| Grand Duke ofLuxembourg | |
|---|---|
| Groussherzog vu Lëtzebuerg Grand-duc de Luxembourg | |
.svg) | |
| Incumbent | |
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Guillaume V since 3 October 2025 | |
| Details | |
| Style | HisRoyal Highness |
| Heir apparent | Prince Charles of Luxembourg |
| First monarch | William I, King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg |
| Residence | Grand Ducal Palace,Berg Castle,Colmar-Berg |
| Website | monarchie |
Themonarchy of Luxembourg is the institution headed by thegrand duke ofLuxembourg,[a] who is thehead of state of the country. Luxembourg has been agrand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it was created from territory of the formerDuchy of Luxembourg. It was inpersonal union with theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1890 under theHouse of Orange-Nassau. Luxembourg is the world's only sovereign grand duchy, and since 1815 there have been ten monarchs, including theincumbent,Guillaume V.
Theconstitution of Luxembourg defines thegrand duke's position:
After a constitutional change (to article 34) in December 2008 resulting from Henri'srefusal to assent to alaw legalizingeuthanasia, laws now no longer require the grand duke's formalassent (implying "approval"),[2] but his task ofpromulgating the law as chief executive remains.
The grand duke does not receive a salary, but the grand ducal family receives annually 300,000gold francs (€281,000) for grand ducal functions.[3] In 2017, the Luxembourg budget included €10.1 million for the grand duke's household costs.[4]
Succession to the throne was governed bySalic law, as dictated by theNassau Family Pact, first adopted on 30 June 1783.[1] The right to reign over Luxembourg was until June 2011 passed byagnatic-cognatic primogeniture within theHouse of Nassau, as stipulated under the 1815Final Act of theCongress of Vienna and as confirmed by the 1867Treaty of London.[1] In June 2011, agnatic primogeniture was replaced withabsolute primogeniture, allowing any legitimate female descendants within the House of Nassau to be included in the line of succession.[5] The Nassau Family Pact itself can be amended by the usual legislative process, having been so on 10 July 1907 to exclude theCount of Merenberg branch of the House, which was descended from amorganatic marriage.[6]
Anheir apparent may be granted the style "hereditary grand duke" once they reach the age of eighteen.[7]
The traditional titulatures of the Grand Duke areBy the Grace of God, Grand Duke of Luxembourg,Duke of Nassau,Count Palatine of the Rhine, Count ofSayn,Königstein,Katzenelnbogen andDiez, Burgrave ofHammerstein, Lord ofMahlberg,Wiesbaden,Idstein,Merenberg,Limburg andEppstein.
It should, however, be noted that many of the titles are held without regard to the strict rules ofSalic inheritance and that most, save for Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Duke of Nassau, are simply not used.
| Portrait | Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Titles | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Guillaume I | 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843 | 15 March 1815 | 7 October 1840 (abdicated) | King of the Netherlands; Grand Duke of Luxembourg | Congress of Vienna |
 | Guillaume II | 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849 | 7 October 1840 | 17 March 1849 | Son ofGuillaume I | |
%2c_koning_der_Nederlanden%2c_Nicolaas_Pieneman%2c_1856_-_Rijksmuseum.jpg) | Guillaume III | 17 February 1817 – 23 November 1890 | 17 March 1849 | 23 November 1890 | Son ofGuillaume II |
Under the 1783Nassau Family Pact, those territories of the Nassau family in theHoly Roman Empire at the time of the pact (Luxembourg andNassau) were bound by semi-Salic law, which allowedinheritance by females or through the female line only upon extinction of male members of thedynasty. WhenWilliam III died leaving only his daughterWilhelmina 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, the dispossessedDuke of Nassau and head of thebranch of Nassau-Weilburg.
In 1905, Grand Duke Adolphe's younger half-brother, PrinceNikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau, died, having left a sonGeorg Nikolaus, Count von Merenberg who was, however, the product of amorganatic 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, to succeed to the throne in virtue of the absence of any remainingdynastic 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 ownabdication in 1919 was succeeded by her younger sisterCharlotte, who marriedFelix of Bourbon-Parma, a prince of the formerDuchy of Parma. Charlotte's descendants have sincereigned as the continued dynasty ofNassau.
| Portrait | Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Titles | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Adolphe | 24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905 (88 years) | 23 November 1890 | 17 November 1905 | Grand Duke of Luxembourg; Duke of Nassau | Third cousin ofGuillaume III |
 | Guillaume IV | 22 April 1852 – 25 February 1912 (59 years) | 17 November 1905 | 25 February 1912 | Son ofAdolphe | |
 | Marie-Adélaïde | 14 June 1894 – 24 January 1924 (29 years) | 25 February 1912 | 14 January 1919 (abdicated) | Grand Duchess of Luxembourg; Duchess of Nassau | Daughter ofGuillaume IV |
 | Charlotte | 23 January 1896 – 9 July 1985 (89 years) | 14 January 1919 | 12 November 1964 (abdicated) | Daughter ofGuillaume IV Sister ofMarie-Adélaïde |
TheHouse of Luxembourg-Nassau originated in 1919 with the marriage of Grand Duchess Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (of theHouse of Nassau‑Weilburg) toPrince Félix of Bourbon‑Parma (of theHouse 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.
| Portrait | Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Titles | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Jean | 5 January 1921 – 23 April 2019 (98 years) | 12 November 1964 | 7 October 2000 (abdicated) | Grand Duke of Luxembourg; Duke of Nassau | Son ofCharlotte |
_(cropped).jpg) | Henri | 16 April 1955 (70 years) | 7 October 2000 | 3 October 2025 (abdicated) | Son ofJean | |
| Guillaume V | 11 November 1981 (44 years) | 3 October 2025 | Incumbent | Son ofHenri |
Media related toGrand Dukes of Luxembourg at Wikimedia Commons
