Friday, October 30, 2009

You may have noticed...

You may have noticed that a few things have changed here. I changed the colors and layout. I also added the photograph to the header. That is a picture of Luxembourg in case you haven't worked that out on your own. I may alternate pics of Luxembourg and banners featuring photographs of Luxembourg royals. I'm not a professional website builder so be patient with me. I also added a clock with Luxembourg time and a b-day countdown currently set on Guillaume.

I added a links section. This isn't an extensive section of links, but it's not a bad selection either. If you have a favorite to add send it over and I'll drop it in. Most of these links concern Luxembourg royals with some general information sites included.

Grand Duke receives ambassador

On Thursday The Grand Duke accepted the credentials of Elisabeth Simbrão the new ambassador of Angola to Luxembourg, Belgium and The Netherlands. Ambassador Simbrão and The Grand Duke discussed current issues of politics, economics and social problems in Angola.

Grand Duke helps celebrate the birthday of the CFL

This year marks the 150th anniversary of railway travel in Luxembourg. The first lines being opened on 4-5 October 1859. The celebrations have been going on all year. On Thursday the leaders of CFL (Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Luxembourgeois) held an academic meeting at the theater where they received noted guests including The Grand Duke.  

More information about the year long celebration can be found here.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Grand Duke Jean and family - updated

Grand Duke Jean in the company of his children attended the annual concert remembering Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte. I found pictures on Manuel Dias' website. This event will surely be mentioned later in the day or tomorrow morning on the official website.

There is a video of the event here and includes footage of the family. I cannot begin to tell you all the errors in the video concerning the GD family....the concert was to honor Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte who died in 2005. It was Grand Duchess Charlotte who died in 1985 and was known for her nationalism and exile during the war. In attendance were Grand Duke Jean, widower of Josephine-Charlotte, and her 5 children none her grand children were in attendance.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Photos of Fashion show

Manuel Dias has a gallery of images of the Natan fashion show that was held last week in the presence of the Grand Duchess to benefit the Luxembourg Red Cross.

Prince Robert assists in raising money for charity

Prince Robert has assisted in raising $250,000 for the charity Grapes of Humanity. The funds raised at this particular event will go to The Viola Wheeler Music Program for disabled children and to the Les Climats du Coeur which feeds the hungry in Beaune, France.

For those of you who are unaware of who Prince Robert of Luxembourg is I offer this information. Prince Robert is the only son of the late Prince Charles of Luxembourg and his American wife Joan Douglas Dillion (now Duchess de Mouchy). Prince Charles was the son of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix. Therefore, Prince Robert is the nephew of Grand Duke Jean and the first cousin of Grand Duke Henri. He has one sibling, Princess Charlotte of Luxembourg who is now married and living in the UK. He is married to Princess Julie of Nassau (nee Ongaro) and has 3 children all of whom are styled HRH Prince/ss of Nassau. Some of you will recall that that the wife and children of Prince Robert were upgraded to Count/ess of Nassau and later Prince/ss of Nassau at the same time as the family of Prince Jean.

Chateau Haut-Brion

Friday, October 23, 2009

Grand Duke attends Luxembourg Open



Grand Duke Henri attended the second round match between Belgian Yanina Wickmayer against France's Alize Cornet yesterday at the WTA BGL Luxembourg Open tennis tournament, in Kockelscheuer, Luxembourg.



There are more than 100 pages of pictures of the Open on Belga but only 2 pics of Papp that I saw and I admit I didn't look at all 100 pages. 

Translator and stuff

I put a little translator over there ----------->>.

All you have to do is select the language you prefer to read in and presto life is easier. I'm a big fan of "work smarter not harder" so I try to make things as easy as possible for those of you who venture here for your Luxembourg news. I did this because I notice that several readers are having to link here from another site using a translator. This should make things a little easier for you.

