Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg

Charlotte
The Grand Duchess in 1942
Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
Reign	14 January 1919 - 12 November 1964 (&1000000000000004500000045 years, &10000000000000303000000303 days)
Predecessor	Marie-Adélaïde
Successor	Jean
Spouse	Felix of Bourbon-Parma
Issue
Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Elizabeth, Duchess of Hohenberg Adélaide, Countess of Donnersmarck Gabriele, Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg Prince Charles Alix, Princess of Ligne
House	House of Nassau-Weilburg House of Bourbon-Parma
Father	William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Mother	Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal
Born	23 January 1896(1896-01-23) Berg Castle, Luxembourg
Died	9 July 1985(1985-07-09) (aged 89) Fischbach Castle, Fischbach, Luxembourg

Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Charlotte Adelgonde Élise/Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine vu Lëtzebuerg; Schloss Berg, 23 January 1896 – Schloss Fischbach, 9 July 1985) was the reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 1919 to 1964.

Biography

A private portrait in 1921

Early life and life as Grand Duchess

Charlotte was the second daughter of William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and his wife Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal. Her maternal grandparents were King Miguel of Portugal and Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.

When her older sister Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, who had succeeded their father, was forced to abdicate on 14 January 1919, Charlotte became the one who had to deal with the revolutionary tendencies in the country. Unlike her sister, she chose not to meddle with its politics.

In a referendum about the new constitution on 28 September 1919, 77.8% of the Luxembourgish people voted for the continuation of a Grand Ducal monarchy with Charlotte as head of state. In this constitution, the power of the monarch was severely restricted.

During the German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II, Charlotte, exiled in London, became an important symbol of national unity.

Marriage and children

On 6 November 1919 in Luxembourg, 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. The union produced six children:

Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Spouses
Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg	5 January 1921 (1921-01-05)		Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (1927–2005)
Elizabeth, Duchess of Hohenberg	22 December 1922	22 November 2011(2011-11-22) (aged 88)	Franz, Duke of Hohenberg (1927–1977)
Marie Adalaide, Countess Henckel von Donnersmarck	21 May 1924	28 February 2007(2007-02-28) (aged 82)	Karl Josef Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (1928–2008)
Marie Gabriele, Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg	2 August 1925 (1925-08-02)		Knud Johan, Count of Holstein-Ledreborg (1919–2001)
Charles, Prince of Luxembourg	7 August 1927	26 July 1977(1977-07-26) (aged 49)	Joan Douglas Dillon (1935-)
Alix, Princess of Ligne	24 August 1929 (1929-08-24)		Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne (1925–2005)

Reign

During the Second World War the grand ducal family left Luxembourg shortly before the arrival of Nazi troops. Luxembourg's neutrality was violated on 9 May 1940, while the Grand Duchess and her family were in residence at Colmar-Berg. 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 duchesses 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 provided they did not stop en route, and the Grand Duchess with her ministers moved on to Portugal.

The Germans proposed to restore the Grand Duchess to her functions, but Charlotte was mindful of her predecessor's experiences of remaining in Luxembourg under German occupation during the First World War, and refused the offer. By 29 August 1940 Grand Duchess Charlotte was in London where she began to make supportive broadcasts to her homeland using the BBC. Later she traveled to the Unitied States and to Canada. Her children continued their schooling in Montréal while she had several meeting with President Roosevelt who encouraged her itinerant campaigning across the country in support of his own opposition to isolationism which was a powerful political current until the Pearl Harbor attacks. In the meantime Luxembourg, along with the adjacent French Moselle 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 into the German army.

In 1943 Grand Duchess Charlotte and the Luxembourg government established themselves in London: 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 Princess Antonia of Luxembourg had in 1921 married the last crown prince of Bavaria and in 1939 the couple had been exiled from Germany. In 1944, living now in Hungary, Princess Antonia was captured when the Germans invaded Hungary and found herself deported to the concentration camp 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, the future Grand Duke Jean served as a volunteer in the Irish Guards which was a British army regiment, for historical reasons he was known at this time as "Lieutenant Luxembourg".

Abdication and death

On 12 November 1964, she abdicated in favour of her son, Prince Jean, who then reigned until 2000.

Charlotte died on 9 July 1985, from cancer. She was interred in the Ducal Crypt of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in the city of Luxembourg.

Had she not abdicated, she would have reigned for a total of &1000000000000006600000066 years, &10000000000000173000000173 days.

She was the 366th Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword.

Titles and styles

Monarchical styles of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg
Reference style	Her Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Ma'am

• 23 January 1896 – 14 January 1919: Her Grand Ducal Highness Princess Charlotte of Nassau-Weilburg
• 14 January 1919 – 12 November 1964: Her Royal Highness The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
• 12 November 1964 – 9 July 1985: Her Royal Highness Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, Princess of Nassau-Weilburg, Princess de Bourbon-Parma

External links

• Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg and Ducal House of Nassau
• Ducal House of Parma

Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg House of Nassau-Weilburg Born: 23 January 1896 Died: 6 July 1985
Regnal titles
Preceded by Marie-Adélaïde	Grand Duchess of Luxembourg 1919–1964	Succeeded by Jean
Royal titles
Preceded by Princess Marie-Adélaïde of Luxembourg	Heir to the throne of Luxembourg as heiress presumptive 1912–1919	Succeeded by Princess Hilda of Luxembourg
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Marie-Adélaïde	— TITULAR — Duke of Nassau 1919–1964 Reason for succession failure: Duchy annexed by Prussia in 1866	Succeeded by Jean