In the past decades we have seen many former reigning dynasties alter laws or rules surrounding marriage and succession.
Yes, and each time that happened, questions were raised as to legality and validity -- especially over the matter of consistency and retroactive applications.
It's worlds different from reigning houses, which can easily change their rules: just look at the grand duchy of Luxembourg, as a good example. I never got a clear answer to my post about Prince Nikolaus of Nassau- Weilburg on the Benelux board, so I thought of copying it here, and asking for your possible input on the matter --
" I know that he predeceased not only his half-nephew, Grand Duke Guillaume IV of Luxembourg, but also his much older half-brother, Grand Duke Adolphe (who had previously reigned as the duke of Nassau-Weilburg, but lost his throne when the house got deposed in the 1860's).
But despite his morganatic marriage, he would have retained his succession rights in the grand duchy until his death -- correct? The reason was that in such a union, only the issue are excluded from the throne. Because they were the products of an unapproved unequal marriage, his children would have all been morganauts -- correct?
Nevertheless, did he, to the end, think that his children would one day reign in Luxembourg, by virtue of being agnatic descendants of the house of Nassau? In particular, did his son (Georg, born in 1871), seeing that his half-cousin fathered six daughters but no son, regard himself as one day succeeding to the grand ducal throne, once both Adolphe and Guillaume died?
The 1907 Family Statute, of course, explicitly excluded the descendants of Nikoloas from the succession. But even before, it should have been clear enough that they were all morganauts. Who in the family was aware of this fact? It goes without saying that the measure would not have been necessary, had Guillaume managed to father a son ...
How many people in Luxembourg were aware of the status of these Merenborgs? It should be noted that even before the controversy, there had been ealier attempts to abrogate the Nassau Family Pact of 1783 (according to the Congress of Vienna in 1815, that house was to reign over the grand duchy, succession to which was regulated by their laws, meaning that the throne passed in accordance with semi-Salicism). King Willem III of the Netherlands made moves to ensure the succession of his daughter, the future Queen Wilhelmina, to succeed as the reigning grand duchess there.
But Queen Emma (Adolphe's half-niece) persuaded him to abide by the terms of the Family Pact (evidently Luxembourg's parliament was willing to go along with the Dutch king's proposal). Perhaps she wanted to see her kinsman become a reigning monarch again ... to spread the wealth, perhaps ... how generous of her ...
Well: the house of Orange is the genealogically junior branch of the Nassaus, anyway. Also, in separating the crowns of Luxembourg and the Netherlands, she managed to escape the family feud that erupted later on, when the Merenborgs challenged the succession of the Grand Duchess Marie Adelaide. Interestingly enough, Prince Nikolaus was a closer blood relative to Emma, as a full uncle ..."
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