View source for Monarchy of Luxembourg

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox monarchy
| royal_title = Grand Duke
| native_name = ''Groussherzog vu Lëtzebuerg''<br />''Grand-duc de Luxembourg''
| realm = Luxembourg
| image = Guillaume Trounwiessel Uniform (cropped).jpg
| incumbent = [[Guillaume V, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Guillaume V]]
| incumbentsince = 3 October 2025
| style = His [[Royal Highness]]
| heir_apparent = [[Prince Charles of Luxembourg (born 2020)|Prince Charles of Luxembourg]]
| residence = [[Grand Ducal Palace, Luxembourg|Grand Ducal Palace]], [[Berg Castle]], [[Colmar-Berg]]
| first_monarch = [[William I of the Netherlands|William I]], King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
| coatofarms = Greater coat of arms of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg (2000).svg
| coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of Luxembourg#Arms of the monarch{{!}}Arms of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg
| website = {{URL|https://monarchie.lu/en}}
}}

The '''monarchy of Luxembourg''' is the institution headed by the [[grand duke]] of [[Luxembourg]],{{efn|{{langx|lb|Groussherzog vu Lëtzebuerg}}, {{langx|fr|Grand-duc de Luxembourg}}, {{langx|de|Großherzog von Luxemburg}}}} who is the [[head of state]] of the country.  Luxembourg has been a [[grand duchy]] since 15 March 1815, when it was created from territory of the former [[Duchy of Luxembourg]].  It was in [[personal union]] with the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]] until 1890 under the [[House of Orange-Nassau]]. Luxembourg is the world's only sovereign grand duchy, and since 1815 there have been ten monarchs, including the [[incumbent]], [[Guillaume V, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Guillaume V]].

==Constitutional role==
The [[constitution of Luxembourg]] defines the [[grand duke]]'s position:
:The grand duke is the head of state, symbol of its unity, and guarantor of national [[independence]]. He exercises [[Executive (government)|executive]] power in accordance with the constitution and the laws of the country.<ref name="Constitution">{{cite web | url=http://www.legilux.public.lu/leg/textescoordonnes/recueils/Constitution/constitution_gdl.pdf | title=Constitution de Luxembourg | access-date=2016-04-03| publisher=Service central de législation | language=fr | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009122248/http://www.legilux.public.lu/leg/textescoordonnes/recueils/Constitution/constitution_gdl.pdf | archive-date=9 October 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

After a constitutional change (to article 34) in December 2008 resulting from Henri's [[veto|refusal]] to assent to a [[Law on euthanasia and assisted suicide|law]] legalizing [[euthanasia]], laws now no longer require the grand duke's formal [[royal assent|assent]] (implying "approval"),<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/12/luxembourg-monarchy | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Luxembourg strips monarch of legislative role | date=12 December 2008 | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref> but his task of [[promulgating]] the law as chief executive remains.

==Compensation==
The grand duke does not receive a salary, but the grand ducal family receives annually 300,000 [[gold franc]]s (€281,000) for grand ducal functions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.monarchie.lu/fr/monarchie/finances/index.html|title = Le budget &#124; Cour grand-ducale}}</ref> In 2017, the Luxembourg budget included €10.1 million for the grand duke's household costs.<ref name="businessinsider_royals">{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/richest-royals-what-europes-royal-families-get-from-their-taxpayers-2017-7?r=UK&IR=T|title=Richest royals: what Europe's royal families get from their taxpayers – Business Insider|website=[[Business Insider]] }}</ref>