Also, I cannot control what videos pop up on the video bar. I can only set key words. So if you're making a video over on youtube for have uploaded something related to the Grand Ducal Family use Prince Felix of Luxembourg instead of just Felix, ect... I changed the words I have been using to receive videos today so that it will filter out some of the unrelated crap and bring in more videos. If you are the owner of a youtube channel that has Luxembourg or royal related videos or if you have a favorite channel send over the name of that channel and I can link it directly so that those videos will rotate in and out of the display.

As usual, if you have questions, comments, concerns, requests, info/pics to add or rants...I'm (usually) listening. If you have something to say and English isn't your preferred language send it over anyway. I'm sure we can babelfish out your meaning or I can have another evil genius give me the Cliffs Notes of it.

Grand Duke to host audience

Papp is hosting an audience with the Prime Minster and Finance Minster of Serbia this afternoon. There is an article here.  At some point in the afternoon we will get the typical single photograph of this on the official website. In expectation of this I'm just going to go ahead and link the area where it will appear.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Photos and Vid from fashion show

Tagblatt has some photos and a video from the Natan fashion show that benefited the Luxembourg Red Cross in the presence of the Grand Duchess.

It is also now mentioned on the official website. 

Wort is also carrying an article with a photo gallery. 

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Grand Duchess to attend charity fashion show



The Grand Duchess is to attend a fashion show that is set to benefit the Luxembourg Red Cross. Maria-Teressa has been the President of the Luxembourg Red Cross for many years.  The website of the Luxembourg Red Cross carries the information as well as a schedule for the event.

From the information on the Red Cross website the Spring 2010 collection of Natan will be presented. Natan is very popular with royal ladies (I dunno why) including The Grand Duchess. The event will take place in Neumünster Abbey and is in partnership with the Abbey and BNP Paribas Luxembourg (which is a bank). The dinner will be held in the cloister of the Abbey. 

I really wish I had known about this event ahead of time. For the bargain price of 160 Euro readers in the area could have attended this event in the presence of The Grand Duchess. I do apologize.

Just a little FYI, Princess Marie-Astrid has been president of the Luxembourg Youth Red Cross for nearly 40 years.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Guillaume opens Autumn Fair


Guillaume and Minister Jeannot Krecké opened the Autumn Fair (Herbstmesse). Wort has a gallery of pics. and an article. And RTL has a video

The official website has a picture.  Typically, Manuel Dias covers this but he doesn't have any pictures up this time.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Some vids from National Day

Many thanks again to Liann for sending over these links. You really are amazing and I think I may love you ;)

This video is of the Te Deum. I warn you in advance that this video is 102 minutes long - yes peoples that is more than an hour. I actually paused the video 44 minutes in to post this blog entry to share it with you all. I am really enjoying it. You really get a feel for what actually goes on during National Day. After watching the video you will see that photographs hardly capture the feeling or the events. The video has commentary during the arrivals of the diplomatic cour and other distinguished guests. When the Grand Ducal Family starts to arrive the feeling changed and they processed into the cathedral and the service (in French mostly) starts. I must say that The Grand Duchess really is much more beautiful in video than she is in pictures. Photographs do not seem to capture her attractiveness nor her sparkle.

I have not finished the video yet but once they arrive there is considerable footage of the family. I am really surprised that Prince Félix seems so uncomfortable and stiff. He always seems so confident and at ease in photographs but now I see that perhaps he isn't really as comfortable with the cameras and attention as it seems. Guillaume, on the other hand, often seems nervous and stiff in photographs and yet he seemed perfectly confident and relaxed during the video footage. Although, none except The Grand Duchess appeared at ease when the camera focused on them for long periods. I pay careful attention to the interactions between the family in the video. I find that their communication with each other is both verbal and physical. They are perfectly comfortable with each other and the affection that exists between them all is obvious, consistent and genuine. I got the distinct impression that everyone definitely knows their place. I am very impressed. This is actually the most video footage I have ever saw of The Family. Normally I only get to see pictures and short clips of them never 20 or more minutes of video like this.

I finished the video now and it was a nice surprise that at the end of it there is footage of The Grand Duchess' recent trip to Africa and there is also an interview with her discussing this. She was very emotional. She has great capacity for empathy. I got the distinct impression that the one interviewer was complaining that her interview was in French not Luxembourgish while the other said she does speak good Luxembourgish. I didn't catch what else was said because I cannot speak enough Luxembourgish to make it all out.

Liann also sent me this link from the military parade which is also part of national day. I haven't gotten to watch it yet but I did peek at it and it also has great footage of the family. The same videos are available in the similar videos section in the right lower section of the page hosting the video for last year. I'll be sure to watch them at some point this weekend.

Thank you again Liann. I agree my mood is already lifted on this cold and dreary autumn day.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Moooooooooooooore state visit stuff - updated

Here's a little gallery on wort that I missed yesterday from the state visit. I love seeing pics of Henri and Guillaume but I have to say I'm almost state visited out for this week. I'm happy to continue posting the links that you send me though.

More pictures.

The official website is again updated with more pictures and the grand dukes speech which is, oddly enough, not in English despite that he spoke it in English.

I'd really love some new Félix info and pics if you want to know what I want for Christmas - I'm just saying.

Henri hottest head of state

I mentioned yesterday that Henri has been ranked among the "Hottest Heads of State." Wort is now actually carrying an article about this. I'm pretty shocked that this even made mainstream news. I mean it's okay for my little blog to make a note of it but on Wort? I guess I'm not the only person with a sense of humor!

It shouldn't surprise anyone that the attractive, eternally young, perfectly groomed and super posh Grand Duke made the list. I know that I'm biased due to my love for The Grand Duchy and especially my affections for the son's of this particular Hot Head of State but I think that Henri should surely be ranked in the top 5 of this list. I concede that the young King of Bhutan should be in the top 5 but otherwise I disagree with a few (but  not all) people ranked above The Grand Duke.

Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla

Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla were in Monaco September 10, 2009 for the second annual award ceremony of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Here's a little info about the awards and the ceremony. There are some pictures of the regal guests on Belga. I searched Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz of Belgium attend the Foundation award ceremony in Monaco for the pictures although I did try to link the gallery I found. I'm not sure if it will work. 

This was the same day as the EORTC charity gala which Guillaume and Sibilla also attended. Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz of Belgium were also in attendance. I didn't see Crown Princess Victoria at the award ceremony though she was at the EORTC gala.

Prince Guillaume was also at the Lycée Athénée à Luxembourg recently and gave a presentation. 

I saw pictures of an event that Prince Jean attended recently but I can't locate them now, and I don't recall what the event was. I was so busy looking for state visit stuff that I was distracted.

Merci

I do have to thank Liann, Irene, and Rox for sending over links for info, articles, pics and videos of the state visit.  Danke meine damen! I find your assistance most helpful.

More state visit coverage

RTL has a nice video with some coverage of Henri and Guillaume. Wort has a new article with a few pics. Don't forget to check the usual archives for updated galleries.

Luxembourg ranked #1 nation trying to end world hunger

Luxembourg has been ranked the top nation in the entire world for trying to end world hunger. Action Aid rates 51 nations for their attempts, dedication and outcomes for ending world hunger. I picked up this little tid bit while reading the BBC News. 

Our tiny little Grand Duchy is doing more to end world hunger than any other developed nation! Just another reason to love Luxembourg! I am so proud to be a wannabe be Lëtzebuerger.

President McAleese speaks about Luxembourg and EU

President McAleese spoke of the friendship between Luxembourg and Ireland and her time in Luxembourg in addition to speaking of stronger EU ties.

I didn't summarize the articles because they are in English and aren't super long so it's just easier to read them yourself.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Final day of Irish state visit - updated

Wort is finally carrying an article with pictures on the state visit. I'm disappointed in the delay. Normally Wort is on top of things.

