Saturday, November 28, 2009

Grand Duchess and Princess Marie-Astrid attend bazaar


Princess Marie-Astrid and her sister-in-law Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa are pictured together at the International Advent Bazaar.

The traditional International Advent Bazaar opened in Kirchberg during the first weekend of Advent. That's this weekend for those who don't celebrate Advent. If you don't know what Advent is and would like to expand your cultural knowledge I direct you here.

By Sunday some 25,000 visitors are expected. The guest of honor on Saturday afternoon was the Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. The Grand Duchess and Princess Marie-Astrid carefully examined the wares being sold at the 60 stalls.

The products are from many different countries and include traditional Christmas food and drink specialties. The Advent bazaar always has a charitable background. This year proceeds will be distributed to 108 projects in 60 countries, the majority of them located in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The main project of 2009 (which receives significant support) is located in the province of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand. The DEPDC (Development of Education Program for Daughters and Communities) is an NGO that provides around the clock assistance and accommodation for girls and boys who are exposed to various negative situations, for example, prostitution or forced labor. Under the direction of Kuhn Sompop Jantraka, winner of the Wallenberg Award in 2008, it also guarantees the enrollment of refugee children from Laos and Myanmar.

Of the 15 projects located in Luxembourg, eleven projects are sponsored by organizations in developing countries, Luxembourg and four charitable projects are located in Luxembourg itself: Asti (support of children of asylum seekers); Fraenhaus, Femmes en détresse (support for female victims of domestic abuse), Association des parents d'élèves d'origine capverdienne, APADOC (support for the Cape Verdean children in the Luxembourg school system), Il était une fois (cross-cultural readings and playful activities for young children).

It is not mentioned in the article but I clearly recognize Princess Marie-Astrid was in attendance with the Grand Duchess. There is a gallery of pictures in the article. It is nice to see my two favorite women attending an event together.

RTL also has a small article but a nice photo gallery of the event. They didn't mention Princess Marie-Astrid by name either. I'm a little disappointed that they clearly recognize that she is "someone" but don't mention her.

Perhaps, Wort and RTL should hire me to write their articles about the Grand Ducal Family since I  can at least recognize all of the members of the family...I'm just saying...

English article. 

Anyone else want a Kinder Surprise Egg after reading about Advent? Maybe that's just me.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Additional info and pics of the US visit

The official website has also updated their pictures of Guillaume's visit to the United States since my post about it.

Additionally, the state website has more detailed information about the working visit. The page in English courtesy of the ghetto translator.

Hereditary Grand Duke recieves students

Guillaume received a group of Japanese junior high school students and the Japanese ambassador at the Grand Ducal Palace. The visit is in connection with the cooperation between the Kijimadaira et le Lycée de Diekirch in Luxembourg and the Kijimandaira school in Nagano, Japan. The director of the school in Luxembourg, Mr. Kazuo Higuchi, was also present. 



Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Union calls on Grand Duke to find new court supplier

Villeroy and Boch have announced that they are closing their Luxembourg facility. The closure of the facility in Rollingergrund will cause the loss of 230 jobs in Luxembourg. This has not been popular and there have been protests.

The LCGB (Christian Federation of Trade Unions) has sent a letter to the Grand Duke to implore him to terminate V&B as a supplier to the Grand Ducal Court. They say this is appropriate because V&B has shown a disregard for their Luxembourg employees and paid little attention to the social attitudes of the day.

LCGB say that this would be a move of solidarity between the Grand Duke and the 230 employees who will lose their jobs.

Article in English. 

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

New photos of Guillaume at Kraizbierg

The Kraizbierg has updated their website with additional photos of Guillaume at their annual Adventsmoart.

Just go here and click on the part showing Guillaume right on the front page or go to the archives et photos section on the left and select Adventsmoart 2009.

It's a lovely slide show of pictures of Guillaume there. I really appreciate the work he does with the Kraizbierg and enjoy every opportunity that allows me to mention it.

Thanks Joanna for giving me the heads up on the updated gallery!

