As Grand Duke Henri initiates the transition of power to his son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, RTL revisits previous successions, highlighting the historic patterns and significant milestones in Luxembourg's royal lineage.
After Grand Duke Henri on National Day announced that he is initiating steps for his eldest son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, to succeed him, our colleagues from RTL took the opportunity to look back on the transfer of power from one head of state to the next in recent history.
Grand Duke Jean was sworn in as Lieutenant-Representative on 28 April 1961 and succeed his mother, Grand Duchess Charlotte, three years later. It then took until 1998 for Grand Duke Jean to announce that he would name his son, Henri, Lieutenant-Representative. The then-Hereditary Grand Duke was sworn-in at the Luxembourg City Palace on 4 March 1998 before eventually ascending to the throne two years later.
Read also: What is a lieutenancy?
Now, history is once again bound to repeat itself. 24 years after assuming the role of Grand Duke, Henri has announced that his son will become Lieutenant-Representative, which signals the first step toward succession just ahead of an important year. Because in 2025, Grand Duke Henri will celebrate 25 years as Luxembourg's head of state, coinciding with his 70th birthday.
