William IV (Guillaume Alexander; ''French: Guillaume Alexandre''; 22 April 1852 – 25 February 1912) reigned as the

Grand Duke of Luxembourg The Grand Duke of Luxembourg ( lb, Groussherzog vu Lëtzebuerg, french: Grand-duc de Luxembourg, german: Großherzog von Luxemburg) is the monarchical head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it w ...

from 17 November 1905 until his death. He succeeded his father,

Adolphe ''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illicit ...

. William was a Protestant, the religion of the

House of Nassau The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count o ...

. He married Princess

Marie Anne of Portugal Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal ( pt, Maria Ana; 13 July 1861 – 31 July 1942) was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife of Grand Duke Guillaume IV. She was the regent of Luxembourg between 1908 and 1912; first during the illness of her spouse ...

, believing that a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

country ought to have a Roman Catholic monarch. Thus his heirs have been Catholic. At the death of his uncle, Prince Nikolaus-Wilhelm in 1905, the only other legitimate male in the House of Nassau-Weilburg was William's cousin, Georg Nikolaus,

Count of Merenberg Count of Merenberg (German: ''Graf von Merenberg'') is a hereditary title of nobility that was bestowed in 1868 by the reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, George Victor, upon the morganatic wife and male-line descendants of Prince Nikolaus ...

, the product of a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

. So in 1907, William declared the Counts of Merenberg non-dynastic, naming his own eldest daughter Marie-Adélaïde (1894–1924) as

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

to the grand ducal throne. She became Luxembourg's first reigning grand duchess upon her father's death in 1912, and upon her own abdication in 1919, was succeeded by her younger sister

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

(1896–1985). Charlotte's descendants reign until the present day. To date, William is the last monarch of Luxembourg to die on the throne.

Marriage

On 21 June 1893 in Fischhorn Castle,

Zell am See Zell am See is the administrative capital of the Zell am See District in the Austrian state of Salzburg (state), Salzburg. Located in the Kitzbühel Alps, the town is an important tourist destination due to its Ski resort, ski resorts and shorel ...

, he married

Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal ( pt, Maria Ana; 13 July 1861 – 31 July 1942) was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife of Grand Duke Guillaume IV. She was the regent of Luxembourg between 1908 and 1912; first during the illness of her spouse ...

, daughter of former King Miguel I of Portugal and

Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

. The couple had six daughters:

Issue

Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Marie-Adélaïde (Marie-Adélaïde Thérèse Hilda Wilhelmine; 14 June 1894 – 24 January 1924), reigned as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 1912 until her abdication in 1919. She was the first Grand Duchess regnant of Luxembourg (after five gra ...

(1894–1924) who remained unmarried and childless *

Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Charlotte (Charlotte Adelgonde Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine; 23 January 1896 – 9 July 1985) reigned as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 14 January 1919 until her abdication on 12 November 1964. She acceded to the throne on 14 January 1919 fol ...

(1896–1985) who married her first cousin

Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma (later Prince Félix of Luxembourg; 28 September 1893 – 8 April 1970) was the husband of Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and the father of her six children, including her successor Jean, Grand Duke of ...

, a son of Marie Anne's younger sister. * Princess Hilda (15 February 1897 in

Berg Castle Berg Castle ( lb, Schlass Bierg, ; french: Château de Berg; german: Schloss Berg), also called Colmar-Berg, is the principal residence of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. It is situated in the town of Colmar-Berg, in central Luxembourg, near the con ...

– 8 September 1979 in

), married in

on 29 October 1930 Adolf 10th Prince of Schwarzenberg (18 August 1890 in Frauenberg – 27 February 1950 in

Bordighera Bordighera (; lij, A Bordighea, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, and it is possible to see the French coast with a nak ...

), without issue * Princess Antonia (1899–1954), who married

Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine by (the) Rhine (''Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand''; English: ''Robert Maria Leopold Ferdinand''; 18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955), was the last hei ...

as his second wife * Princess Elisabeth (7 March 1901 in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

– 2 August 1950 in Schloss Hohenburg), married in Schloss Hohenburg on 14 November 1922 Prince Ludwig Philipp of Thurn and Taxis (2 February 1901 in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

– 22 April 1933 in Schloss Niederaichbach), son of

Albert I, Prince of Thurn and Taxis , title = Prince of Thurn and Taxis , image =AlbertThurnTaxis.jpg , caption = , reign = 2 June 1885 – 22 January 1952 , reign-type = Period , coronation = , predecessor = Maximilian Maria , ...

, and had issue * Princess Sophie (14 February 1902 in

– 24 May 1941 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

), married at Schloss Hohenburg on 12 April 1921

Prince Ernst Heinrich of Saxony en, Ernest Henry Ferdinand Francis Joseph Otto Maria Melchiades , image = PrinceErnstSaxony.jpg , image_size = 190px , caption = Prince Ernst Heinrich in 1911 , spouse = Princess Sophie of LuxembourgVirginia Dulon , issue ...

(9 December 1896 in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

– 14 June 1971 in Neckarhausen), youngest son of king

Frederick Augustus III of Saxony en, Frederick Augustus John Louis Charles Gustav Gregory Philip von Wettin , image = Friedrich August III van Saksen.jpg , caption = Frederick Augustus III (1914) , succession = King of Saxony , reign = 15 October 1904 – ...

, and had issue

Titles and honours

Titles and styles

Although the duchy of Nassau was annexed by Prussia after the Austro-Prussian war of 1866, the title of

Duke of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...

was retained by William and his heirs.

Foreign honours

Duchy of Anhalt The Duchy of Anhalt (german: Herzogtum Anhalt) was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the river Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House ...

: Grand Cross of Albert the Bear, ''1868'' * : Grand Cross of St. Stephen, ''1890'' * :''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden'' (1896), "Großherzogliche Orden
pp. 6277
/ref> ** Knight of the

House Order of Fidelity The House Order of Fidelity (german: Hausorden der Treue) is a dynastic order of the Margraviate of Baden. It was established by Charles III William, Margrave of Baden-Durlach as a reward for merit and to mark the laying of the foundation ston ...

, ''1885'' ** Knight of the

Order of Berthold the First The Order of Berthold the First was a dynastic order in the Grand Duchy of Baden. It was established on 29 April 1877 by Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of his accession as an additional class above the gra ...

, ''1885'' * : Knight of St. Hubert, ''1892'' * : Grand Cross of Henry the Lion, ''1873'' * :

Knight of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a 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 ...

, ''23 April 1876'' * : Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

: Knight of the Black Eagle, ''14 December 1890'' * : Grand Cross of the White Falcon, ''1890'' *

Sweden-Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden ...

: ** Knight of the Seraphim, ''19 June 1889'' ** Grand Cross of St. Olav, ''27 September 1897''

Ancestry

Notes and references

External links

Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg
{{DEFAULTSORT:William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg House of Nassau-Weilburg Grand Dukes of Luxembourg Members of the Council of State of Luxembourg William IV of Luxembourg Luxembourgian Protestants Luxembourg, William IV of Luxembourg, William IV of People from Wiesbaden Burials in the Royal Crypt of Weilburg Schlosskirche Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary