Parents: William IV, grand duke of Luxembourg, and Marie Anne of Portugal
Date of Birth: 23 January 1896
Royal House: Nassau-Weilburg
Spouse: Felix, son of Robert I, duke of Parma, and Maria Antonia of Portugal
Predecessor: Marie-Adélaïde
Reign: 1919 – 1964
Summary: The second daughter of William IV, Charlotte was not originally destined to inherit the Luxembourg throne. Her elder sister, Marie-Adélaïde, was forced to abdicated in her favor in 1919 due to revolutionary tendencies turning against the grand duchess. Marie-Adélaïde was a political woman and the country did not want a politician on the throne. Charlotte, in contrast, promised not to meddle. In September 1919, Luxembourg voted to maintain the monarchy with Charlotte as grand duchess. In such a role, the monarch lost virtually all remaining political power. At the age of twenty-three, Charlotte ascended the throne.
Royal House: Nassau-Weilburg
Spouse: Felix, son of Robert I, duke of Parma, and Maria Antonia of Portugal
Predecessor: Marie-Adélaïde
Reign: 1919 – 1964
Summary: The second daughter of William IV, Charlotte was not originally destined to inherit the Luxembourg throne. Her elder sister, Marie-Adélaïde, was forced to abdicated in her favor in 1919 due to revolutionary tendencies turning against the grand duchess. Marie-Adélaïde was a political woman and the country did not want a politician on the throne. Charlotte, in contrast, promised not to meddle. In September 1919, Luxembourg voted to maintain the monarchy with Charlotte as grand duchess. In such a role, the monarch lost virtually all remaining political power. At the age of twenty-three, Charlotte ascended the throne.
Her first two decades in power saw little for her except marriage and childbirth. She married a close cousin, the son of the duke of Parma. As such, her title was elevated from grand ducal highness to royal highness since the dukes of Parma were considered Italian and Spanish royalty. Between 1921 and 1929 she produced six children, all of whom lived to adulthood. At the start of World War II, the family called for aide from France and placed themselves under France's protection. This proved to be an ill-choice in allies and the family was forced to flee through Spain to Portugal. Remembering her sister's problems during World War I, Charlotte refused a Nazi invitation to reclaim her throne and remained in exile throughout the war. She settled in London and made regular broadcasts to her people in Luxembourg, encouraging them in their resistance. Luxembourg was annexed to Germany with the French Moselle department and all the Luxembourgers were required to learn and speak German and join the German army. Her younger sister, Antonia, was captured in 1944 in Hungary and deported to Dachau Concentration Camp then transferred to Flossenbürg where she was tortured. Her son, Jean, served in the Irish Guards throughout the war. After the war, her quiet life resumed. She abdicated in 1964 in favor of her son, Jean. She died twenty years later from cancer and was buried in the Ducal Crypt in Luxembourg City.
Date of Death: 9 July 1985
Successor: Jean
Other Monarchs Who Died Today:
Date of Death: 9 July 1985
Successor: Jean
Other Monarchs Who Died Today:
- Anastasius I, emperor of Constantinople (518)
- Leopold III, duke of Austria (1386)
- Maurice, elector of Saxony (1553)
- Ferdinand IV, king of the Romans (1654)
- Gian Gastone, grand duke of Tuscany (1737)
- Philip V, king of Spain (1746)
- Nicholas VI, patriarch of Alexandria (1986)