==Succession==
{{Main|Succession to the Luxembourgish throne}}
Succession to the throne was governed by [[Salic law]], as dictated by the [[Nassau Family Pact]], first adopted on 30 June 1783.<ref name="Constitution" /> The right to reign over Luxembourg was until June 2011 passed by [[agnatic-cognatic primogeniture]] within the [[House of Nassau]], as stipulated under the 1815 [[Congress of Vienna#Elements of the Final Act|Final Act]] of the [[Congress of Vienna]] and as confirmed by the 1867 [[Treaty of London (1867)|Treaty of London]].<ref name="Constitution" /> In June 2011, agnatic primogeniture was replaced with [[absolute primogeniture]], allowing any legitimate female descendants within the House of Nassau to be included in the line of succession.<ref>{{cite news |title=New Ducal succession rights for Grand Duchy |newspaper=Luxemburger Wort |url=http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/en/luxembourg/articles/2011/06/153564/index.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121219193039/http://www.wort.lu/wort/web/en/luxembourg/articles/2011/06/153564/index.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 December 2012 |date=21 June 2011 |access-date=11 July 2011 }}</ref> The Nassau Family Pact itself can be amended by the usual legislative process, having been so on 10 July 1907 to exclude the [[Count of Merenberg]] branch of the House, which was descended from a [[morganatic marriage]].<ref>{{in lang|fr|de}} {{cite web | url=http://www.legilux.public.lu/leg/a/archives/1907/0371107/0371107.pdf#page=1 | title=Mémorial A, 1907, No. 37 | access-date=2008-01-14| publisher=Service central de législation | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226204116/http://www.legilux.public.lu/leg/a/archives/1907/0371107/0371107.pdf#page=1 | archive-date=26 February 2008 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

An [[heir apparent]] may be granted the style "hereditary grand duke" once they reach the age of eighteen.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Constitutional Monarchy |url=https://monarchie.lu/en/luxembourg-monarchy/constitutional-monarchy |access-date=2025-10-03 |website=monarchie.lu}}</ref>

==Full titles==
The traditional titulatures of the Grand Duke are ''[[By the Grace of God]], Grand Duke of Luxembourg, [[House of Nassau|Duke of Nassau]], [[Count Palatine of the Rhine]], Count of [[Sayn]], [[Königstein im Taunus|Königstein]], [[Katzenelnbogen]] and [[Diez, Germany|Diez]], Burgrave of [[Hammerstein]], Lord of [[Mahlberg]], [[Wiesbaden]], [[Idstein]], [[Merenberg]], [[Hagen-Hohenlimburg|Limburg]] and [[Eppstein]]''. 

It should, however, be noted that many of the titles are held without regard to the strict rules of [[Salic law|Salic inheritance]] and that most, save for Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Duke of Nassau, are simply not used.

==List of Grand Dukes==
{{main|List of monarchs of Luxembourg}}

===House of Orange-Nassau===
<!--Paragraph on promotion to grand duchy; another paragraph on personal union with Netherlands.-->
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Portrait
! Name
! Lifespan
! Reign start
! Reign end
! Titles
! Claim
|-
| [[File:William I of the Netherlands.jpg|90px]]
| '''[[William I of the Netherlands|Guillaume I]]'''
| 24 August 1772 –<br/>12 December 1843
| 15 March 1815
| 7 October 1840<br/>''(abdicated)''
| rowspan=3 | King of the Netherlands;<br/>Grand Duke of Luxembourg
| [[Congress of Vienna]]
|-
| [[File:WillemIINL3.jpg|90px]]
| '''[[William II of the Netherlands|Guillaume II]]'''
| 6 December 1792 –<br/>17 March 1849
| 7 October 1840
| 17 March 1849
| Son of [[William I of the Netherlands|Guillaume I]]
|-
| [[File:Willem III (1817-90), koning der Nederlanden, Nicolaas Pieneman, 1856 - Rijksmuseum.jpg|90px]]
| '''[[William III of the Netherlands|Guillaume III]]'''
| 17 February 1817 –<br/>23 November 1890
| 17 March 1849
| 23 November 1890
| Son of [[William II of the Netherlands|Guillaume II]]
|}

===House of Nassau-Weilburg===
Under the 1783 [[Nassau Family Pact]], those territories of the Nassau family in the [[Holy Roman Empire]] at the time of the pact (Luxembourg and [[Duchy of Nassau|Nassau]]) were bound by semi-[[Salic law]], which allowed [[inheritance]] by females or through the female line only upon extinction of male members of the [[dynasty]]. When [[William III of the Netherlands|William III]] died leaving only his daughter [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands|Wilhelmina]] as an heir in 1890, the crown of the Netherlands, not being bound by the family pact, passed to Wilhelmina. However, the crown of Luxembourg passed to a male of another branch of the House of Nassau: [[Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Adolphe]], the dispossessed [[House of Nassau|Duke of Nassau]] and head of the [[House of Nassau-Weilburg|branch of Nassau-Weilburg]].