Guillaume in the US

Guillaume has accompanied Mr Jeannot Krecke, Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, for a working visit to the United States of America 16 to 19 November 2009. The Luxembourg delegation met with leaders of DuPont de Nemours in Wilmington (Delaware), Guardian Industries in Auburn Hills and Delphi Automotive in Troy (Michigan), and Goodyear Tire & Rubber in Akron (Ohio), thereby strengthening the linkages with the branches of parent companies of these American companies based in Luxembourg.

Transatlantic flight + Ohio + Delaware + Michigan in 3 days + return transatlantic flight = an exhausted Hereditary Grand Duke. I hope he stopped in to visit Louis and family in Florida before he returned home.

Sadly, this information was not known until after the visit was completed - as usual.

Interview with The Grand Duchess

This is an old interview with The Grand Duchess concerning her visit to Kenya and Burundi. It is interesting to hear her speak of the problems facing these two nations and the effort that She and Luxembourg have put into helping where possible. The Grand Duchess shows a great capacity for empathy and is truly interested in her mission.

This is the original interview. Here is the ghetto English version.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

More 20th anniversary in Stockholm


Yesterday The Grand Duchess attended the "high level conference" in Sweden that was part of the second day of the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child. I didn't find much information about the actual program of the conference, so I am left to focus on fashion :(

PPE Agency  has a gallery of pictures of both days of the event. Just click on the link and then select "event" in the blue box on the left.  The pics are right on the front page listed as 20-11-2009 Frosundavik and 19-11-2009 Stockholm.

The Grand Duchess looked very well. I'm very glad to see her out and about again. I love that we have saw more of Guillaume since her surgery but I miss seeing my Grand Duchess :( She looked perfectly coiffed, elegant, stylish and as always glowing with friendly genuineness. She was also looking a wee bit tried. I know it was a busy few days and I hope she takes it easy when she gets home.

Guillaume dear, just because we miss our Grand Duchess doesn't mean we want you to return to wherever it is that you hide yourself!!

I did see some people discussing that Crown Princess Mary was looking the most stylish. I respectfully disagree! The simple elegance and class of Crown Princess Victoria was unmatched among the Crown Princesses. She wasn't the only one who looked nice but she always has a lovely glow and perfect class.

Unrelated Note: I changed the translator to Google's ghetto translator because it offers a much larger variety of languages than yahoo's even more ghetto translator. It's in the top left area of the page between the contact info and Luxembourg clock.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Grand Duke present for 100th anniversary of The Confédération Luxembourgeoise du Commerce

Today The Grand Duke was present at the Grand Theater  for the 100th anniversary of The Confédération Luxembourgeoise du Commerce (CLC). The CLC represents 22% of the GDP with 11, 000 companies and more than 60, 000 employees. 

Google's ghetto English version of the article.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Pictures from UN concert

There are now photographs available of the concert to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the UN convention for the rights of the child that I mentioned earlier this week. Online press agencies are still updating their galleries with these images. Getty, Belga and AFP have pictures but every time I look they have more. I just searched for UN in pictures uploaded today.

The Grand Duchess and The Queen of the Belgians were wearing the same jacket and top. The dangers of wearing so much Natan.

There are some images posted on the Scandinavian Royals MB, the Glittering MB and Luxarazzi forum .

Guillaume at Kräizbierg workshops in Dundelange

 On 13 November The Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume visited the Kräizbierg workshops located in Dundelange. He was shown the creation of seasonal items which are sold to benefit the disabled workers. It is also now mentioned on the official website.

Other persons of note visited throughout the day, as is tradition, including the Minister of Labor.

There are normally a lot of photographs any time Guillaume visits the Kraizbierg but I only saw this one. He is wearing the same suit he wore in June with a different tie.

Thanks to Irene for providing the information!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The Grand Duke attends acedemic session

HRH Grand Duke attended the academic session at the Mierscher Cultural Center as part of the 50th anniversary of the association of development assistance"Lëtzebuerger Jongbaueren a Jongwënzer". Young Luxembourg farmers help Africans improve their living conditions by improving the means and techniques of production and by optimizing their crops.

The information I read makes me think it's like 4H and that that goal is to help farmers in developing nations learn improved techniques of farming.

