Jean (given names: Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano; born 5 January 1921) reigned as Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He is the father of the current ruler, Grand Duke Henri, and the son of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma. Among his godparents was Pope Benedict XV, who gave him his second name.
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Early life[edit]
Jean was born on 5 January 1921, at Berg Castle, in central Luxembourg, the son of Grand Duchess Charlotte and of Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma. He attended primary school in Luxembourg, where he continued the initial stage of secondary education. He completed secondary school at Ampleforth College, a Roman Catholic boarding school in the United Kingdom. Upon reaching maturity, on 5 January 1939, he was styled 'Hereditary Grand Duke', recognising his status as heir apparent.
Second World War[edit]
On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded Luxembourg, beginning a four-year occupation. Having been warned of an imminent invasion, the Grand Ducal Family escaped the previous night. At first, they sought refuge in Paris, before fleeing France only weeks later. The Grand Ducal Family sought refuge in the United States, renting an estate in Brookville, New York. Jean studied Law and Political Science at Université Laval, Quebec City.
He joined the British Army as a volunteer in the Irish Guards in November 1942. After receiving officer training at Aldershot, Jean was commissioned as a Lieutenant in March 1943, before being promoted to captain in 1944. He landed in Normandy on 11 June 1944, and took part in the Battle for Caen and the liberation of Brussels. On 10 September 1944, he took part in the liberation of Luxembourg before moving on to Arnhem and the invasion of Germany. After the war, from 1984 until his abdication, he served as Colonel of the Regiment of the Irish Guards, often riding in uniform behind Queen Elizabeth II during the Sovereign's Birthday Parade.
Reign[edit]
He became Grand Duke when his mother, the Grand Duchess Charlotte, abdicated on 12 November 1964.[1]
Grand Duke Jean abdicated on 7 October 2000, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Henri. Grand Duke Jean now lives at Fischbach Castle.[2]
Issue[edit]
He was married in Luxembourg on 9 April 1953 to Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (1927–2005), daughter of Léopold III, King of the Belgians. They had three sons and two daughters:
- Princess Marie-Astrid (born 17 February 1954). Married HI&RH Carl Christian Marcus d'Aviano, Prince Imperial and Archduke of Austria (born 1954).
- Grand Duke Henri (born 16 April 1955)
- Prince Jean (born 15 May 1957). Married Hélène Vestur (born 1958) in 1987 and has issue. Renounced the right of succession for himself and his descendants on 26 September 1986. His children, as well as his wife, bore the title Count(ess) of Nassau until given the title HRH Prince(ss) of Nassau on 24 November 2004. Prince Jean and Hélène were previously divorced and she was not upgraded under this decree. In 2009 he married Diane De Guerre.
- Princess Margaretha (born 15 May 1957). Married HSH Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein (1947), son of Sovereign Prince Franz Joseph II, and has issue.
- Prince Guillaume (born 1 May 1963). Married Sibilla Weiller (born 1968), a great-granddaughter of King Alfonso XIII of Spain through her mother Donna Olimpia Torlonia, herself a daughter of Infanta Beatriz of Spain, and has issue. His children bear the title Prince(ss) of Nassau.
Titles, styles, and honours[edit]
Titles and styles[edit]
- 5 January 1921 – 12 November 1964: His Royal Highness The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Hereditary Prince of Nassau, Prince of Bourbon-Parma
- 12 November 1964 – 7 October 2000: His Royal Highness The Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau
- 7 October 2000 – present: His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau
His full title is "by the Grace of God, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Count of Sayn, Königstein, Katzenelnbogen and Diez, Burgrave of Hammerstein, Lord of Mahlberg, Wiesbaden, Idstein, Merenberg, Limburg and Eppstein." Many of the titles are held without regard to the strict rules of salic inheritance.
Change of dynastic titles[edit]
Jean renounced the titles of the House of Bourbon-Parma for himself and his family in 1986[3] when his eldest son, then-Hereditary Grand Duke Henri married Maria-Theresa Mestre. The reason for this was that the Duke of Parma, Carlos Hugo, ruled the marriage unequal in 1981, as well as the marriage of Prince Jean to Hélène Suzanna Vestur in 1987, for which he had renounced his rights to Luxembourg in 1986. It is not known if the marriage of Prince Guillaume was seen by Carlos Hugo as equal.
