Monday, April 22, 2013

Wedding Dates Announced! ***

Prince Felix and his fiancée Claire Lademacher will marry civilly on 17 September in Königstein im Taunus, a city in Germany close to Frankfurt and Claire's hometown. A few days later on 21 September they will tie the knot religiously at the Sainte Marie-Madeleine de Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume basilica in the South of France.

Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume is a commune located in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region about 40 kilometres east of Aix-en-Provence. It's about an hour car ride from the Grand Ducal Family's holiday home near Bormes-les-Mimosas. Claire's father Hartmut Lademacher also owns property in the Provence region. The Château Les Crostes that he owns is located between 50 and 60 kilometres west of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume.

Apart from being the place where Claire spent large parts of her childhood, Königstein im Taunus is also connected to the Grand Ducal Family as it was an important town in the old Duchy of Nassau and the place of death of Grand Duchess Adelheid Marie, second wife of Grand Duke Adolph and great-great-grandmother of Prince Felix.

I know that some people might question why they are getting married in Germany and France and not in Luxembourg. Already during the engagement announcement it was said that the wedding would not take place in Luxembourg as it was a tradition to marry at the bride's home. The wedding of the Hereditary Grand Duke was an exception to this rule as he is the heir to the throne.

Neither of the groom's uncles had their wedding in the Grand Duchy; Prince Guillaume married in France as did his brother Prince Jean for his first wedding. His second wedding took place in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the daughters of Grand Duke Jean all tied the knot in Luxembourg as did Prince Louis who married a Luxembourgish girl. A similar pattern can be found in Liechtenstein where the male princes of the House often marry religiously abroad though they often have their civil wedding in the country's capital Vaduz.

It might also have to do with the fact that Prince Felix, as well as his brothers, are expected to make their own living in the future. Much like his uncles before him, he will work a regular job. The working Grand Ducal Family consists of the head of state and his spouse as well as the heir and his spouse.


Source: Cour grand-ducal, Nous

1 comment:

  1. I have been waiting for this announcement since the engagement!!!!! THANK YOU for sharing the news and the comments to understand why they do not marry in Luxembourg. They are a very handsome couple, it will be a beautiful weeding.

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