Charlotte (''Charlotte Adelgonde Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine''; 23 January 1896 – 9 July 1985) was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 14 January 1919 until her

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...

on 12 November 1964. Her reign is the longest of any

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. The language is standardized and officiall ...

monarch since 1815 when the country was elevated to a Grand Duchy. She acceded to the throne on 14 January 1919 following the abdication of her sister, Marie-Adélaïde, due to political pressure over Marie-Adélaïde's role during the German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I. A referendum retained the monarchy with Charlotte as Grand Duchess regnant. She married Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma on 6 November 1919. They had six children. Following the 1940 German invasion of Luxembourg during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Charlotte went into exile: first in France, then Portugal, Great Britain, and North America. While in Britain, she made broadcasts to the people of Luxembourg. She returned to Luxembourg in April 1945. She abdicated in 1964, and was succeeded by her son,

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

, later dying from cancer on 9 July 1985. She was the last

agnatic Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

member of the

House of Nassau The House of Nassau is the name of a European aristocratic dynasty. The name originated with a lordship associated with Nassau Castle, which is located in what is now Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With t ...

, and the last personal recipient of the Golden Rose. Since her death, there are no living personal recipients of that honour, which in modern times has been awarded by the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

only to churches and

shrines A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daemon, or similar figure of respect, wh ...

. She is to date the most recent Grand Duchess of Luxembourg in her own right.

Early life and tenure as Grand Duchess

Born in Berg Castle, Charlotte of

Nassau-Weilburg The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806. On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of t ...

, Princess of Luxembourg, was the second daughter of Grand Duke William IV and his wife, Marie Anne of Portugal. Her older sister, Marie-Adélaide, had succeeded their father. However, Marie-Adélaïde's actions had become controversial, and she was seen as sympathetic to the German occupation of Luxembourg during World War I. There were calls in parliament for her

, and she was forced to abdicate in favour of Charlotte on 14 January 1919. Luxembourg adopted a new constitution that year. In a referendum on 28 September 1919, 77.8% of the Luxembourgish people voted for the continuation of the monarchy with Grand Duchess Charlotte as head of state. However, in the new constitution, the powers of the monarch were severely restricted, thus codifying actual practices dating from the end of the personal union with the Netherlands in 1890.

Reign

By 1935, Charlotte had sold her German properties, the former residential palaces of the

Dukes of Nassau Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

, Biebrich Palace and Schloss Weilburg, to the State of Prussia. During

the grand ducal family left Luxembourg shortly before the arrival of

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a Squadron (cavalry), squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section (military unit), section or platoon. Exception ...

. Luxembourg's neutrality was violated on 9 May 1940, while the Grand Duchess and her family were in residence at

Colmar-Berg Colmar-Berg (, ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune and town in central Luxembourg, in the Mersch (canton), canton of Mersch. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Attert River, Attert and Alzette. Colmar-Berg is the site of the Grand D ...

. That day she called an extraordinary meeting of her leading ministers, and they all decided to place themselves under the protection of France, described by the Grand Duchess as a difficult but necessary decision. Initially the family took up residence at the Château de Montastruc in south-western France, but the rapid advance of the German forces into France followed by French capitulation the next month caused the French government to refuse any guarantee of security to the exiled Luxembourg government. Permission was received to cross

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

provided they did not stop ''en route'', and the Grand Duchess with her ministers moved on to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. The Germans proposed to restore the Grand Duchess to her functions, but Charlotte refused, mindful of her sister's experiences of remaining in Luxembourg under German occupation during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. By 29 August 1940 Grand Duchess Charlotte was in London where she began to make supportive broadcasts to her homeland using the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. Later she travelled to

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Her children continued their schooling in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

while she had several meetings with President Roosevelt who encouraged her itinerant campaigning across the country in support of his own opposition to

isolationism Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...

which was a powerful political current until the Pearl Harbor attacks. In the meantime Luxembourg, along with the adjacent French

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

department, found itself integrated into an expanded Germany under the name '' Heim ins Reich'', which left Luxembourgers required to speak German and liable for

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

into the German army. In 1943 Grand Duchess Charlotte and the Luxembourg government established themselves in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

: her broadcasts became a more regular feature of the BBC schedules, establishing her as a focus for the resistance movements in Luxembourg. Charlotte's younger sister Antonia and brother-in-law Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, were exiled from Germany in 1939. In 1944, living now in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Crown Princess Antonia was captured when the Germans invaded Hungary and found herself deported to the

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

at Dachau, being later transferred to Flossenbürg where she survived torture but only with her health badly impaired. Meanwhile, from 1942 Grand Duchess Charlotte's eldest son, Jean, served as a volunteer in the British Army's

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

, after the war becoming its Honorary Colonel-in-chief (1984-2000). In the years after the war, Charlotte showed a lot of public activity which contributed to raising Luxembourg's profile on the international stage, by hosting visits from foreign heads of state and other dignitaries, such as

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

(1950), Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1951),

René Coty Gustave Jules René Coty (; 20 March 188222 November 1962) was President of France from 1954 to 1959. He was the second and last president of the Fourth French Republic. Early life and politics René Coty was born in Le Havre and studied at th ...