Wenceslas turns 19

Today (17 November) is the 19th birthday of Prince Wenceslas of Nassau. He is the third child of Prince Jean of Luxembourg and his first wife Hélène Vestur. I have no recent photographs of him that I can publish on this occasion. This is unfortunate because he's a very attractive young man. Joyeux anniversaire Prince Wenceslas!

I've updated my little countdown. Archduke Imre is the next birthday within the grand ducal family. He is the second child of Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria. I'm particularly fond of their family.

The Grand Duchess to attend 20th Anniversary

The Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa will be present at the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. The event will be held in Stockholm, Sweden on 19-20 November.

On 19 November there will be a concert at Berwald Concert Hall organized by the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. On 20 November a "high-level conference on the rights of the child is being organised within the framework of the Swedish Presidency of the European Union." The conference is being held at the Radisson Blu Royal Park Hotel in Frösundavik, Stockholm. 


There will be several prearranged photo opportunities so expect photographs. The concert is expected to be a glittering event. 


Also in attendance at the concert will be:


HRH The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg - obviously
HM The King of Sweden
HM The Queen of Sweden
HRH The Crown Princess of Sweden
HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden 
HM The Queen of The Netherlands
HM The Queen of Spain
HM The Queen of the Belgians
HRH The Crown Princess of Denmark
HRH The Crown Princess of Norway
HRH The Crown Princess of Romania
HRH The Crown Princess of Yugoslavia


This is also mentioned on the Swedish Royal House's official website. Unfortunately, the Grand Ducal Court rarely releases details of an event before it happens. The attendance of The Grand Duchess is mentioned in the press release and on the official website of the Swedish RH. This event is also discussed on the Glittering Royal events MB, the Scandinavian Royals MB and of course I mentioned it on the LuxArazzi forum all of which are in my links section. ---->

Monday, November 16, 2009

Prince Guillaume at Red Cross Bazaar



Prince Guillaume attended the 63rd annual Red Cross Bazaar held at Victor Hugo Hall. Sinterklaas was also on hand as you can see from the picture. The proceeds from the bazaar go to the Luxembourg Youth Red Cross. The funds will be used for summer camps and helping youths obtain housing, giving them a head start on their lives. 


RTL has a gallery of pictures of the bazaar. 

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla

Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla attended the remembrance ceremony for the 200 people how have died in auto accidents in Luxembourg over the past 15 years. There have been 42 traffic fatalities in Luxembourg this year. Despite these high numbers Luxembourg's roads are consistently rated among the safest in Europe.

As I read the Luxembourg news everyday I am astounded by the number of traffic accidents that the Grand Duchy has.

The article also mentions that a forest has been planted to honor those who have died.

Google's ghetto translated version of the article in English.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Revue Article

The article of Revue is now available online for your reading pleasure. It is in German if you prefer English I offer google's ghetto translated version to you.

I already pointed out the errors of their offerings. In case you missed those I shall point out a few more.

Princess Beatrice, they say, is a good choice because their mother's are both commoners who struggle with their weight. What Revue fails to point out is that The Grand Duchess is an educated women of class. I would not put Sarah, Duchess of York and The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg in the same category - sorry British readers. Sarah literally tossed the typewriter out the window at secretarial school and Maria-Teresa completed her education at The University of Geneva. Oh yes, "The Queen" will attend the wedding...sure that's a great qualification for Guillaume's future wife. I'm sure it'll be a successful union based on that fact alone. :(  Poor Guillaume, can't we all hope he finds happiness not merely glittering guests for his wedding.

Paris Hilton is a good business woman? She doesn't actually run these businesses, you know. She is the image and press for these businesses which are associated with her name and face. Sure she may own part of them but she's not actually running them. Does it make you a good business woman to be willing to do anything (no matter how shameless) to make money? She's actually been in a club at the same time as Felix and no one was impressed by her - no names mentioned here either Revue. They missed the episode of E! where it was discussed that Paris allegedly requires a daily dose of Valtrex. Let's not wish that on Guillaume not for all the hair extensions and spray tans in the world. Guillaume if you ever read this and later run into Paris take my advice - run in the other direction as fast as you can. Paris Hilton is no Grace Kelly.

