Line of Succession to the Throne of Luxembourg

Under the Nassau Pact, which dealt with the establishment of Luxembourg as a Grand Duchy, and the personal union with the Netherlands, the throne of Luxembourg could only pass to males. This brought about the end of the union with the Netherlands when King Willem III died in 1890 leaving just his daughter Wilhelmina who succeeded him as Queen of the Netherlands. As she could not inherit the Luxembourg throne, it passed to a distant relative, Adolphe, Duke of Nassau. Several generations later, the situation arose again. Grand Duke Guillaume IV had six daughters and no sons. He had the House law changed to allow his eldest daughter to succeed him, and her sisters in the event she had no male heirs. This allowed Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaide and her sister Grand Duchess Charlotte to reign.

Since June 2011, Luxembourg’s line of succession has been based on Cognatic (Absolute) Primogeniture, beginning with the children of Grand Duke Henri. The succession passes to the eldest child of the sovereign regardless of gender with males and females having equal succession rights. Prior to this change, Luxembourg followed Semi-Salic Law, where succession first goes to all the male dynasts and then to female dynasts only upon the extinction of all the male dynasts.

Other princesses descended from prior sovereigns, such as Grand Duke Jean’s daughters Princess Marie Astrid and Princess Margaretha, may still inherit the throne in the event of the extinction of all the male dynasts and of all dynasts descended from Grand Duke Henri. Both Prince Louis, Grand Duke Henri’s third child, and Prince Jean, Grand Duke Henri’s younger brother, renounced succession rights for themselves and their heirs.

For more information see:

For more information about the Luxembourg Grand Ducal Family, past and present, see Unofficial Royalty: Luxembourg Index.

Grand Duke Henri, eldest son of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, is the current sovereign of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. On October 7, 2000, Grand Duke Jean abdicated in favor of his eldest son.

The current order of succession is:

  1. HRH Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, born 1981, oldest child of Grand Duke Henri
  2. HRH Prince Charles of Luxembourg, born 2020, elder son of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume
  3. HRH Prince Prince François of Luxembourg, born 2023, second son of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume
  4. HRH Prince Félix of Luxembourg, born 1984, second child son of Grand Duke Henri
  5. HRH Princess Amalia of Nassau, born 2014, eldest child of Prince Félix of Luxembourg
  6. HRH Prince Liam of Nassau, born 2016, second child of Prince Félix of Luxembourg
  7. HRH Prince Balthasar of Nassau, born 2024, third child of Prince Félix of Luxembourg
  8. HRH Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, born 1991, fourth child of Grand Duke Henri
  9. Victoire Bagory, born 2024, child of Princess Alexandra
  10. HRH Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg, born 1992, fifth child of Grand Duke Henri
  11. HRH Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, born 1963, third son of Grand Duke Jean
  12. HRH Prince Paul-Louis of Nassau, born 1998, eldest son of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg
  13. HRH Prince Léopold of Nassau, born 2000, second son of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg
  14. HRH Prince Jean André of Nassau, born 2004, third son of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg
  15. HRH Prince Robert of Luxembourg, born 1968, son of Prince Charles of Luxembourg, second son of Grand Duchess Charlotte
  16. Prince Alexandre of Nassau, born 1997, eldest son of Prince Robert of Luxembourg
  17. Prince Frederik of Nassau, born 2002, second son of Prince Robert of Luxembourg