The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has a land area of 2586.3 square kilometers.
Although Luxembourg is a small place, its strategic location is very important. It is located in northwest Europe, bordering Germany to the east, France to the south, and Belgium to the west and north. It is truly the "crossroads of Western Europe."
Luxembourg and Belgium have historically been brothers, often fought over by Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Luxembourg's history has been much worse than Belgium's. More than half of its territory has been carved up by the three surrounding countries, and the rest belongs to the Netherlands. It is independent. Has a lucky color.
If it were not for the fact that Wilhelmina's father, William III, had no male heir, Luxembourg would never have become independent from the Netherlands.
Luxembourg's independence was partly a result of God's will. William III and his first wife, Queen Sophie, already had three sons, but all died young. The last one died when Wilhelmina was 4 years old.
The only daughter of King William III of the Netherlands and his second wife, Princess Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Wilhelmina had a close relationship with her parents during her childhood, especially her father, who was 63 years old when she was born .
William III died on November 23, 1890, and Wilhelmina succeeded to the throne. She was only 10 years old at the time. According to the male inheritance law contract, Luxembourg was officially independent, freed from the rule of the King of the Netherlands, and exclusively ruled by the close relatives of the Nassau-Wilburg family. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg becomes independent.
Luxembourg is really a wonderful place. The rulers of this place often give birth to mostly female heirs, and male heirs are rare.
Tang Ning was able to unite Luxembourg because he married Marie Adelaide. If Tang Ning did not restore the rule of the Braganza royal family in Brazil and Portugal, but chose to ruin it, then Braganza would be the rule of Luxembourg. Although the family changed from a kingdom to a grand duchy, in any case, it restored the family's glory, ended its exile, and became the orthodox head of the country.
On October 18, Tangning Pedro and Marie Adelaide hurried to Luxembourg.
Originally, according to the plan, Pedro and his party were planning to stay in the Netherlands for a month, but news came from Luxembourg that Marie Adelaide's father, Guillaume IV, suddenly became seriously ill again.
Guillaume IV was the kind father of Marie-Adela Yinde. He was also kind to Tangning Pedro and valued his trust very much.
Downing Pedro's beloved great-grandmother Adelaide suddenly fell ill in early December 1909, but she had so many things going on in Portugal at the time that she didn't have much private time to visit. She waited until the 12th and 16th When the news came that his great-grandmother had passed away, he was filled with guilt at the time, and now that he thought about it, he was filled with self-blame at that time.
Portugal was in a period of stable growth at the time. Taking some time off for a while would not have any impact on the Portuguese mainland, but Tangning Pedro did not do that at that time.
At that time, he mistakenly believed that his great-grandmother finally fell ill because of her old age and weakened resistance. It was normal and would not affect her life.
Who would have known that illnesses would come like a mountain, and that a normally healthy person suddenly fell ill, which could directly lead to death.
Guillaume IV has been in poor health since he entered old age. When Marie Adelaide arrived in Brazil, his health was already chronically ill, but he did not suffer from worsening of his condition at that time.
After his great-grandmother passed away, Tangning valued family ties even more. He paid great attention to the health of his father-in-law, Guillaume IV.
This kind of attention paid off. In mid-February this year, Guillaume IV's health suddenly deteriorated. However, because of a very advanced medical team, he became seriously ill on February 25, which put his life in danger. At that time, he was rescued and has been stable since then.
Although it was difficult for Tang Ning to go to Luxembourg during that time, his wife Marie-Adela Yinde quickly returned and waited until Guillaume IV was stable before returning to Portugal.
February 25, 1912, would have been the date of death of Guillaume IV in history, but under the butterfly wings of the time traveler, history changed again.
On the evening of October 16, Tangning Pedro and Marie Adelaide received the news that Guillaume IV's condition had deteriorated again, and they set out that night.
When he arrived at the Luxembourg Palace on the morning of the 18th, Guillaume IV's condition could not be reversed and he was lying on the bed dying.
"Father, we are late!"
Seeing her dying father on the hospital bed, Mary Adelaide burst into tears and choked with sobs.
Pedro's eyes were red and he said to Maria Anna: "Mother, we are back to see our father."
Mary's cries alarmed Guillaume IV, who was lying waiting for the angel's call. After knowing that his daughter and son-in-law were back, he struggled to come over.
After two failed attempts, he started to cough, but kept trying.
Faced with this sudden situation in a short period of time, Maria Anna, Mary Adelaide, Tangning Pedro rushed to the bedside and stopped him from trying again.
"Father, you are seriously ill now. Please do not do strenuous exercise. This will affect your health." Tang Ning held his old and cold hand and persuaded him.
"cough!"
"cough!"
Guillaume IV coughed twice and said to his daughter and son-in-law: "I knew you could come back in time. I've been waiting for you."
"Father, we shouldn't stay in the Netherlands so long, we should come to Luxembourg as soon as we arrive at the port.
"
"Ahem! You are not wrong. You are only blaming me for my sudden deterioration of health, which disturbed your plans.
The Netherlands is a friendly country to us and the World Cup is very important to them. It is normal for you to stay there.
We have always had a very good relationship with the Dutch royal family. Aren’t you planning to marry your child Carl to Wilhelmina’s daughter Juliana?
This is an important matter, and you will have no problem staying in the Netherlands for a month. "
Not many people knew about Tangning Pedro's plan to marry Karl to Dutch Crown Princess Juliana. He only mentioned it to a few people close to him.
The Netherlands is not Luxembourg. Luxembourg is just a small country. Historically, it has been dominated by others. It has no significant impact on the situation in Europe.
The only value of Luxembourg is iron ore, but there are also a large amount of iron ore around Luxembourg. When the German Empire expanded, there was no shortage of iron ore.
Historically, Germany's occupation of Luxembourg during the two world wars was actually a case of killing rabbits while gathering weeds.
Luxembourg is a member of the German cultural circle. World War I and World War II both had elements of national war. When the supporters of Greater Germany expand, of course they want to annex Luxembourg, which has the same culture and ethnicity.
Luxembourg cannot match the value of the Netherlands and its influence on Western Europe and the situation in Europe. It is impossible for Britain, France and Germany to accept its unification by other countries.
Tangning planned to unite the Netherlands. If he didn't know the future history, he wouldn't dare to do it. After all, no one knows how Britain and France will become weak in the future.
Guillaume IV did not understand Tangning's initial planning, but when Tangning predicted that a war would break out in Europe, the situation would change in the future, and there would be opportunities, he agreed with Tangning's judgment.
Guillaume IV had watched Tang Ning grow up, and he still believed in his son-in-law's strategy and overall view.