The Arrêté Grand-Ducal (Grand Ducal decree) of 21 September 1995 established that the title of Prince/Princesse de Luxembourg is reserved for the children of the sovereign and the heir to the throne. It also stated that the descendants in male lineage of the sovereign should be styled as Royal Highnesses and titled Prince/Princess of Nassau and that the descendants of unapproved marriages should be styled as Count/Countess of Nassau.[4]
Luxembourgish honours and awards[edit]
See also List of honours of the Luxembourgish Grand-Ducal Family by country
- Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (Grand Master 1964–2000)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau (Grand Master 1964–2000)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown (Grand Master 1964–2000)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Grand Master 1964–2000)
- Luxembourg War Cross (with bar)
Foreign honours and awards[edit]
Austria: Great Star of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (1975)[5]
Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold [6]- Belgium: Croix de guerre (with bar)
Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (22/11/1976)[7]
France: Croix de guerre 1939–1945
Germany: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
House of Habsburg: 1,293rd Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Holy See: Knight of the Order of the Golden Spur [8][9]
Iceland: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Falcon [10]
Italy: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (26/10/1973)[11]
Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion- Netherlands: Commemorative War Cross
Norway: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav
Poland: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
Portugal: 379th Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword- Portugal: Grand Collar of the Order of Infante Dom Henrique
House of Savoy: Supreme Knight of the Order of the Annunziata (1978)- House of Savoy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1978)
- House of Savoy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy (1978)
Spain: 1,184th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece (16/06/1983)[12]- Spain: Collar of the Order of Charles III (08/07/1980)[13]
United Kingdom: 951st Knight of the Order of the Garter- United Kingdom: 1939-1945 Star
- United Kingdom: France and Germany Star
- United Kingdom: Defence Medal
- United Kingdom: War Medal 1939–1945
United States: Silver Star
Sweden: Knight of the Order of the Seraphim- Sweden: HM King Carl XVI Gustaf 50th Anniversary Medal (30 April 1996)[14]
Kingdom of Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer
Iran: Commemorative Medal of the 2500th Anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire (14/10/1971)[15][16]
Ancestry[edit]
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Patrilineal descent[edit]
| Patrilineal descent |
|---|
| Henri's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that if Grand Duke Jean were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Robertian, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house. Jean is a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma, a sub-branch of the House of Bourbon-Spain, itself originally a branch of the House of Bourbon, and thus of the Capetian dynasty and of the Robertians. Jean's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. It follows the Dukes of Parma as well as the Kings of Spain, France, and Navarre. The line can be traced back more than 1,200 years from Robert of Hesbaye to the present day, through Kings of France & Navarre, Spain and Two-Sicilies, Dukes of Parma and Grand-Dukes of Luxembourg, Princes of Orléans and Emperors of Brazil. It is one of the oldest in Europe.
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "HRH Grand Duke Jean". Service information et presse du gouvernement luxembourgeois. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
- ^ "The Grand Duke Jean". Luxarazzi blog.
- ^ Grand Ducal Decree, 28 July 1986
- ^ Grand Ducal decree of 21 September 1995 concerning the surname and the titles of the Members of the Grand Ducal Family
- ^ "Reply to a parliamentary question" (PDF) (in German). p. 428. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
- ^ Royalement Blog, State visit of Belgium in Luxembourg (1994), Group Photo
- ^ Borger.dk
- ^ Jean with Pope John Paul I
- ^ Jean with Pope Paul VI
- ^ Icelandese Presidency Website , Jean ; stórhertogi ; Lúxemborg ; 1986-06-09 ; Stórkross með keðju (=Jean, Grand Duke, Luxembourg, 9 June 1986, Grand Cross with Collar)
- ^ "S.A.R. Jean Granduca di Lussemburgo - Decorato di Gran Cordone" (in Italian). Retrieved 15 October 2012.
- ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
- ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
- ^ Gettyimages
- ^ Badraie
- ^ Badraie
External links[edit]
- Official biography (in French)
- Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg (in French)
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Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Born: 5 January 1921 |
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| Preceded by Charlotte |
Grand Duke of Luxembourg 1964–2000 |
Succeeded by Henri |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by Basil Eugster |
Colonel of the Irish Guards 1984–2000 |
Succeeded by The Duke of Abercorn |
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- Grand Dukes of Luxembourg
- Members of the Council of State of Luxembourg
- Roman Catholic monarchs
- Irish Guards officers
- Luxembourgian people of World War II
- Luxembourgian Roman Catholics
- 1921 births
- Living people
- People from Colmar-Berg
- House of Bourbon-Parma
- People educated at Ampleforth College
- Princes of Bourbon-Parma
- International Olympic Committee members
- Université Laval alumni
- Monarchs who abdicated
- Pretenders
- Grand Masters of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
- Grand Masters of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau
- Grand Masters of the Order of the Oak Crown
- Grand Masters of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
- Knights of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the Oak Crown
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
- Grand Crosses with Collar of the Order of the Falcon
- Knights of the Golden Fleece
- Knights of the Golden Spur
- Grand Collars of the Order of Prince Henry
- Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of St. Olav
- Extra Knights Companion of the Garter
- Grand Cordons of the Order of Leopold (Belgium)
- Recipients of the Silver Star
- Recipients of the Olympic Order
- Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
- Recipients of the Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria
