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In the period spanning the 15th to the 18th centuries, this position was held by Spain, France and Austria respectively. In 1815, Luxembourg was declared a grand duchy by the Congress of Vienna and given to William I, king of the Netherlands. In 1839 however, the western region of the country was ceded to Belgium via the Treaty of London while the eastern part remained in the hands of the Netherlands and became an autonomous state in 1848 and later a neutral territory via the London Conference of 1867. Later, in 1957, the duchy became a member of the European Economic Community. Prince Jean, Grand Duchess Charlotte’s son and chief heir, was made head of state in 1961 and following his mother’s abdication in 1964, he was instated as Grand Duke. The country’s parliament gave its approval to the Maastricht Accord which paved the way for EU’s economic unification in July 1992. Jean finally stepped down as Grand Duke in 2000 and was replaced by his son Crown Prince Henri in October of that year. | |
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