RTL is also now carrying a photo gallery of yesterday's events. RTL also now has video.

Tom Wagner has new photos.

Tageblatt hs a small gallery.

The official website is updated with more pics.

Belga has more pictures.

Also, go and revisit the archives of the press agencys from first day....belga, royal press, ect...for new photos.

An Article on comments by Irish President

There is an article on the state visit which includes comments by President McAleese on Luxembourg.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

State visit from Ireland - updated

The first photos are out of the welcoming ceremony. New photos since this morning

You actually have to search on the belga archives. Just be creative and enter stuff like Luxembourg Ireland state visit or 1st day of Ireland sate visit to Luxembourg. Or settle in to go through a lot of pics and just enter Luxembourg or the names of Henri and Guillaume or the President of Ireland. 

More photos - updated. The Grand Duchess appeared for the lunch but not any other parts of the visit at this point. More photos. 

Official website is updated.

If you search belga for 1st day of Ireland state visit to Luxembourg you can view photos of the gala which Maria-Teresa did not attend. RTL finally has information which is better than Wort which hasn't updated (but will).

Tom Wagner has some photos on his website. I'm sure he will have additional photos posted. He normally has access to state dinners and posts hundreds of photos.

Royal Press Europe has the largest gallery that I've saw (yet). Sadly, their photos are heavily water marked in large form.


I know everyone wants to see pictures/video right away, but we have to keep in mind that the usual sources for pictures (by this I mean sources that have galleries not just one pic) are not going to be updated with full selections of media until later this evening or tomorrow morning. Patience, patience, patience....I  hate waiting too... I'm be bopping around on the web to find latest info.

If  YOU find news, pictures or videos please don't hesitate to send them over to me at luxarazzi@yahoo.com so that we can stay up-to-date. 

Grand Duke makes list

The Grand Duke has made the hottest heads of state list. I found this really amusing and couldn't resist sharing it. Personally, I disagree with his ranking. I feel he should certainly be ranked higher than 7.

Updated info on state visit from Ireland..

I went back and updated the original post on the state visit from Ireland to include new information because it has been linked elsewhere. When photos/video of the event is released I'll do a new entry or multiple new entries.

More photos of Reception for new Legislature...

Manuel Dias now has a full gallery containing 102 photographs from the reception held by The Grand Duke and The Hereditary Grand Duke for the new legislature.

Henri and Guillaume are in all the photographs except the first one which is just the room they hosted the greeting in. They both look picture perfect and posh, as usual.

Reception for the new Legislature

The Grand Duke together with The Hereditary Grand Duke hosted a reception at the GDP for the new government. There were several new faces although most were previously elected. Wort carries an article about the new legislature.

Don't forget tomorrow starts the 2 day state visit from Ireland!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Family Resemblance...

I was having a conversation with a good friend and fellow Lux lover last night over Skype. We were discussing resemblance among royals. We decided that Guillaume and Félix derive their looks from their father's side of the family. Yes, even that lovely dark hair and brown/hazel eyes. We also discussed that Félix and his grand mother Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte look remarkably alike. Archduke Christoph and his great grand father Blessed Karl I look uncannily similar and even Archduke Imre, in profile, is so similar to his great grand mother Queen Astrid of the Belgians that I can't help but notice.

This conversation began because I found a picture of Grand Duchess Charlotte wearing a stunning necklace by Chaumet. I sent this picture over to my friend and we both agreed that in the last 1-2 years Guillaume and Grand Duchess Charlotte's resemblance has grown.

To illustrate this point about Guillaume and his great grand mother Grand Duchess Charlotte I tossed these little collages together. You can also notice the Chaumet necklace on the Grand Duchess. It is the one she is wearing in the top right corner of top collage and in center of the bottom one. If anyone has any pictures of that magnificent jewel on other royal ladies I'd be most interested in seeing them. I've been trying to determine if it is still worn, left the family, or has been modified into a convertible currently worn by Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa.