In 1905, Grand Duke Adolphe's younger half-brother, Prince [[Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau|Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau]], died, having left a son [[Count of Merenberg|Georg Nikolaus, Count von Merenberg]] who was, however, the product of a [[morganatic marriage]], and therefore not legally a member of the House of Nassau.  In 1907, Adolphe's only son, [[William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg]], obtained passage of a law confirming the right of his eldest daughter, [[Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg|Marie-Adélaïde]], to succeed to the throne in virtue of the absence of any remaining [[dynasty|dynastic]] males of the House of Nassau, as originally stipulated in the Nassau Family Pact. She became the grand duchy's first reigning female monarch upon her father's death in 1912, and upon her own [[abdication]] in 1919 was succeeded by her younger sister [[Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg|Charlotte]], who married [[Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma|Felix of Bourbon-Parma]], a prince of the former [[Duchy of Parma]]. Charlotte's descendants have since [[reign]]ed as the continued dynasty of ''Nassau''.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Portrait
! Name
! Lifespan
! Reign start
! Reign end
! Titles
! Claim
|-
| [[File:Adolfluxembourg1817-6.jpg|90px]]
| '''[[Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Adolphe]]'''
| 24 July 1817 –<br/>17 November 1905<br/>({{age in years|1817|7|24|1905|11|17}} years)
| 23 November 1890
| 17 November 1905
| rowspan=2 | Grand Duke of Luxembourg;<br/>Duke of Nassau
| Third cousin of [[William III of the Netherlands|Guillaume III]]
|-
| [[File:Guillaume IV of Luxembourg.png|90px]]
| '''[[William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Guillaume IV]]'''
| 22 April 1852 –<br/>25 February 1912<br/>({{age in years|1852|4|22|1912|2|25}} years)
| 17 November 1905
| 25 February 1912
| Son of [[Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Adolphe]]
|-
| [[File:Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg 2.jpg|90px]]
| '''[[Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg|Marie-Adélaïde]]'''
| 14 June 1894 –<br/>24 January 1924<br/>({{age in years|1894|6|14|1924|1|24}} years)
| 25 February 1912
| 14 January 1919<br/>''(abdicated)''
| rowspan=2 | Grand Duchess of Luxembourg;<br/>Duchess of Nassau
| Daughter of [[William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Guillaume IV]]
|-
| [[File:Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.jpg|90px]]
| '''[[Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg|Charlotte]]'''
| 23 January 1896 –<br/>9 July 1985<br/>({{age in years|1896|1|23|1985|2|9}} years)
| 14 January 1919
| 12 November 1964<br/>''(abdicated)''
| Daughter of [[William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Guillaume IV]]<br/>Sister of [[Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg|Marie-Adélaïde]]
|}

===House of Luxembourg-Nassau===
The [[House of Luxembourg-Nassau]] originated in 1919 with the marriage of Grand Duchess Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (of the [[House of Nassau-Weilburg|House of Nassau‑Weilburg]]) to [[Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma|Prince Félix of Bourbon‑Parma]] (of the [[House of Bourbon-Parma]]). Their eldest son, [[Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg]] (born 5 January 1921), succeeded to the throne in 1964, thus establishing the present ruling dynasty. Although the male‑line (agnatic) descent is from Bourbon‑Parma, the dynasty continues to be styled “Luxembourg‑Nassau” to reflect the historic Nassau‑Weilburg legacy maintained through Charlotte and the links with Luxembourg.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! Portrait
! Name
! Lifespan
! Reign start
! Reign end
! Titles
! Claim
|-
| [[File:GD Jean 1994 (cropped).jpg|90px]]
| '''[[Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Jean]]'''
| 5 January 1921 –<br/>23 April 2019<br/>({{age in years|1921|1|5|2019|4|23}} years)
| 12 November 1964
| 7 October 2000<br/>''(abdicated)''
| rowspan=3 | Grand Duke of Luxembourg;<br/>Duke of Nassau
| Son of [[Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg|Charlotte]]
|-
| [[File:GD Henri Trounwiessel.jpg|90px]]
| '''[[Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Henri]]'''
| 16 April 1955<br/>({{age in years|1955|4|16}} years)
| 7 October 2000
| 3 October 2025<br/>''([[Abdication of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|abdicated]])''
| Son of [[Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Jean]]
|-
| [[File:Guillaume Trounwiessel Uniform (cropped).jpg|90px]]
| '''[[Guillaume V, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Guillaume V]]'''
| 11 November 1981<br/>({{age in years|1981|11|11}} years)
| 3 October 2025
| ''Incumbent''
| Son of [[Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Henri]]
|}