I didn't see any real reasons for Princess Elisabeth other than her mother has returned to the catholic faith and that she has partied in Luxembourg (really who hasn't). If those are the only two requirements for future Grand Duchess I'm happy to send my resume on over to the GDP. I actually like Princess Elisabeth, btw. She's got a little sparkle (and I don't mean "bling") to her and I dig it. They didn't mention any of the really good qualities like she's educated, has a real job, has access to more jewels than Paris Hilton could dream of and she's independent and multilingual.

Princess Madeline is engaged to be married. She's sporting a ice skating rink on her finger. Revue refers to Jonas as a "cheap copy of Orlando Bloom." I agree he certainly doesn't compare to the fantastically man-tastic Guillaume but that's a little much. She would have been a good match but the ship has sailed, as the saying goes.

I really appreciate that Revue mentions that in addition to being future Grand Duchess you get a nice polite well bread man. Isn't Guillaume the real prize here not the title? I'm glad they mentioned  that he is a pretty good catch even without the whole Grand Duchess thing.

I apologize if I was a little too blunt for some readers. I simply expected something more serious from Revue.

Grand Duke Jean

Here is an interesting page on Grand Duke Jean which includes some nice speaking clips.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Guillaume searching for women?

What do you think of the new Revue cover? Revue isn't a tabloid despite what you may think given the current cover and topic.

My thoughts:

Paris Hilton - As if! Only in her dreams Guillaume would never be interested. Maria-Teresa raised her son's better than to bring home women who star in cheesy reality shows and sex tapes. Please, be serious Revue!
Princess Madeline - she's engaged to Jonas.
Princess Beatrice - not his type and she's still dating Dave.
Charlotte - me thinks not and she also has a boyfriend.
Princess Elisabeth - hmmm...admirable pedigree, educated, pretty, she says she's single (I read her blog)...Alas, I don't really think they would mesh well, IMHO.

Guillaume turns 28


Today is the 28th birthday of The Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg.

There is no word on how he will celebrate. I'm sure there will be a celebration but there is no need for us mere mortals to be informed about the particulars of the event. We may get a nice photo gallery or two from some press in Luxembourg. I'll keep a look out for those.

Together with my fellow Luxembourg Royal watchers, I hope that Guillaume has an excellent birthday filled with laughter, thoughtful gifts and delicious food in the company of good friends and family. Alles Guddes fir dain Gebuertsdaag!

I've updated my little birthday countdown clock ----> to reflect the next birthday within the Grand Ducal Family.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Through the eyes of a local...

Here is an interesting entry that someone wrote about Luxembourg. It features some interesting info and some pictures of the always lovely and photographic Grand Duchy.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Sebastien and Rugby

Prince Sebastien plays rugby on Luxembourgs U19 National Rugby Team. Apparently, he plays very well. He has a normal relationship with his teammates and they occasionally enjoy teasing him about his royal status. He pointedly said to the press who were part of the coverage of the team that he did not want to be treated any different than his teammates.

This was mentioned in Wort a while back when his team played Croatia. The team hosted some press recently so Seb's participation on the rugby team made the covers of several magazines Promi, Revue, et al. Promi has changed their cover already and the article was not available online. You may read the Revue article online.



Prince Robert in Chopard

There is a feature on Prince Robert in Chopard men's magazine. It can be read online. The article begins on page 20.

Felix in the tabs


Everyone knows I read the Luxembourg "trash mags." Felix and/or Guillaume are featured in every single issue (yes peoples I said every issue) of the tabs in Luxembourg.

Felix der playboy made the recent cover of Privat (there is some female nudity on the cover - just so you're informed before you click). Privat is published by the same company as Promi, but Privat is a little more trashy than Promi. If you are wondering if it's possible to be more "trashy" than Promi then Privat is the definitive yes answer to that question. I don't feel guilty about reading the tabloids and neither should you. If you think I should feel guilty about reading them or posting the "gossip" then you're probably on the wrong blog.