But, I digress.....I don't really have a ton of pics of Grand Duchess Charlotte so I had to make do with the few I did have but I think you can still see the resemblance? Just give it a click and it will enlarge.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

65 anniversary of freedom and 3 questions commemorated

The Grand Duke in the presence of the Prime Minister and other ministers of government continued the celebrations of Luxembourg's 65 years of freedom from the Nazi regime. There is photo gallery and an article. There should be additional celebrations today and tomorrow.

Particularly, it is being commemorated that 97% of the population of Luxembourg was courageous enough in 1941 to declare themselves Luxembourgish 3 times in response to the questions of nationality, mother tongue, and ethnicity. The German occupiers assumed that Luxembourgers would respond German after their campaign of "Germanification" and thereby incorporate Luxembourg into the Reich. The Nazi regiem clearly underestimated how faithful Luxembourgers are to their nation. After all, the motto is "Mir wëlle bleiwe, wat mir sinn!" Which means "we want to remain such as we are" or "we want to remain what we are" depending on what translation you are reading. 

I am including this youtube video which offers some history of Luxembourg during the war. It's very informative. I found it moving despite that it is only words and music. Additionally, there is more information here at the Battle of the Bulge Museum website.

Blast from the past


I know I have said many times that I love all things related to Luxembourg and it's Grand Ducal Family. I am aware that many of the people who visit my blog are really only interested in Guillaume and Félix and their day to day activities. However, from time to time I find pictures or an article that are interesting and keeps the blog more entertaining that just posting current events, IMHO.

As usual, I welcome input, information and ideas from readers.

I have been a fan of the website of Brigitte Gastel Lloyd since the 1990s. I'm not really as old as that makes me seem, btw. For a long time it seems that her site was down. Now it appears to be back up. It has numerous old photographs of Luxembourg (and other royals). If you click on the name it will open other galleries. I particularly enjoy looking at the older pictures to see the fantastic jewels which may lay hidden away in vaults in Luxembourg. This is the link for the Luxembourg gallery which in turn opens into additional galleries. Some pictures you will have saw and some will be new to you. This is the link to the main royal/aristo page which has a treasure trove of information and photographs. I hope you find it as enjoyable as I have for the past decade or so.

The photo above didn't come from Brigitte's page. I have this picture in my own collection and decided it would make an appropriate photo for this entry on older photographs. I just love baby Guillaume.

Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla at EORTC gala

Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg were present at the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) charity gala held in Monaco.

Also in attendance: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Prince Albert of Monaco, and other "lesser" royals and notable celebrities.

There are several galleries of photographs of this event. WireImage and GettyImages

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Randomly Luxembourgish...

Once in a while a real little gem drops into my e-mail inbox thanks to having set my news alerts to send me info on pretty much anything a person could imagine would ever have to do with Luxembourg or any member of it's perfectly perfect Grand Ducal Family.

This morning this little gem popped into my inbox. It includes some cute commentary on Luxembourg that I fully appreciated being a lover of all things Luxembourg related. It also includes a nice recipe of the national dish of Luxembourg. Even the recipe is peppered with commentary on Luxembourg. I found it interesting and thought I'd share it.

State visit from Ireland next week.....

President McAleese of Ireland and her husband Dr. Martin McAleese will arrive in Luxembourg next Wednesday, 14 October, 2009 for a 2 day state visit. The Luxembourg government has released a a schedule and details of the events.

The visit comes on the invitation of The Grand Duke and The Grand Duchess. The Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duke will host a state dinner on Wednesday for President McAleese. Irish press reports that The Grand Duchess will be with The Grand Duke, however, the Luxembourg information indicates that it will be the Hereditary Grand Duke who is present with Henri.