{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12
PlotArea  = top:10 bottom:50 right:100 left:20
AlignBars = late

Define $today = {{#time:d/m/Y}}

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period     = from:15/03/1815 till:$today
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1820

Colors     =
  id:orange value:rgb(0.9999,0.7,0.5) legend:Orange-Nassau
  id:nassau value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.9999) legend:Nassau-Weilburg
  id:lux    value:rgb(0.7,0.9,0.7)    legend:Luxembourg-Nassau

Legend     = columns:3 left:50 top:24 columnwidth:150

BarData    =
  barset:PM

PlotData   =
  width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
  barset:PM

 from: 15/03/1815 till: 07/10/1840 color:orange text:"[[William I of the Netherlands|Guillaume I]]" fontsize:10
 from: 07/10/1840 till: 17/03/1849 color:orange text:"[[William II of the Netherlands|Guillaume II]]" fontsize:10
 from: 17/03/1849 till: 23/11/1890 color:orange text:"[[William III of the Netherlands|Guillaume III]]" fontsize:10
 from: 23/11/1890 till: 17/11/1905 color:nassau text:"[[Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Adolphe]]" fontsize:10
 from: 17/11/1905 till: 25/02/1912 color:nassau text:"[[William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Guillaume IV]]" fontsize:10
 from: 25/02/1912 till: 14/01/1919 color:nassau text:"[[Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg|Marie-Adélaïde]]" fontsize:10
 from: 14/01/1919 till: 12/11/1964 color:nassau text:"[[Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg|Charlotte]]" fontsize:10
 from: 12/11/1964 till: 07/10/2000 color:lux    text:"[[Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Jean]]" fontsize:10
 from: 07/10/2000 till: 03/10/2025 color:lux    text:"[[Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Henri]]" fontsize:10
 from: 03/10/2025 till: $today     color:lux    text:"[[Guillaume V, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Guillaume V]]" fontsize:10

}}

==Grand ducal consorts==
{{Main|List of Luxembourgish consorts}}
* [[Wilhelmine of Prussia, Queen of the Netherlands|Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia]] (first wife of [[William I of the Netherlands|Grand Duke William I]])
* [[Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia]] (wife of [[William II of the Netherlands|Grand Duke William II]])
* [[Princess Sophie of Württemberg]] (first wife of [[William III of the Netherlands|Grand Duke William III]])
* [[Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont|Princess Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont]] (second wife of [[William III of the Netherlands|Grand Duke William III]])
* [[Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau]] (wife of [[Grand Duke Adolphe]])
* [[Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal]] (wife of [[Grand Duke William IV]])
* [[Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma]] (husband of [[Grand Duchess Charlotte]])
* [[Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium]] (wife of [[Grand Duke Jean]])
* [[María Teresa Mestre y Batista]] (wife of [[Grand Duke Henri]])
* [[Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy]] (wife of [[Guillaume V, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Grand Duke Guillaume V]])

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Grand Dukes of Luxembourg}}
* [https://monarchie.lu/en Official website of the Grand Ducal Court of Luxembourg]
 
{{Luxembourg topics}}
{{Monarchs of Luxembourg}}
{{Heads of state of the European Union member states}}
{{Heads of state and government of Europe}}
{{Monarchies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Duke Of Luxembourg}}
[[Category:Grand dukes of Luxembourg| ]]
[[Category:Monarchy of Luxembourg| ]]
[[Category:1815 establishments in the German Confederation]]