Princess Hilda Sister14 January 1919
Sister became grand duchess
5 January 1921
Son born to grand duchess
Princess Antoinette, sister
Hereditary Grand Duke Jean Son5 January 1921
Born
12 November 1964
Mother abdicated, became grand duke
Princess Hilda, 1921–1927, aunt
Prince Charles, 1927–1955, brother
Prince Henri , 1955–1964, son
Jean Hereditary Grand Duke Henri Son12 November 1964
Father became grand duke
7 October 2000
Father abdicated, became grand duke
Prince Jean, 1964–1981, brother
Prince Guillaume, 1981–2000, son
Henri Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume Son7 October 2000
Father became grand duke
Incumbent Prince Félix, 2000–2020, brother
Prince Charles, 2020–present, son
  1. Senior heir of the Nassau-Weilburg branch, family relationship traced back to Henry II, Count of Nassau.

See also

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References

  1. "Constitution de Luxembourg" (PDF) (in French). Service central de législation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  2. New York Times . "Count Merenberg Protests: Would Not Have a Woman Reign in Luxembourg". 16 June 1907.
  3. (in French and German) "Mémorial A, 1907, No. 37" (PDF). Service central de législation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  4. "New Ducal succession rights for Grand Duchy". Luxemburger Wort. 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.