Coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

The territory of Luxembourg was ruled successively by counts, dukes and Grand Dukes. It was part of the medieval Kingdom of Germany, and later the Holy Roman Empire until it became a sovereign state in 1815.

[edit] Counts of Luxembourg

[edit] Elder House of Luxembourg

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Siegfried	922	28 October 998	963 to 28 October 998
	Henry I	964	27 February 1026	28 October 998 to 27 February 1026	his son
	Henry II	1007	14 August 1059	27 February 1026 to 16 October 1047	his nephew
	Giselbert	1007	14 August 1059	16 October 1047 to 14 August 1059	his brother
	Conrad I	1040	8 August 1086	14 August 1059 to 8 August 1086	his son
	Henry III	1070	1096	8 August 1086 to 1096	his son
	William I	1081	1131	1096 to 1131	his brother
	Conrad II	1106	1136	1131 to 1136	his son

[edit] House of Luxembourg-Namur

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Henry IV the Blind	1112	14 August 1196	1136 to 1189	his first cousin

[edit] House of Hohenstaufen

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Otto	June/July 1170	13 January 1200	1196 to 1197	his third-cousin onced removed

[edit] House of Luxembourg-Namur

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Ermesinde	July 1186	12 February 1247	1197 to 12 February 1247	Henry IV's only daughter and Otto's fourth cousin
	Theobald I	1158	13 February 1214	1197 to 13 February 1214	her first husband and co-ruler
	Waleran	1180	2 July 1226	May 1214 to 2 July 1226	her second husband and co-ruler

[edit] House of Luxembourg-Limburg

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Henry V the Blonde	1216	24 December 1281	12 February 1247 to 24 December 1281	their son
	Henry VI the Condemned	1240	5 June 1288	24 December 1281 to 5 June 1288	his son
	Henry VII	1275/1270	26 August 1346	5 June 1288 to 24 August 1313	his son
	John the Blind	10 August 1296	26 August 1346	24 August 1313 to 26 August 1346	his son
	Charles I the Popish King	14 May 1316	29 November 1378	26 August 1346 to 1353	his son
	Wenceslaus I	25 February 1337	7 December 1383	1353 to 13 March 1354	his brother

[edit] Dukes of Luxembourg

In 1354 the county was elevated to a duchy.

[edit] House of Luxembourg-Limburg

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Wenceslaus I	25 February 1337	7 December 1383	13 March 1354 to 7 December 1383	himself as count
	Wenceslas II the Lazy	26 February 1361	16 August 1419	7 December 1383 to 1388	his nephew
	Jobst	December 1351	18 January 1411	1388 to 18 January 1411	his cousin
	Elisabeth I	November 1390	2 August 1451	18 January 1411 to 1443	his heiress & first cousin once removed
	Anthony	August 1384	25 October 1415	18 January 1411 to 25 October 1415	her first husband and co-ruler
	John II the Pitiless	1374	6 January 1425	10 March 1418 to 6 January 1425	her second husband and co-ruler

As Elisabeth had no surviving children, she sold Luxembourg to Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1441 but only to succeed upon her death. Philip captured the city of Luxembourg in 1443, but did not assume the ducal title because of conflicting claims by Anne of Austria, the closest Luxembourg relative.

[edit] Claimants

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Elisabeth I	November 1390	2 August 1451	1443 to 2 August 1451
	Ladislaus the Posthumous	22 February 1440	23 November 1457	2 August 1451 to 23 November 1457	her first cousin once removed
	Anne	12 April 1432	13 November 1462	23 November 1457 to 13 November 1462	his sister
	William the Brave	30 April 1425	17 September 1482		her husband and co-pretender
	Elisabeth II	1436	30 August 1505	13 November 1462 to 1467	her sister
	Casimir Jagiellon	30 November 1427	7 June 1492		her husband and co-pretender

[edit] House of Valois-Burgundy

In 1467, when Elisabeth II of Austria, last rival claimant to the title, renounced her rights, Philip III's son, Charles, Duke of Burgundy, assumed the title of duke of Luxembourg, making it a subsidiary title of the Duke of Burgundy.

