Thursday was the 25th anniversary of the death of Grand Duchess Charlotte. An exhibit was opened to commemorate her life. The Grand Duke Henri came to view the exhibit. The exhibit will remain open until l August. Admission is free!
I love the picture he is looking at. The photo is from the christening of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume. I like photographs that show multiple generations and the picture shows 4 generations of Luxembourg sovereigns; Grand Duchess Charlotte, Grand Duke Jean, Grand Duke Henri and the itty-bitty future Grand Duke Guillaume.
Charlotte was an exceptionally popular monarch. She came to power only 64 days after the Armistice that ended World War I.
She survived World War I, World War II, exile (during WWII), and a referendum on the monarchy. In 1919 Luxembourgers were faced with a choice to end the monarchy, have a new dynasty, have a new monarch or continue with Charlotte as Grand Duchess. The referendum took place 9 months after Charlotte became Grand Duchess following the abdication of her highly unpopular sister Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde. An impressive majority of people (80.34%) voted in favor of retaining a monarchy in Luxembourg. The overwhelming majority of votes (77.22%) were specifically for Charlotte.Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn, indeed!
Charlotte reigned as Grand Duchess for 45 years. She abdicated in 1964. She died of cancer 9 July 1985.
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