William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg

William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (Guillaume Alexandre) (April 22, 1852 – February 25, 1912) was the eldest child of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He became Grand Duke on the death of his father on November 17, 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, Guilliame 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 June 21, 1893, he married 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 (1894-1924) who remained unmarried and childless
* Charlotte (1896-1985) who married her first cousin Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, a son of Marie Anne's younger sister.
* Hilda (15 February 1897-8 September 1979), who married Adolf, Prince of Schwarzenberg
* Antoinette (1899-1954), who married Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria as his second wife
* Elisabeth (7 March 1901-2 August 1950), who married Prince Ludwig Philipp of Thurn and Taxis (2 February 1901-22 April 1933), son of Albert I, Prince of Thurn and Taxis. Had issue.
**Prince Anselm Albert of Thurn and Taxis (14 April 1924-25 February 1944); killed in action in Solotaia-Balka during WWII
**Princess Iniga of Thurn and Taxis (born 25 August 1925); married Prince Eberhard of Urach (1907-1969), son of Mindaugas II of Lithuania
* Sophie Caroline (14 February 1902-24 May 1941), who married Ernst Heinrich, Prince of Saxony (9 December 1896-14 June 1971), youngest son of king Frederick Augustus III of Saxony. Had three sons.

Ancestry

ahnentafel-compact4
style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%;
border=1
boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0;
boxstyle_1=background-color: #ffa801;
boxstyle_2=background-color: #ffbd3d;
boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffd179;
boxstyle_4=background-color: #ffe6b5;
1= William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
2= Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
3= Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau
4= William, Duke of Nassau
5= Princess Louise of Saxe-Altenburg
6= Friedrich August of Anhalt-Dessau
7= Landgravine Marie of Hesse-Kassel
8= Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg
9= Princess Louise Isabelle of Kirchberg
10=Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
11=Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
12=Friedrich, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau
13=Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg
14=Prince William of Hesse
15=Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark