What’s next in Luxembourg?

This morning, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg announced that his son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, will take over the country’s governorship.

This is not a formal abdication, so what’s next?

The Constitution states in Article 42: “The Grand Duke may have Himself represented by a Prince of the blood, who shall bear the title of Lieutenant of the Grand Duke and who [shall] reside in the Grand
Duchy. This representative shall take an oath to observe the Constitution before exercising
his powers.” This means that Prince Guillaume will have to take this oath before taking over in October.

A press release from the Grand Ducal Court states, “The appointment of the Lieutenant-Representative traditionally occurs in the process of change of reign. The procedure is governed by the provisions
of the Constitution.” This means that we can expect a full abdication soon.

The last abdication was that of Grand Duke Henri’s father, Jean, and this took place in 2000. He signed a royal decree which stated, “Article 1. We renounce the Crown of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in favour of Our beloved Son, the Hereditary Grand Duke HENRI. Article 2. Our Prime Minister, Minister of State, is responsible for the execution of this decree, which will be published in the Memorial.” Henri had been Lieutenant-Representative since 4 March 1998. 

Perhaps we can expect the royal decree when Grand Duke Henri celebrates his silver jubilee in 2025.