Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Hi, I Speak German Too: An Informal Gathering

Photo: The Belgian Monarchy
If you are the head of state of a German-speaking country, chances are extremely high you find yourself in the Belgian city of Eupen right now. Tomorrow sees the annual gathering of the heads of states of the German-speaking countries, meaning all countries where German is (one of) the official language(s) - and not that you can speak it - apologies Willem-Alexander - or that you have a German-speaking minority in your country - sorry, Margrethe, you are out, too. The six countries that remain are Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium as well as Luxembourg and Liechtenstein (with Austria not attending as they don't currently have a president).

And so Grand Duke Henri as well as Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie were all already on hand tonight for a reception and dinner before the official programme kicks off tomorrow. No word why the Grand Duchess wasn't present for the event, she hasn't attended in previous years either. (See here for 2013, here for 2014, and here for 2015.)

No comments:

Post a Comment