If you are wondering what the cover says it's "Prince Felix: Affair with big consequences" and once you click on that part of the cover and opens to another attention grabbing header that reads "Persistent Rumor in Luxembourg clubs Magnum and V.I.P". I haven't received my copy of this issue yet. Don't worry as soon as I get it I'll be sure to let you know what this rumor about our super sweet and innocent Felix is ;)

You may notice that the picture on the second header of this article is a picture of Felix from the wedding of Princess Xenia Galitzine to Alberto Matta Maya. This is the cropped version of the picture take from the website of Netty. I wonder if Princess Xenia knows her wedding pictures are being used for such scandalous tabloid articles?

A little off topic

I really thought that this was an interesting article. I know, I know it's not Luxembourg related. It is royal related, and I assume that most of the readers here have other royal interests. I rarely venture out of Luxembourg territory (on the blog) and when I do you may have noticed that it is generally Habsbourg related.

It's sad to see that Marie-Antoinette was so misaligned just for trying to more down to earth  - something our GDF is praised for. It's hard to imagine that dress being considered immodest and common.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Princess Marie-Astrid to make final voyage

On November 14 The Princess Marie-Astrid will make her final voyage. This is the fifth Princess Marie-Astrid. I  have saw pictures of Princess Marie-Astrid at the launch of this particular ship in 2000. She had her son Archduke Christoph with her. When he wasn't looking bored he was looking pretty cute. I can't seem to locate the pictures now, hmmm, which is odd because I typically bookmark or save pictures of the family. I'll keep looking for them. If you find them just drop them or a link off in my email and I'll post it.

Why am I mentioning the final voyage of this ship you ask? Well, on 3 April 2010 the newest MS Princess Marie-Astrid will enter the water and their will be a celebration and the vessel will be christened on 10 April 2010. Can you guess who will be present at these events? Princess Marie-Astrid, of course. I suspect there might also be additional family members but Princess Marie-Astrid will surely be present to launch the latest vessel to bear her name.

That's pretty advance notice on a future event. I'm sure you've noticed by now that I really like Princess Marie-Astrid and her family.

Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duke commemorate All Souls' Day

Henri and Guillaume were at the crypts of princes and bishops in the cathedral yesterday to mark All Souls' Day. It is traditional that members of the Grand Ducal Family attend this event. They will have visited the royal crypts (princes) and of those of the clergy also entombed there. There is also a Mass of Remembrance and Benediction on this solemn occasion. This will surely be covered on the official website (maybe not today but within a day or two).

If you are unaware of what All Souls' Day is I direct you here and here.

If you're going to post this info over at TRF maybe you could mention where you found it. I'm just saying...

Monday, November 2, 2009

Grand Duke helps celebrate the birthday of the CFL

There is now a picture and note on the official website about The Grand Duke's participation at the academic conference that was held at the Grand Theater to honor the 150th anniversary of rail travel in Luxembourg. I mentioned this event earlier but now there is another picture. 

The Grand Duke holds audience with Dr. Bertrand Piccard

The Grand Duke received in audience at the GDP Dr. Bertrand Piccard. Dr. Piccard is a psychiatrist, aeronaut, lecturer,  and president of the charitable foundation "Winds of Hope."  He is also a roving ambassador for the United Nations. He was in Luxembourg for a conference on  Innovation for sustainable performance. 

It's just my opinion but he sounds like a pretty impressive guy. You know, the kind of guy who has lunches with a Grand Duke. ;) He has his own website which details his apparent awesomeness a little more. 

Here is the website of Winds of Hope. Again, I'm impressed by their mission and success. It's an admirable cause. I warn you in advance if you chose to visit website that the images are graphic and involve children. If you're super sensitive you'll want to skip this part. I just wanted to provide a little info about what this man does.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Grand Duchess sings...

Irene found this video and sent it over to me. Thanks-a-million Irene.

If you watch starting around 8:59 to around 10:17 you will see Maria-Teresa playing guitar and singing. After she sings the commentators evaluate her singing for a few seconds and then they show Papp (aka Henri) and Maria-Teresa playing the piano together.

Cute stuff I thought I'd share it with you all.