29/09/2025
In relation to the impending abdication of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, let's get to know more about the only grand duchy in the world, and its six monarchs ruling independently since 1890.
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a landlocked country in Western Europe, bordering Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city is Luxembourg City.
With just a total area of 2,586 square kilometres, it is one of the smallest nations in the world, but one of the richest countries, with a Gross Domestic Product per capita of $154,914 (2025).
From 1815 to 1839, the Grand Duchy was a province of the Netherlands. In 1839, the Treaty of London made Luxembourg independent but remained in personal union with the Netherlands and was ruled by the Dutch monarch.
In 1890 however, things changed. The Dutch King, William III, had only one surviving child, Princess Wilhelmina. Although Wilhelmina was eligible to ascend to the Dutch throne as its succession law followed a male-preference primogeniture law, she was barred from succeeding her father in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg as the latter followed a Salic Law, prohibiting women from succeeding.
Wilhelmina became Dutch Queen in 1890 following her father's death but Luxembourg went to her uncle, Adolf, Duke of Nassau. Adolf adopted the French version of his name, Adolphe, when he became the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
He was King William III's third cousin through the Nassau line but also maternal uncle of William III's wife Queen Emma and her sister, Princess Helena, Duchess of Albany (wife of Queen Victoria's youngest son, Prince Leopold). Adolphe was also the maternal uncle of King Gustaf V of Sweden.
Grand Duke Adolphe reigned for 15 years in Luxembourg and was succeeded by his son, William IV in 1905.
William IV was a Protestant (the religion of the House of Nassau) but he chose to marry a Catholic princess, Infanta Maria Anne of Portugal, daughter of King Miguel I. Luxembourg is predominantly Catholic and William IV believed that a Catholic country must be ruled by a Catholic monarch, thus, all Luxembourgian heirs became Catholics.
William IV didn't have surviving male heirs and all his adult surviving children were females so in 1907, to prevent his cousin, the Count of Merenberg, a product of a morganatic marriage, from mounting the Luxembourgian throne, he declared him and his descendants non-dynastic, and, thus, declared his eldest daughter, Princess Marie-Adelaide, his heir presumptive.
Marie-Adelaide became Luxembourg's first Grand Duchess in her own right in 1912. However, she became unpopular during World War I, leading to her abdication in 1919. She didn't marry and no children so the throne passed to her younger sister, Princess Charlotte.
It was also the year that Princess Charlotte married her cousin, Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma (their mothers were sisters), the brother of Empress Zita of Austria. Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide spent her life in exile and passed away in 1924.
Grand Duchess Charlotte reigned for 45 years, the longest reign of any Luxembourgian monarchs. She abdicated the throne in November 1964 in favor of her eldest son, Jean, who had been serving as her Lieutenant-Representative since 1961. Grand Duchess Charlotte passed away in 1985.
Grand Duke Jean married Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium in 1953, daughter of King Leopold III of Belgium and Princess Astrid of Sweden. On October 7, 2000, he abdicated the throne in favor of his eldest son, Henri. Grand Duke Jean passed away in 2019.
Grand Duke Henri had been serving as Lieutenant-Representative of his father since March 1998 before inheriting the throne in 2000. He also made his heir, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Lieutenant-Representative on October 8, 2024. On October 3, he will formally step down.
