200th Birthday of Grand Duke Guillaume III

To the left: the reigning Grand Duke Henri; to the right: Grand Duke Guillaume III facing left. The year "2017" and the name of the current Grand Duke appear to the left of the central dividing line. Below both figures: the text "GRAND DUCS DE LUXEMBOURG"; to the right: "GUILLAUME III" and "1817".

In 2018 a retrospective set was issued comprising the Luxembourg €2 commemorative coins of 2016–2018 (LU-16 G2, LU-17 G2, LU-17 G4, LU-18 G3, LU-18 G6) with the 2018 mint marks.

Guillaume III was born on 21 April 1817 in Brussels and ascended the Luxembourg throne in 1849 - at a time when the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg had only just consolidated its state independence. After the Treaty of London of 1867, Luxembourg attained the status of a permanently neutral and demilitarised state; Guillaume III ruled the country until his death in 1905, marking one of the longest reigns in the Grand Duchy's history. Domestically, his reign was followed by the end of the personal union with the Netherlands after his death, since he left no male heir - this led in 1890 to the founding of the independent Nassau-Weilburg line under Adolf of Nassau and consolidated Luxembourg as a sovereign state.

As King of the Netherlands - an office he held in parallel from 1849 to 1890 - Guillaume III was a formative, if often controversial, figure amid the political upheavals of the 19th century. In Luxembourg itself, his reign is regarded as a phase of relative stability and economic development in which the foundations of the modern state were laid. During this era, the Grand Duchy began to develop a distinct national identity, setting itself apart from its Dutch and Belgian neighbours. On the occasion of his 200th birthday, Luxembourg issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2017 depicting him alongside the current Grand Duke Henri - a dynastic bracket spanning two centuries of Luxembourg history.