The next episode happened in 1890 when King William III of The Netherlands died. His daughter Wilhelmina inherited the Throne of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, however, Luxembourg was governed by the Naussau Family Pact of 1783 which only allowed a woman to inherit if there were no male heirs at all. Therefore, Adolphe, the dispossessed Duke of Nassau and head of the branch of Nassau-Weilburg, became Grand Duke. His son, William IV, obtained permission for his daughter, Marie-Adélaïde, to succeed. She was, in turn, followed by her sister Charlotte.
Grand Duchess Charlotte is the Grandmother of the Grand Duchy - both literally and metaphorically. Not only did she see her country through the aftermath of one world war and the mess her sister had left things in and the Second World War, but she was matriarch to a now thriving dynasty. She abdicated in favour of her son, Jean, in 1964, who in in turn abdicated in favour of his son, Henri, in the year 2000.
On top is an Inescutcheon of, effectively, the dynastic Coat of Arms. These are France Modern - Blue with three yellow Fleurs-de-Lys - surrounded by a red Border carrying 8 white Scallop Shells for Bourbon Parma. Grand Duchess Charlotte had married Prince Felix of Bourbon Parma (a brother of Empress Zita of Austria). He never renounced his title even though he became a Prince of Luxembourg by Grand Ducal Decree and so his descendants now enjoy the title Royal Highness, not just the Grand Ducal Sovereign and Heir Apparent.
Greater
This shows the full Achievement, including Shield, Crown, Ribbon and Cross of the Order of the Oaken Crown, Supporters, Flags, Pavillion and another Crown on top. (The Grand Duke is the only one to show his Supporters carrying Flags.)
Middle
These simply show the Shield, Supporters and Crown.
Lesser
These simply show the Shield and the Crown.
Please also note that the Middle and Lesser versions do not show the dynastic Inescutcheon of Bourbon Parma for the Grand Duke. It interesting to note that the Quarterings for Luxembourg and the Nassau dynasty were swapped over so that, logically, Luxembourg comes first. Also, please note carefully that the main Supporter to the dexter (heraldic left) has a forked tail as in the Luxembourg Arms and that the Supporter to the sinister (heraldic right) only has the one simple tail as in the Nassau Arms...
The use of the three versions appears to be arbitrary. (As we will find out shortly, the Hereditary Grand Duke has two.)
Strangely enough, the photograph also shows Henri's Coat of Arms as Hereditary Grand Duke and heir with the Quarters in their original positions with Nassau before Luxembourg.
The Coat of Arms of the heir to Luxembourg, the Hereditary Grand Duke, can be seen to be his father's Coat of Arms with a yellow Label of three Points. You will notice that the Bourbon Parma Inescutcheon is also only carried on the Greater Coat of Arms. Guillaume's Great and Lesser Coats of Arms were confirmed by Grand Ducal Decree of 31st October 2012 just after his marriage to Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy. He does not appear to make use of a Middle Coat of Arms. Guillaume's Lesser Coat of Arms is shown right. Authorage is by Wikipedia/Sodacan. |
The Coat of Arms to the left is that of the Lannoy family. HRH The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg was born Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy and comes from a noble Belgian family of statesmen and military commanders. I have yet to see TRH Conjugal or Stéphnaie's Coats of Arms. But, as opposed to the current Grand Duchess, Stéphanie is certainly armigerous. Her mother, Alix, unfortunately died a couple of months before her daughter married Guillaume and her Arms, marshalled with the Lennoy green Lions, were carried at her funeral on what is called a Hatchment. This is a square of wood on which the deceased's Coat of Arms is painted. This usually has a black background, although other versions can distinguish the marital status. |
Grand Duke Jean, who is approaching his Centenary, was trained at Sandhurst whilst the Luxembourg Royal Family was in exile during the Second World War and was often seen at The Queen's Birthday Parade (or Trooping of the Colour) in British Guard's uniform. In 1953 he married HRH Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium, daughter of King Leopold III. At first sight rather a strict-looking woman, Jojo, as she was known, was a great teller of family stories, although she was allegedly blessed with foresight having predicted her Mother's tragic and fatal car accident.
In 1939 he was granted quarterly Bourbon Parma (his father's Coat of Arms) and Nassau (his mother's family) with Luxembourg in pretence on an Inescutcheon. This was to celebrate both the Centenary of the Independence of Luxembourg and Jean reaching his majority on his 18th Birthday. All well and good.
Then in 1953, on the occasion of his marriage to Josephine, Jean was granted Nassau, still in pretence on the dexter but facing (or contourné) to Luxembourg on the sinister. An Inescutcheon of Bourbon Parma is shown but hardly in pretence as it is at the base of the Shield! Very strange...
This, however, only lasted until 1964 when Grand Duchess Charlotte abdicated (or, rather, retired) in Jean's favour.
To the left is the Coat of Arms of HRH Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte of Luxembourg as portrayed on her Stall Plate for the Swedish Order of the Seraphim. Born Princess of Belgium, her Arms can truly be called Benelux personified. (Benelux is the politico-economic union of BElgium, NEtherlands and LUXembourg.) Josephine's Arms simply show the three Lions of Belgium marshalled with Nassau above Luxembourg of her husband. Stylistically, her Arms are shown on an oval Shield here to match other stall plates but they have been shown on a lozenge-shaped Shield as well. The balance of the Arms is so striking and highlights the joy of simple heraldry without cluttering the Shield. The 2006 document will show that Luxembourg's Greater Coat of Arms started out with 16 Quarterings! |