Luxembourg
was founded in the 2nd half of the 10th century and since
then there has been many reigning houses. The House of Ardennes
died
out in 1336 and Luxemburg came to the House of Limburg. The county
of Luxembourg became a duchy and was sold
to Philip the Good Duke of
Burgundy in 1443. In 1477 it came to the Habsburg Empire. In 1795 it
became a department
of France and in 1815 it was promoted to a grand
duchy as a part of the new Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1830 it lost
half the grand duchy to the new Kingdom of Belgium. King Willem II
gave the grand duchy constitutions in 1841 and 1848.
King Willem III
made his brother Prince Hendrik stadtholder of Luxembourg in 1850,
which he stayed until his death
in 1879. Stadtholder Hendrik reached
that Luxembourg after the liquidation of the German Alliance in 1867
became
an independent state.
Until 1890 Luxembourg was in Dutch hands.
As the Salian law was in force
in Luxembourg, after the death of King Willem III the throne of Luxemburg
was given
to Adolph Duke of Nassau, from the Walramian branch of the House
of Nassau. In 1866 the Prussian King Wilhelm I had driven
him away from
the duchy of Nassau, and he had been stadtholder of Luxembourg since 1879.
In 1905 Adolph died and was followed by his
son Guillaume IV who had already
died in 1912. Guillaume IV only had six daughters from his marriage to Maria
Anna
Princess of Braganca. In 1907 the Salian Law was abolished and thus his
eldest daughter Marie Adelaïde became the
new Grand Duchess. In World War
I, she was (wrongly) accused of pro-German sympathies. She was forced to give
up
her throne in 1919 and died in 1924. After Luxembourg almost had become a
republic, it was clear that her sister Charlotte
was willing to become the new
Grand Duchess and soon married Prince Felix of Bourbon of Parma. In World
War II
she fled to Portugal and from there to England. Her husband Felix and her
son Jean served in the allied army. Grand Duchess
Charlotte abdicated in 1964
in favour of her oldest son Jean, and died in 1985. Grand Duke Jean in 1953
married
Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. Their oldest son Henri has
ruled Luxembourg since March 4th 1998 as the
lieutenant-représentant of
Luxembourg (regent). He became the Grand Duke on October 7th, 2000.
Sovereign:
Henri Grand Duke of Luxembourg (Betzdorf Castle, Luxembourg,
on April 16th, 1955), Son of Jean Grand Duke of Luxembourg
(1921) and
Joséphine-Charlotte Princess of Belgium (1927), Succeeds his father Jean
Grand Duke of Luxembourg
(1921), who abdicated on October 7th, 2000.
Inauguration: Chambre des Députés, Luxembourg City, October
7th, 2000.
Motto: Ich Dien (I Serve). Religion: Roman Catholic . Married (1981):
Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista
(1956)
Address: Palais
Grand-Ducal , 17,
rue du Marché-aux Herbes , 1728
Luxembourg , Luxembourg .
The Grand Dukes of Luxembourg
Willem I.................(1772-1843) 1815-abd. 1840
Willem
II......................(1792-1849) 1840-1849
Willem III.....................(1817-1890) 1849-1890
Adolph I........................(1817-1905)
1890-1905
Guillaume IV..................(1852-1912) 1905-1912
Maria Anna......(1861-1942) Regent: 1908-1912
Marie
Adélaïde......(1894-1924) 1912-abd. 1919
Charlotte...............(1896-1985) 1919-abd. 1964
Jean............................(1921-
) 1964-abd. 2000
Henri.........................................(1955- ) 2000-
H.R.H. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg .
H.R.H. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
.
HRH Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg
(* November 11th, 1981)
HRH
Prince Felix of Luxembourg
(* June 3rd, 1984)
HRH Prince Louis of Luxembourg
(* August 3rd, 1986)
HRH Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg
(* April 16th, 1992)
HRH Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg
(* May 1st, 1963)
HRH Prince Paul-Louis of Nassau
(* March 4th, 1998)
HRH Prince Léopold of Nassau
(* May 2nd, 2000)
HRH Prince Jean of Nassau
(* July 13th, 2004)
The House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty
in Europe.
