William IV Grand Duke of Luxembourg Reign November 17, 1905 – February 25, 1912 Born April 22, 1852(1852-04-22) Birthplace Biebrich Palace, Wiesbaden Died February 25, 1912 (aged 59) Place of death Berg Castle, Colmar-Berg Buried Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg City Predecessor Adolphe Successor Marie-Adélaïde Consort Marie Anne of Portugal Offspring Marie-Adélaïde, Charlotte, Hilda, Antoinette, Elisabeth, Sophie Royal House House of Nassau-Weilburg Father Adolphe Mother Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau

Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg Houses of Nassau and Bourbon Adolphe Children    William IV    Hilda, Grand Duchess of Baden William IV Children    Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde    Grand Duchess Charlotte    Hilda, Princess of Schwarzenberg    Antonia, Crown Princess of Bavaria    Princess Elisabeth    Princess Sophie Marie-Adélaïde Charlotte Children    Grand Duke Jean    Elisabeth, Duchess of Hohenberg    Princess Marie-Adélaïde    Princess Marie Gabrièle    Prince Charles    Alix, Princess of Ligne Grandchildren    Princess Charlotte    Prince Robert Jean Children    Princess Marie Astrid    Grand Duke Henri    Prince Jean    Princess Margaretha    Prince Guillaume Grandchildren    Princess Marie Gabrièle    Prince Constantin    Prince Wenceslas    Prince Carl Johann    Prince Paul-Louis    Prince Léopold    Princess Charlotte    Prince Jean Henri Children    Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume    Prince Félix    Prince Louis    Princess Alexandra    Prince Sébastien

William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau, etc (Guillaume Alexandre) (Biebrich, 22 April 1852 – Berg Castle, 25 February 1912) was the eldest child of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He became Grand Duke and titular Duke of Nassau as William II^{citation needed} on the death of his father on 17 November 1905.

William IV was a Protestant, the religion of the House of Nassau. He married Marie Anne of Portugal, believing that a Roman Catholic country ought to have a Roman Catholic monarch. Thus since William IV all other Grand Dukes 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 Guillaume's cousin, Georg Nikolaus, Count of Merenberg, the product of a morganatic marriage. So in 1907, Guillaume declared the Counts of Merenberg non-dynastic, naming his own eldest daughter Marie-Adélaïde (1894–1924) as heir to the grand ducal throne. She became Luxembourg'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 (1896–1985). Charlotte's descendants have reigned until the present day.

Family

On 21 June 1893 in Fischhorn Castle, Zell am See, he married Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal, daughter of the deposed king Miguel I of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. The couple had six daughters, but no sons:

• Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1894-1924) who remained unmarried and childless
• Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1896-1985) who married her first cousin Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, a son of Marie Anne's younger sister.
• Princess Hilda Sophie Marie Adélaïde Wilhelmine (Berg Castle, 15 February 1897 - Berg Castle, 8 September 1979), married in Berg Castle on 29 October 1930 Adolf 10te Fürst zu Schwarzenberg (Frauenberg, 18 August 1890 - Bordighera, 27 February 1950),¹ without issue
• Princess Antoinette (1899-1954), who married Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria as his second wife
• Princess Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine (Luxembourg, 7 March 1901 - Schloss Hohenburg, 2 August 1950), married in Schloss Hohenburg on 14 November 1922 Ludwig Philipp Prinz von Thurn und Taxis (Regensburg, 2 February 1901 - Schloss Niederaichbach, 22 April 1933), son of Albert I, Prince of Thurn and Taxis,² and had issue
• Princess Sophie Caroline Marie Wilhelmine (Berg Castle, 14 February 1902 - Munich, 24 May 1941), married at Schloss Hohenburg on 12 April 1921 Ernst Heinrich Prinz von Saxe (Dresden, 9 December 1896 - Coolamber, Ireland, 14 June 1971), youngest son of king Frederick Augustus III of Saxony,³ and had issue

Ancestry

References

External links

• Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg and Ducal House of Nassau
• Royal House of Portugal

v • d • e Grand Dukes of Luxembourg House of Orange-Nassau (1815 – 1890) William I • William II • William III House of Nassau-Weilburg (1890 – present) Adolphe • William IV • Marie-Adélaïde • Charlotte • Jean • Henri Until 1890, Luxembourg was in a personal union with the Netherlands, ruled by the King-Grand Duke.

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