Does the future king of Luxembourg have to marry a Catholic?

Question

Just curious. Are their rules like England's? In England, the prince cant marry a Catholic if he wants to be king. Is it the same for Luxembourg, but the other way around, meaning he has to marry a Catholic. And if he marries someone outside his religion, must be abdicate?

Answer 1

I know very little about Luxembourg, but it is a Duchy, ruled by a Duke or Duchess, not a King, or even a Prince like Monaco.



Probably it is not like England where a ruler has to marry someone of a certain church by law, I don't know. But the Catholic Church traditional discourages intermarriage unless the other party either converts or at least promises to raise the children Catholic. And in the case of a ruler, I would imagine the spouse would be expected, at least by custom to be of the same faith.

Answer 2

Interestingly enough, the 3rd son married the mother of their illegitimate child. He was only 19 when she got pregnant. In an effort to protect their privacy, he has renounced his claim to the throne, and that of his children.

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His uncle did the same thing 20 years ago when his first child was born out of wedlock.

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It is possible that an heir who wants to marry a Protestant would also renounce his claim to the throne.

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I think that the only reasons the rules haven't changed in the UK is that nothing has forced the situation. If William wants to marry a Catholic, I think parliament will change the rules. Also, if William has a daughter as his first born I think they will change the rules and put her higher than a younger brother. A daughter has only been born first a total of 2 times in the last 350 years.

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If William gets someone pregnant (presumably Kate) then I don't know what will happen. According to the current law, you don't have to be married when you get pregnant, but you must be married before the baby is born. A marriage "after the fact" still makes the child ineligible. In other countries the rule is different. In Monaco if you marry afterwards, the child becomes eligible. If the Prince of Monaco would theoretically marry one of the two different mothers of his illegitimate children, they would be next in line for the throne. Subsequent divorce would not change the situation. However, people would be outraged so he is unlikely to do any such thing.

Answer 3

Luxembourg is a Grand Duchy. The current Grand Duke is a member of the House of Bourbon, formerly the Royal Family of France (Louis XIV, etc.) from a branch of the Spanish Royal family (the Bourbon-Parma branch related to the family's former Italian holdings). They are Catholic, but this the throne has no religious test. A Protestant could be (and can marry) the Grand Duke or Grand Duchess.

Answer 4

They do not have a King or Queen. They do have a Duke or Duchess. I do not think that they have a law like England, but they have always had a Roman Catholic Duke or Duchess.

Answer 5

That religious bigotry is only a Protestant thing.