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Philip I the Good	10 November 1433	15 June 1467	1443 to 15 June 1467	Elisabeth I's second cousin once removed and usurper
	Charles II the Bold	10 November 1433	5 January 1477	15 June 1467 to 5 January 1477	his son
	Mary I the Rich	13 February 1457	27 March 1482	5 January 1477 to 27 March 1482	his daughter
	Maximilian I the Last Knight	22 March 1459	12 January 1519		her husband and co-ruler

[edit] House of Habsburg

In 1482/1506 Luxembourg passed to the House of Habsburg. After the abdication of Charles V, the duchy of Luxembourg fell to the Spanish line of the House of Habsburg.

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Philip II the Handsome	22 July 1478	25 September 1506	27 March 1482 to 25 September 1506	her son
	Charles III the Golden One	24 February 1500	21 September 1558	25 September 1506 to 16 January 1556	his son
	Philip III the Prudent	21 May 1527	21 September 1558	16 January 1556 to 13 September 1598	his son
	Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia	12 August 1566	1 December 1633	6 May 1598 to 13 July 1621	his daughter
	Albert VII, Archduke of Austria	15 November 1559	13 July 1621		his son-in-law
	Philip IV the Fat	8 April 1605	17 September 1665	31 July 1621 to 17 September 1665	their nephew
	Charles IV the Bewitched	6 November 1661	1 November 1700	17 September 1665 to 1 November 1700	his son

During the War of Spanish Succession, 1701–1714, the duchy was disputed between Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France, from the House of Bourbon and Charles of Austria, son of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, from the House of Habsburg. In 1712 Luxemburg and Namur were ceded to Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria by his French allies, but with the end of the war in 1713 with the Treaty of Utrecht Max. Emanuel was restored Elector of Bavaria. In 1713 the duchy fell to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg.

[edit] House of Bourbon

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Philip V Philippe de France	19 December 1683	9 July 1746	1 November 1700 to 1712	his grandnephew

[edit] House of Wittelsbach

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Maximilian II Maximilian Emanuel Ludwig Maria Joseph Kajetan Anton Nikolaus Franz Ignaz Felix	11 July 1662	26 February 1726	1712 to 11 April 1713	his first cousin once removed

[edit] House of Habsburg

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Charles V Karl Franz Joseph Wenceslau Balthasar Johann Anton Ignatius	1 October 1685	20 October 1740	11 April 1713 to 20 October 1740	his second cousin
	Maria II Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina	13 May 1717	29 November 1780	20 October 1740 to 29 November 1780	his daughter

[edit] House of Habsburg-Lorraine

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Joseph Joseph Benedikt August Johannes Anton Michael Adam	13 March 1741	20 February 1790	29 November 1780 to 20 February 1790	her son
	Leopold Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard	5 May 1747	1 March 1792	20 February 1790 to 1 March 1792	his brother
	Francis Francis Joseph Charles	12 February 1768	2 March 1835	1 March 1792 to 1794	his son

Luxembourg was occupied by French revolutionaries between 1794 and 1813. At the Vienna Congress, it was elevated to a grand duchy and given in personal union to William I of the Netherlands.

[edit] Grand Dukes of Luxembourg

Grand Duke of Luxembourg's Standard.

The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is the world's only sovereign extant Grand Duchy, a status to which Luxembourg was promoted in 1815 upon its unification with the Netherlands under the House of Orange-Nassau.

The Luxembourgian constitution defines the Grand Duke's position:

[edit] House of Orange-Nassau

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	William I Willem Frederik (Prince William VI of Orange)	24 August 1772	12 December 1843	15 March 1815 to 7 October 1840	Francis' third cousin and Anne's direct descendant
	William II Willem Frederik George Lodewijk	6 December 1792	17 March 1849	7 October 1840 to 17 March 1849	his son
	William III Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk	17 February 1817	23 November 1890	17 March 1849 to 23 November 1890	his son

[edit] 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 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 died leaving only his daughter Wilhelmina as an heir, 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 dispossessed Duke of Nassau and head of the branch of Nassau-Weilburg.