It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located
in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate,
Germany. The lords of
Nassau were originally titled Count of Nassau, then elevated to the
princely class as princely
counts. At the end of the Holy Roman Empire,
they proclaimed themselves Duke of Nassau.
Count Dudo-Henry of Laurenburg (ca. 1060 - ca. 1123) is
considered the
founder of the House of Nassau. He is first mentioned in the purported
founding-charter of Maria
Laach Abbey in 1093 (although many historians
consider the document to be fabricated). The Castle Laurenburg, located
a few miles upriver from Nassau on the Lahn, was the seat of his lordship.
His family probably descended from the Lords
of Lipporn. In 1159, Nassau
Castle became the ruling seat, and the house is now named after this castle.
The Counts of Laurenburg and Nassau expanded their authority
under the
brothers Robert (Ruprecht) I (1123-1154) and Arnold I of Laurenburg
(1123-1148). Robert was the first
person to call himself Count of Nassau,
but the title was not confirmed until 1159, five years after Robert's
death.
Robert's son Walram I (1154-1198) was the first person to be
legally titled Count of Nassau.
The chronology of the Counts of Laurenburg is not certain
and the link
between Robert I and Walram I is especially controversial. Also, some
sources consider Gerhard, listed
as co-Count of Laurenburg in 1148, to
be the son of Robert I's brother, Arnold I. However, Erich Brandenburg
in
his Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen states that it is most likely
that Gerhard was Robert I's son, because Gerard
was the name of Beatrix
of Limburg's maternal grandfather.
All Dutch kings since 1890 and the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg since 1912
have been descended in
the female line from the House of Nassau. According
to German tradition, the family name is passed only in the male
line of
succession. The house is therefore, from this perspective, extinct. However
Dutch aristocratic customs
(and Luxembourg's, which are based on the
aforementioned) differ, and do not consider the House extinct.
The Family Titles and Styles
The members of this family bear the Titles of Prince
or Princess of Luxembourg together with the formal
appellation of His or Her Royal Highness
The
Genealogy of The Grand Ducal House
Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich,
Duke of Nassau 20 Aug 1839, lost
his throne 20 Sep 1866 when Nassau was annexed to Prussia; succeeded
King Willem
III of the Netherlands, on his death without surviving male
issue on 23 Nov 1890, as ADOLPHE, Grand Duke of Luxemburg,
in accordance
with the Nassau family compact; he was b.Biebrich 24 Jul 1817 and d.
Schloß Hohenburg 17 Nov
1905; he m.1st St.Petersburg 31 Jan 1844 Elisabeth
Mikhailovna, Grand Dss of Russia (Moscow 26 May 1826-Wiesbaden 28
Jan 1845
); m.2d Dessau 23 Apr 1851 Adelheid Pss von Anhalt (Dessau 25 Dec 1833
-Schloß Königstein 24
Nov 1916)
1a) GUILLAUME IV Alexandre, Grand Duke of Luxemburg,
Duke of Nassau, etc (Biebrich 22 Apr 1852- Colmar-Berg
25 Feb 1912); m.Schloß Fischhorn 21 Jun 1893 Maria
Anna Infanta of Portugal (Schloß Bronnbach 13 Jul
1861-New York 31 Jul 1942)
1b) MARIE ADÉLAÏDE Thérèse
Hilda Wilhelmine, Grand
Duchess of Luxemburg, abdicated 14 Jan 1919 (Colmar
-Berg 14 Jun 1894-Schloß Hohenburg
24 Jan 1924)
2b) CHARLOTTE Aldegonde Élise Marie Wilhelmine,
Grand Duchess
of Luxemburg, abdicated 12 Nov 1964 (Schloß Berg 23 Jan 1896
-Schloß Fischbach 9 Jul
1985); m.Luxemburg 6 Nov 1919 Felix
Pr of Bourbon-Parma, cr Pr of Luxemburg 5 Nov 1919 (Schwarzau
28 Sep 1893-Fischbach
8 Apr 1970)
1c) JEAN Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine
Louis Marie Adolphe
Marc d'Aviano, Grand Duke of Luxemburg 1964-2000 (b.Schloß
Berg 5 Jan 1921); m.Luxemburg
9 Apr 1953 Josephine Charlotte
Pss of Belgium (Brussels 11 Oct 1927-Fischbach 10 Jan 2005)
1d) Marie Astrid Liliane Charlotte Léopoldine Wilhelmine
Ingeborg Antonia Élisabeth Anne Alberte (b.Schloß Betzdorf
17 Feb 1954); m.Luxemburg 6 Feb 1982 Carl
Christian,
Archduke of Austria (b.Beloeil 26 Aug 1954)
2d) HENRI Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume,
Grand Duke
of Luxemburg 2000 (b.Schloß Betzdorf 16 Apr 1955); m.