(1957), King Baudouin of Belgium (1959), King Bhumibol of Thailand (1961), and King Olav V of Norway (1964). Likewise, she visited Pope

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

(1950),

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

(1961), and John F. Kennedy (1963). Together with her husband and their children Jean and Elisabeth, she took part in the ship tour organized by Queen Frederica and her husband King

Paul of Greece Paul (; 14 December 1901 – 6 March 1964) was King of Greece from 1 April 1947 until his death on 6 March 1964. Paul was born in Athens as the third son of Constantine I of Greece, Crown Prince Constantine and Sophia of Prussia, Crown Princess ...

in 1954, which became known as the “ Cruise of the Kings” and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe. In 1951 Charlotte and her prime minister Pierre Dupong admitted by decree three Swedish relatives into the nobility of Luxembourg who were not allowed to use their birth titles in Sweden. They were then named as Sigvard Prince Bernadotte, Carl Johan Prince Bernadotte and Lennart Prince Bernadotte and also, with their legitimate descendants, were given the hereditary titles of Counts and Countesses of Wisborg there.

Abdication and later life

On 12 November 1964, she abdicated in favour of her son Jean, who then reigned until his abdication in 2000. Charlotte died at Schloss Fischbach on 9 July 1985, from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. She was interred in the Ducal Crypt of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in the city of Luxembourg. A statue of the Grand Duchess is in Place Clarefontaine in the city of Luxembourg.

Marriage and children

On 6 November 1919 in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, she married Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, a first cousin on her mother's side. (Both Charlotte and Felix were grandchildren of King Miguel of Portugal, through his daughters Maria Anna and Maria Antonia, respectively). With the marriage, their lineal descent was raised in style from Grand Ducal Highness to

Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of a ...

. The couple had six children: * Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1921–2019), who married HRH Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (1927–2005) and had issue. * Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg (1922–2011), who married HSH Franz, Duke of Hohenberg (1927–1977) and had issue. * Princess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg (1924–2007), who married Count Karl Josef Henckel von Donnersmarck (1928–2008) and had issue. * Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg (1925–2023), who married Knud Johan, Count of Holstein-Ledreborg (1919–2001) and had issue. * Prince Charles of Luxembourg (1927–1977), who married Joan Douglas Dillon (born 1935), the former wife of James Brady Moseley, and had issue. * Princess Alix of Luxembourg (1929–2019), who married HH Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne (1925–2005), and had issue.

Honours

;National honours * : ** Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau ** Recipient of the Luxembourg War Cross ;Foreign honours * Albanian Royal Family: Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Fidelity (1931) * Austria ** Austrian Imperial and Royal Family: Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross ** Austrian Republic: Grand Cross of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria * : Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

– 21 March 1955 * : Grand Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

– 22 June 1923 * : ** Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Pius IX ** Cross of Honour of the " Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice" ** The Golden Rose *

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

: ** Parmese Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (; ), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Order of the Constantinian Angelic Knights of Saint George, is a dynastic order of knighthood ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Charles – 20 January 1949 * : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands *: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of St. Olav – 1964 *: ** Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword – 29 September 1933 ** Grand Cross of the Sash of the Two Orders – 23 January 1949 *: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Carlos III *: Member with Collar of the

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the ...

– 14 April 1939 *: Dame of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri – 17 October 1965

Gallery

File:Pg406 Château de Berg.jpg, The old Berg Castle (demolished 1906), Mersch, central Luxembourg, ducal residence where Charlotte was born File:F-Clement N-Liez vue-de-fischbach.png, Fischbach Castle, Mersch, Charlotte's residence, and where she died File:Grand Duchesse Charlotte square.JPG, Statue of Grand-Duchess Charlotte in Clairefontaine square, side view

Notes and references

External links

*
Charlotte's page on the official website of the Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg 1896 births 1985 deaths 20th-century monarchs of Luxembourg 20th-century Luxembourgian women 20th-century women monarchs People from Colmar-Berg Luxembourgian Roman Catholics Grand dukes of Luxembourg Princesses of Luxembourg Luxembourgian anti-communists Princesses of Nassau-Weilburg House of Nassau-Weilburg World War II political leaders Luxembourgian people of World War II Female resistance members of World War II Monarchs who abdicated Burials at Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg Roman Catholic monarchs Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Recipients of the Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Order of Pope Pius IX Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion 2 2 Luxembourgian people of German descent Luxembourgian people of Danish descent Luxembourgian people of Portuguese descent Luxembourgian people of Italian descent Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles