1840 - William II
In 1840 William I resigned his crown to his son William II, who reigned in peace till his death in 1849, when he was succeeded by his eldest son William III. The wave of revolution which passed over Europe in 1848 had in Holland comparatively little effect: the constitution of 1814 was revised, and the tranquility of the country secured. In 1853, after the establishment by the papacy of Catholic bishoprics in England and Holland, a considerable excitement arose which resulted in the accession to power of a moderate, liberal, and entirely Protestant cabinet, and in the main the Protestant-liberal party has guided the country for the last quarter of a century. The Dutch took but a secondary part in the disputes between France and Germany as to Dutch Luxembourg, which by the treaty of London (1867) was declared neutral, and guaranteed to Holland.
By the Congress of Vienna, Luxemburg had been left in a curious position. It was a member of the Germanic Confederation; but the sovereignty and civil government were vested in the King of the Netherlands, who exercised its vote. The fortress was declared a federal fortress, the appointment of the governor being given to Prussia, which provided the larger part of the garrison.
The first arrangement made on the disruption of the union of the Belgic and United Provinces of the Netherlands was that of January, 1831, by which the whole of the duchy of Luxemburg was given to the new kingdom of the Netherlands. The eighteen articles of June virtually reversed this decision. The maintenance of the status quo, which these demanded, meant the retention by the Belgians of all Luxemburg except the fortress, and all Limburg except Maastricht. It was finally decided, by the Treaty of November, that Limburg and the east part of Luxemburg should be restored to the diminished kingdom of the Netherlands, while the west part of Luxemburg should remain under Belgian rule — an arrangement to which the Dutch King refused his assent till 1839.
Only that part of Luxemburg retained by the Netherlands which included the fortress remained within the Germanic Confederation. On the formation of the North German Confederation, Luxemburg was not included in it, on the ground that it was attached to a foreign Power. But Prussia still maintained her right to garrison its fortress.
In May, 1867, an agreement was arrived at, by which Luxemburg was declared an independent State under King William III, but politically separate from Holland, and guaranteed as neutral by the Powers; Prussia was to withdraw her garrison and the King of the Netherlands to destroy the fortifications. In 1866, on the dissolution of the Germanic Confederation, Limburg was incorporated with the Netherlands. Luxemburg retained the position assigned to it in 1867 till 1890, when, by the death of William III, its dynastic tie with the Netherlands was broken. By the Salic Law, Queen Wilhelmina was incapable of succession, and it passed to the next male heir.