Luxemburg 4 Feb 1981 Maria Teresa Mestre
(b.Marianao,
Cuba 22 Mar 1956)
1e) Guillaume Jean Joseph Marie, Hereditary
Prince of Luxemburg (b.Luxemburg 11 Nov 1981)
2e) Félix Léopold Marie Guillaume
(b.Luxemburg 3 Jun 1984)
3e) Louis Xavier Marie Guillaume (b.Luxemburg 3
Aug 1986); m.Gilsdorf 29 Sep 2006 Tessy
Antony
(b.Luxembourg-Ville 28 Oct 1985)
1f) Gabriel Michael Louis Ronny
de Nassau (b.Geneva 12 Mar 2006)
4e) Alexandra Joséphine Teresa Charlotte
Marie Wilhelmine (b.Luxemburg 16 Feb
1991)
5e) Sébastian Henri
Marie Guillaume
(b.Luxemburg 16 Apr 1992)
3d) Jean Félix Marie Guillaume, renounced
rights of succession 26 Sep1986 (b.Schloß
Betzdorf
15 May 1957); m.(morganatically)
Paris 27 May 1987 (div) Hélène Suzanna
Vestur (b.St.Germain- en-Laye
31 May 1958)
1e) Marie-Gabrielle
Cécile Charlotte
Sophie Pss de Nassau (b.Paris 8 Sep 1986)
2e) Constantine Jean Philippe Marie Albert
Marc d'Aviano Pr de Nassau (b.Paris 22 Jul
1988)
3e) Wenceslas François
Baudoin Léopold Juraj
Marie Marc d'Aviano Pr de Nassau (b.Paris 17 Nov 1990)
4e) Carl-Johann Félix Julien Marc
d'Aviano Pr de Nassau (b.Paris 15 Aug 1992)
4d) Margaretha Antonia Marie Félicité (b.Schloß
Betzdorf
15 May 1957); m.Luxemburg 20 Mar 1982 Nikolaus Pr von
und zu Liechtenstein (b.Zürich 24 Oct 1947)
5d) Guillaume Marie Louis Christian (b.Schloß Betzdorf
1
May 1963); m.Versailles 24 Sep 1994 Sibilla Weiller
(b.Neuilly-sur-Seine 12 Jun 1968; see Torlonia)
1e) Paul-Louis Jean Marie Guillaume
Pr de Nassau (b.Luxemburg
4 Mar 1998)
2e) Léopold
Guillaume Marie Joseph
Pr de Nassau (b.Luxemburg 2 May 2000)
3e) Charlotte Wilhelmine Maria da Gloria
Pss de Nassau (b.Luxemburg 2 May 2000)
4e) Jean André Guillaume Marie Gabriel Marc
d'Aviano Pr de Nassau (b.Luxemburg 13 Jul 2004)
2c) Elisabeth Hilda Zita Marie Anna Antonia
Friederike
Wilhelmine Luise (b.Schloß Berg 12 Dec 1922); m.Luxemburg
9 May 1956 Franz Ferdinand, Duke von
Hohenberg (Artstetten
13 Sep 1927- Ried in der Riedmark 16 Aug 1977)
1d) Anna (Anita) Charlotte Maximiliana Euphemia Maria Helena, b.Schloß
Berg 18
Aug 1958; m.1st Luxemburg 15 Jul 1978 (rel) Artstetten 22 Jul
1978 (div 1998) Romée de la Poëze Cte d'Harambure
(b.Düsseldorf 15
July 1949); m.2d Schloß Kornberg 9 Jul 2005 Andreas Gf von Bardeau
(b.Graz 13 Feb 1957)
2d) Princess Sophie Felicitas Elisabetha Bona Maria Antonia
von Hohenberg, b. at Berg Castle 10 May 1960 ; m at Marbach,
Austria
17 June 1983 Jean Louis de Potesta, of the House of the
Barons de Potesta, (b. at Luttich 8 Feb 1951), MBA,
and has issue.
