Consent for Marriage in the Grand Ducal Family

[Kotroman]

Does one have to ask for permission to marry in order to retain succession rights to the throne of Luxembourg? If so, whose consent is required? The Grand Duke's? The government's?

As far as I know, princes who were naughty and took "unsuitable" wives have so far renounced their rights and were not automatically excluded due to the marriage. I also know that Grand Duke Henri gave his consent to his sons' marriages, but were those consents necessary for them to remain in the line and for their descendants to be in the line? Or were the consents simply a formal announcement that the Grand Duke was pleased with his sons' choices?

I took a look at the Constitution of Luxembourg but was unable to find a clause that makes it required to seek anyone's consent for marriage.

[Kotroman]

Hmmm Heraldica (here: alt.talk.royalty FAQ) says that "marriage must be with consent of the Grand Duke (for princes of the family)". That would mean that Prince Charles's descendants are not in the line because he was a "prince of the family", but that male-line descendants of Princess Sophie (Ruediger of Saxony and his sons and grandson) are in the line because they belong to another family and were thus not required to seek consent to marry.

This would make sense. It's similar to the UK's Royal Marriages Act, which made it necessary to seek consent if you are a prince of the family but not if you are descended from a princess by her foreigner husband. But is this interpretation correct, though? Were male-line descendants of Princess Sophie excluded from succession at some point?

[SydneyLux]

Yes it is. The Grand Duke has to give his written consent prior to marriage while the government does not. As the current constitution is very old and is reworked at the moment, it's entirely possible that this will change in the future. (The constitution currently delegates most matters to the house law.) What happens with those who either do not seek consent or marry without consent is laid down in the house law that was reworked during the last few years and re-published in 2012.

Of course Prince Charles' children are members of the Grand Ducal Family. The house law distinguishes between the Grand Ducal Line, Family and House.

For more about the matters of consent and who is part of the line, family and house, check this out: Luxarazzi : FAQ

Princess Sophie's male-line descendants are not in the line of succession which consists entirely of descendants of Grand Duchess Charlotte.

[Kotroman]

Originally Posted by SydneyLux

Princess Sophie's male-line descendants are not in the line of succession which consists entirely of descendants of Grand Duchess Charlotte.

Did male-line descendants of Princess Sophie lose their succession rights due to unapproved marriages or were they excluded by another law? As far as I know, the right to succeed to the throne was vested in male male-line descendants of William IV's daughters (Charlotte and Sophie being the only ones to still have male-line descendants).

[SydneyLux]

It's a little complicated. Princess Sophie would have only gotten succession rights in case Grand Duchess Charlotte had either died or abdicated without leaving any legitimate offspring. The "Familienstatut" of 1907 stated that the male line of the House of Nassau had died out and thus the throne should pass to Princess Marie-Adelaide (and then her male line descendants). Should she die without leaving legitimite offspring, the right to the throne would pass to Grand Duke Wilhelm's other daughters and their descendants according to primogeniture.

In addition, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg needs to be a member of the Nassau family according to the current constitution and Sophie's descendants are not.