In his annual Christmas greeting, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg announced he will abdicate in favor of his son and heir, Hereditary Grand Duke, Guillaume.

The royal coat of arms consists of the arms of Luxembourg, (Barry of ten Argent and Azure, a Lion rampant queue forchée Gules crowned, armed and langued Or), quartered with the arms of the House of Nassau, (Azure billetty Or, a lion or armed and langued Gules). In the greater version of the coat of arms there is an inescutcheon overall of the arms of the dynastic house of Bourbon-Parma (Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or within a bordure Gules charged with eight escallops Argent). The dynastic arms of Bourbon-Parma are not usually included in the middle and lesser versions of the Grand Ducal coat of arms.

The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since March 15,1815, when it was created from territory of the former Duchy of Luxembourg. It was in personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1890 under the House of Orange-Nassau. Luxembourg is the world’s only sovereign grand duchy and since 1815, there have been nine monarchs.

The grand ducal family consists of heirs and descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, whose sovereign territories passed cognatically from the House of Nassau to the House of Bourbon-Parma, itself a branch of the Spanish royal house which is agnatically a cadet branch of the House of Capet which originated in France.