3c) Marie Adelaide Louise Therese Wilhelmine (Schloß Berg
21 May 1924-28 Feb
2007); m.Luxemburg 10 Apr 1958 Karl Josef
Gf Henckel von Donnersmarck (b.Romolkwitz 7 Nov 1928)
4c) Marie Gabrielle Adelgunde Wilhelmine Luise (b.Schloß
Berg 2 Aug 1925); m.Schloß Colmar-Berg 6 Nov 1951 Knud
Johan Ludvig Lehnsgraf Holstein til Ledreborg (Ledreborg
2 Oct 1919-25 Jun 2001)
1d)
Monica Charlotte Louise Maria Css Holstein-Ledreborg,
b.Ledreborg 29 Jul 1952; m.13 Sep 2003 Henri de Dompierre
de Jonquières (b.28 May 1950)
2d)
Lydia Adelaide Maria Css Holstein-Ledreborg, b.Ledreborg
22 Feb 1955; m.1st Ledreborg 8 Aug 1980 (div 1999) Pr of
Bourbon-Parma (b.28 Aug 1953); m.2d 31 Jan 2001 Martin Bergsøe
(b.15 Dec 1948)
3d) Veronica Birgitte Maria Css Holstein-Ledreborg,
b.Ledreborg 29 Jan 1956; m.Ledreborg
18 Aug 1979
François Bruno de Pottère (b.Carbondale,
Pennsylvania 1 Dec 1949)
1e) Charles de Pottère,
b.Luxemburg 22 Aug
1982
2e) Alexander Gabriel de
Pottère,
b.Truckee, Nevada 12 Jan 1985
4d) Silvia Charlotte Maria Css Holstein-Ledreborg,
b.Ledreborg 1 Jan 1958; m.Ledreborg 4 Aug 1979 John
Munro, of Foulis (b.21 Jun 1959)
1e)
Tatiana Angela Maria Munro of Foulis,
b.Barrio Cabanas, Honduras 18 May 1983
2e) Alexander Munro of Foulis,
b.Ledreborg 24 Jun 1985
3e) Charlotte Tatiana Marie Munro
of Foulis, b.Roskilde 27 Dec 1990
4e) Angela Charlotte Marie Munro
of Foulis, b.Roskilde
27 Aug 1992
5d) Camilla Josephine
Marie Css Holstein-Ledreborg,
b.Ledreborg 26 Feb 1959; m.Ledreborg 11 Jan 1986 (div 1995)
Baron Eric Rudolf Bertouch-Lehn
til Højbygaard and Lungholm
(b.Nykøbing Falster 15 Nov 1956)
1e) Baron Nicolas Erik Carl Poul Johan
Dmitri Bertouch-Lehn, b.Copenhagen 14 Jun 1986
2e) Baron Philip Eric Alexander Knud Bertouch
-Lehn,
b.Nykøbing Falster 21 Mar 1989
6d) Tatiana Alix Marie Css Holstein-Ledreborg,
b.Ledreborg 25 Apr 1961; m.Ledreborg 14 Aug 1999
Mark
von Riedemann (b.Victoria, B.C. 20 Oct 1964)
7d) Antonia Charlotte Jeanette Marie Css
Holstein-Ledreborg, b.Ledreborg 19 Jun 1962
5c) Charles Frédéric Louis Guillaume Marie
(Schloß Berg 7 Aug 1927-Imbercati, Italy 26
Jul 1977); m.Guilford 1 Mar 1967 Joan Dougla
s Dillon (b.New
York City 31 Jan 1935)
1d) Charlotte