In 1905, Grand Duke Adolphe's younger half-brother, Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau, died, having left a son 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, Guillaume 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 remaining 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, who married Felix of Bourbon-Parma, a prince of the former Duchy of Parma. Charlotte's descendants have since reigned as the continued dynasty of Nassau, and also constitute a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon-Parma.

Image	Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Reign	Relationship with predecessor
	Adolphe	24 July 1817	17 November 1905	23 November 1890 to 17 November 1905	his nephew
	William IV	22 April 1852	25 February 1912	17 November 1905 to 25 February 1912	his son
	Marie-Adélaïde	14 June 1894	24 January 1924	25 February 1912 to 14 January 1919	his daughter
	Charlotte	23 January 1896	9 July 1985	14 January 1919 to 12 November 1964	her sister (younger daughter of William IV)
	Jean	5 January 1921	Living	12 November 1964 to 7 October 2000	her son
	Henri	16 April 1955	Living	From 7 October 2000 (Incumbent)	his son

[edit] See also

• List of consorts of Luxembourg
• Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg
• Line of succession to the throne of Luxembourg
• Duchy of Luxembourg
• History of Luxembourg
• Prime Ministers of Luxembourg
• Coat of arms of Luxembourg

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Thewes, Guy (July 2003) (in French) (PDF). Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848 (Édition limitée ed.). Luxembourg City: Service Information et Presse. ISBN 2-87999-118-8. http://www.gouvernement.lu/publications/download/gouvernements_1848_2.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-01. 
• (French)/(German) "Archives of Mémorial A". Service central de législation. http://www.legilux.public.lu/leg/a/index.php. Retrieved 2007-07-01. 

v • d • e Monarchs of Luxembourg   Counts of Luxembourg (963–1354) Elder House of Luxembourg (963–1136) Siegfried (963–998) · Henry I (998–1026) · Henry II (1026–1047) · Giselbert (1047-1059) · Conrad I (1059-1086) · Henry III (1086-1096) · William I (1096-1131) · Conrad II (1131-1136) House of Namur (1136–1189) Henry IV (1136–1189) House of Hohenstaufen (1196–1197) Otto (1196–1197) House of Namur (1197–1247) Ermesinde (1197-1247), with · Theobald (1197–1214), and then · Waleran (1214–1226) House of Limburg (1247–1354) Henry V (1247–1281) · Henry VI (1281–1288) · Henry VII (1288–1313) · John I (1313–1346) · Charles I (1346–1353) · Wenceslaus I (1353–1354)   Dukes of Luxembourg (1354–1794) House of Limburg (1354–1443) Wenceslaus I (1354–1383) · Wenceslaus II (1383–1388) · Jobst (1388–1411) · Elisabeth (1411–1443) with · Anthony (1411–1415), and then · John II (1418–1425) House of Valois-Burgundy (1443–1482) Philip I (1443–1467) · Charles II (1467–1477) · Mary (1477–1482) and  · Maximilian I (1477–1482) House of Bourbon (1700–1712) Philip V (1700–1712) House of Wittelsbach (1712–1713) Maximilian II (1712–1713) House of Habsburg (1713–1780) Charles V (1713–1740) · Mary II (1740–1780) House of Habsburg-Lorraine (1780–1794) Joseph (1780–1790) · Leopold (1790–1792) · Francis (1792–1794)   Grand Dukes of Luxembourg (since 1815) House of Orange-Nassau (1815–1890) William I (1815–1840) · William II (1840–1849) · William III (1849–1890) House of Nassau-Weilburg (since 1890) Adolphe (1890–1905) · William IV (1905–1912) · Marie-Adélaïde (1912–1919) · Charlotte (1919–1964) · Jean (1964–2000) · Henri (since 2000)