Grand Duke Adolphe dead

November 17, 1905

Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg died this morning at his Bavarian home, Schloss Hohenburg, reports the New York Times. He was 88 years old.


The Grand Duke was born on July 24, 1817 at Biebrich Palace in Wiesbdaden.  He was the son of Duke Wilhelm of Nassau and Princess Luise of Saxe-Hildburghausen.   In August 1839, he succeeded his father as Duke of Nassau, but lost his throne on September 30, 1866.   Following the death of King Willem III of the Netherlands,  Duke Adolphe, at age 73, succeeded to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Ten-year-old Princess Wilhelmina succeeded her father as the sovereign of the Netherlands, but due to Salic law, she could not succeed in Luxembourg as well.  The two countries were linked by a personal union since 1815, and, according to the Nassau Family Pact,  Adolphe became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

He married twice.  His first wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia died after giving birth to a stillbirth daughter in January 1845, less than a year after their marriage.    In 1851, he married for a second time to Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt.

Adolphe's son, Guillaume, born in 1852, succeeds as Grand Duke.