The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled Count of Nassau, then elevated to the princely class as princely counts. At the end of the Holy Roman Empire, they proclaimed themselves Dukes of Nassau.
All Dutch queens since 1890 and the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg since 1912 have been descended in the female line from the House of Nassau. According to German tradition, the family name is passed only in the male line of succession. The house is therefore, from this perspective, extinct since 1985. However Dutch aristocratic customs (and Luxembourg's, which are based on the aforementioned) differ, and do not consider the House extinct.
Read more about House Of Nassau: Origins, The Ottonian Line
Famous quotes containing the words house of and/or house:
“Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers.””
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 19:45,46.
“There are no such oysters, terrapin, or canvas-back ducks as there were in those days; the race is extinct. It is strange how things degenerate.... I passed, the other day, the deserted house of Mrs. Gerry, which I used to think so lordly. It stands alone now amid the surrounding sky-scrapers, and reminds me of Don Quixote going out to fight the windmills. It should always remain to mark the difference between the past and the present.”
—M. E. W. Sherwood (1826–1903)