Phyllis Marie (b.New York City
15 Sep 1967); m.Mouchy 26 Jun 1993 (rel) Saint
-Rémy-en-Provence 18 Sep 1993
Marc-Victor
Cunningham (b.Harrogate 24 Sep 1965)
1e) Charles Douglas Donnall Marie Cunningham,
b.Rockport, Maine 8 Aug 1996
2e) Louis Robert Dominic Marie
Cunningham, b.London 10 Mar 1998
3e) Donnall Cunningham, b.2002
2d) Robert Louis François Marie (b.Fischbach 22 Aug
1968);
m.Boston, Massachusetts 29 Jan 1994 Julie Elizabeth Houston
Ongaro, cr Pss de Nassau 2004 (b.Louisville,
KY 9 Jun 1966)
1e) Charlotte
Justine Pss de
Nassau (b.Boston 20 Mar 1995)
2e) Alexandre Thédore Charles Marie Pr
de Nassau (b.Aix-en-Provence 18 Apr 1997)
3e) Frederik Henry Douglas Marie Pr de
Nassau (b.Aix-en-Provence
18 Mar 2002)
6c) Alix Marie Anne
Antonia Charlotte Gabrielle (b.
Colmar-Berg 24 Aug 1929); m.Luxemburg 17 Aug 1950
Antoine Pr de Ligne (Brussels
8 Mar 1925-21 Aug 2005)
3b) Hilda
Sophie Marie Adélaïde Wilhelmine (Colmar-Berg
15 Feb 1897-Colmar Berg 8 Sep 1979); m.Colmar-Berg 29
Oct 1930 Adolf Fst zu Schwarzenberg (Frauenberg 18 Aug
1890-Bordighera 27 Feb 1950)
4b) Antoinette Roberte Sophie Wilhelmine (Schloß Hohenburg
7 Oct 1899-Lenzerheide,
Switzerland 31 Jul 1954); m.Schloß
Hohenburg 7 Apr 1921 Rupprecht, Crown Pr of Bavaria
(Munich 18 May 1869-Schloß
Leutstetten 2 Aug 1955)
5b) Elisabeth
Marie Wilhelmine (Luxemburg 7 Mar
1901-Schloß Hohenburg 2 Aug 1950); m.Schloß
Hohenburg 14 Nov 1922
Ludwig Philipp Pr von
Thurn u.Taxis (Regensburg 2 Feb 1901-Schloß
Niederaichbach 22 Apr 1933)
6b) Sophie Caroline Marie Wilhelmine
(Colmar-Berg
14 Feb 1902-Munich 24 May 1941);
m.Schloß Hohenburg 12 Apr 1921 Ernst Heinrich
Pr of Saxony (Dresden 9 Dec
1896-Coolamber,
Ireland 14 Jun 1971)
2a) Friedrich Paul Wilhelm Pr von Nassau
(Biebrich 23 Sep 1854-Biebrich 23 Oct 1855)
3a) Marie Bathildis Pss von Nassau
(Biebrich 14 Nov
1857-Biebrich 28 Dec 1857)
4a)
Franz Joseph Wilhelm Pr von Nassau
(Biebrich 30 Jan 1859-Vienna 2 Apr 1875)
5a) Hilda Charlotte Wilhelmine (Biebrich 5 Nov 1864-Badenweiler
8 Feb 1952);m.Schloß
Hohenburg20 Sep 1885 Friedrich II, Grand
Duke of Baden (Karlsruhe 9 Jul 1857-Badenweiler 9 Aug 1928)
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