The President will have a busy schedule in addition to the state dinner and welcome reception in front of the GDP. They will attend an attend an academic meeting hosted by the Mayor of Luxembourg City. She will visit St. Willibrord's Monastary in Echternach. She will give a speech on "Ireland in the EU" at Neumunster Abbey. Prime Minister Jean Claude Juncker will host President and Dr. McAleese for lunch and she will round out her visit by giving another speech at Enterprise Ireland. Additionally, President and Dr. McAleese will visit the Irish ex-pat community in Luxembourg. Afterwards there will be a reception at the Grand Theater in Luxembourg City. The visit will be closed similar to it's opening in front of the GDP.

I put the official program in a translator for you.

Hello! mentions Princess Tessy plus new pic


Hello Magazine mentions the new photographs that have been issued to mark the 9th anniversary of Henri's reign as Grand Duke.

They focus on the fact that Tessy has been included. They incorrectly suggest that this is  the first photograph she has been in with the Grand Ducal Family. She's been in plenty of photographs before! I'm actually disappointed that there are more photos of Tessy than even The Grand Duke - who the photos were meant to commemorate.

Hello isn't known for it's accuracy on royal matters. Just last year they repeatedly stated that Archduchess Marie-Christine wore a tiara that belonged to her husband's family when the tiara actually belongs to the Grand Ducal Family. This error is obvious to anyone who follows the family.

I want to point out that from the very beginning Tessy has always been welcomed into the family. At least, this is the appearance on the outside and I'm certain that it is genuine. She has always been included in National Day - very prominently. Just last year she wore the emerald tiara of Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte for the annual National Day ball, and she wasn't even a princess yet. She was included in the family holiday photos that were released in 2007 and 2008. Her wedding to Louis was open to the public and was attended by the entire extended family. The christening of the boys was the same. She has hardly been set aside and hidden away. I don't think that she could have been more included even if she had become a princess upon marriage.

They also mention Tessy's father is a tiler. Well, he's a former tiler. Not long after his daughters elevation into the first family in the land he found a new position.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

More pics marking the 9th anniversary


The official website now has a gallery of images featuring several more photographs.

New photos mark the 9th anniversary of The Grand Duke's ascension


Wort carries a small article on the anniversary of the ascension of Grand Duke Henri to the Grand Ducal Throne. They also have a photo gallery which features new family photographs by the photographer Lola Velasco. I don't think they were actually taken this week rather earlier. I expect additional photographs from this series to appear later in the week on the major photo archives. I'll look for them, but if you find them send them on over.

Everyone was looking very good. The Grand Duchess especially looked healthy and young. I'm not sure if the photos are before or after her surgery, but she looked great. Guillaume and Félix looked great, as usual. Henri was the picture of posh. Louis' boys are getting huge!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

More pics from Poland


Liann sent me the pics that I could not locate on polska.lu.....Many thanks once again to Liann! You are my hero!

Henri and Guillaume gave the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to several Luxembourgers living in Poland and also visited a exhibit of photographs by Luxembourgers in Poland. They also attended a concert while there.


Photos: Polska.lu

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Guillaume at European Court of Human Rights

I mentioned here that Guillaume visited the ECHR earlier this week and posted links to photos. It's now up on the official website with more pics.

New articles, info and pics from Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duke visit to Poland.


Remember how I said that Henri and Guillaume were in Poland for the Interfaith Peace Conference that was associated with the anniversary of WWI and the fall of the Berlin Wall???? Then Remember how I found that one little picture.....

Thanks to Liann we now have the pleasure of reading additional articles and looking at more pics! The articles are in Polish. I didn't have to much luck with the Polish to English translators I found, but I know we have visitors who can read Polish and we all enjoy the pics.

The Grand Duke's speech

A private visit to Wadowice which includes pics if you scroll down. Additional article with pics.

There were additional articles but it appears those websites have updated and the links are no longer the same.

Thanks Liann!