Sunday, July 31, 2016

Liechtenstein Tiara Championship: Group B, Round 1

We are back with the LTC (or Liechtenstein Tiara Championship if you haven't been around the last week or so). It's now time for the first round of votes in Group B but first, let's have a look back what happend in round one of Group A. While the Habsburg Fringe Tiara and the Douglas Floral Tiara took home relatively save wins, it was a close one between the Diamond Honeysuckle Tiara and Princess Marie's Wedding Gift Tiara. In the end, the win went to the Diamond Honeysuckle Tiara with only six more votes.
Now onto Group B including (top row, from left to right) the Kinsky Palmette Tiara, the Bavarian Pearl and Diamond Floral Tiara, the Bulgarian Fringe Tiara, (second row, from left) the Ruby and Diamond Tiara, Princess Margaretha's Sapphire Necklace Tiara and Queen Olga of Greece's Boucheron Diamond Tiara. Have fun voting three times below!

Bavarian Pearl and Floral Tiara vs. Kinsky Palmette Tiara


Bulgarian Fringe Tiara vs. Queen Olga of Greece's Boucheron Diamond Tiara


Ruby and Diamond Tiara vs. Princess Margaretha's Sapphire Necklace Tiara


Voting closes on Wednesday.


Félix and Claire Donate to Le Sourire de Lucie

Prince Félix and Princess Claire have made a donation to the organization Le Sourire de Lucie. They are long-time supporters of the organization, which supports families with children facing Sjögren-Larsson Syndrome. Most recently, they attended a reception to raise money for new facility in Toulon.

Alois and Sophie Open Exhibition

Photo: www.neumayr.cc
On Friday night, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie opened the art exhibit "Menschenbilder – Götterwelten" (or "The Worlds of Gods and Men") at the Domquartier in Salzburg. The exhibition features art from the Princely Collection of the House of Liechtenstein and runs from July 30 until October 16. Way more information about the exhibition on the website of Salzburg's government, who also have pictures.

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Alois and Sophie Attend the Salzburg Festival

Photo: Neumayr / Meinbezirk.at
On Wednesday, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie arrived in Salzburg in advance of the Salzburg Festival, which officially begins today, the 28th. Alois and Sophie attended a reception for the Internationale Salzburg Association (ISA), which promotes support for cultural projects within the region. The reception was held at Schloss Leopoldskron.

On the 29th, the Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess will be at the Residenz zu Salzburg to attend the opening of the art exhibit "Menschenbilder – Götterwelten" (or "The Worlds of Gods and Men"), which includes pieces from Liechtenstein's Princely Collection. The exhibit runs from July 30th until October 16th.

A little more from Salzburg.at. No photos at the present, but they'll be added if any show up.

Lots of photos: here, here, and here.

Henri and Sébastien to Attend Olympic Events in Rio de Janeiro

Grand Duke Henri and his son Prince Sébastien will be in Rio de Janeiro to support Luxembourg athletes in the 31st Summer Olympics. The Grand Duke will arrive in Rio on August 1st, to be present for the 129th IOC Session, and then he will attend a ceremony to welcome Luxembourg participants at the Olympic Village. Grand Duke Henri will also attend the Opening Ceremony on August 5th and watch a number of competitions during the Games. Prince Sébastien will join him on August 9th.

No State Visit to Cuba in 2017

Reports have surfaced of a possible state visit to Cuba next spring by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. As Luxarazzi readers likely remember, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa was born in Havana, Cuba, although she left the country with her family when she was three and a half years old. While Tageblatt reported that a state visit was planned for spring of 2017, the cour denied the report to Wort saying that no visit is planned and that if the Grand Ducal couple visits, it would more likely be an official visit. They also added that it is the government who decides about and plans the official visits.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Liechtenstein Tiara Championship: Group A, Round 1

Time for our first vote in the Liechtenstein Tiara Championship; to learn about all the details and read what Ella of the Court Jeweller had to say about all the tiaras in the LTC, please have a look at our previous post.  Facing off against each other in Group A in five rounds are six tiaras from the vaults of the (extended) Princely Family of Liechtenstein, namely (first row from the left) the Habsburg Fringe Tiara, Princess Franziska's Diamond Tiara, the Diamond Honeysuckle Tiara, (second row from the left) the Douglas Floral Tiara, Princess Elsa's Diamond Tiara and Princess Marie's Wedding Gift Tiara. Please cast three votes below, each time for your favourite of the two tiaras.

Princess Franziska's Diamond Tiara vs. Habsburg Fringe Tiara


Diamond Honeysucke Tiara vs. Princess Marie's Wedding Gift Tiara


Douglas Floral Tiara vs. Princess Elsa's Diamond Tiara



Voting closes on Sunday.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Google Accidentally Declares Death of Princess Alexandra

Photo: Screenshot / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu
Admittedly, the life of a royal blogger isn't lacking in WTF moments but today certainly does not have much competition for the number one spot on the list. What happened? Google basically declared a member of the Grand Ducal Family dead. When searching for Princess Alexandra, the search engine gives a few basic information about the only daughter of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. One of those informations for the past few days was: "Died: July 22, 2016". WTF?! The mistake has since been corrected (though others remain in the short Google bio of Princess Alexandra).

The Liechtenstein Tiara Championship

Alright people, let's get this sparkly party started... Last year, we had the Luxarazzi Tiara Race to keep us busy over the summer; this year, we will delve a bit deeper into the Liechtenstein vaults to find out which one your favourite tiara of the Princely Family is. We all know that the Liechtenstein vaults seemingly aren't as deep as the ones of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg - that, or they simply love the Habsburg Fringe Tiara - and so, we have come up with a bit of a different modus, inspired by the recent Euro. (Yes, you could take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl...)

Our Liechtenstein Tiara Championship has twelve entries, which we have drawn into to groups of six each. All the tiaras in group A will face off against each other, as will the tiaras in group B. The two tiaras with the most wins of each group will advance to the next round, the semifinal. In the semis, the winner of group A will face the runner-up of group B and vice versa. If two tiaras have the same amount of wins, we'll see how they fared head-to-head. Not all tiaras involved are strictly owned by the Princely Family but has been worn by one of their princesses. We did exclude the Luxembourg tiaras Princess Margaretha has worn as we've already covered those last year.

So let's see, who is in it, to win it:
Group A
Princess Elsa's Diamond Tiara
Princess Marie's Wedding Gift Tiara

Group B
Princess Margaretha's Sapphire Necklace Tiara 
Queen Olga of Greece's Boucheron Diamond Tiara

As many of the Liechtenstein tiaras featured in our Liechtenstein Tiara Championship, which henceforth shall also be known as LTC, we asked the wonderful and knowledgeable Ella Kay of The Court Jeweller to give us her opinions on the sparklers featured in this race. Here's what she had to say:  

GROUP A

Favorite: I have to go with the Habsburg Fringe, which happens to be one of my favorite tiaras full-stop. It's so perfectly proportioned and classic, and I love that it has such a detailed historical legacy.
Least Liked: I've always felt like I should like Princess Franziska's Tiara, but something about it leaves me cold. (I can't believe I just said that about a big wall of diamonds.)
Dark Horse: Hereditary Princess Sophie wore the Douglas Tiara so beautifully at her wedding that I think it might sneak out a win in this group. Everybody loves a diamond floral tiara, right?
Which Will Advance?: Still going with the Habsburg Fringe.

GROUP B

Favorite: The Kinsky Tiara is beautifully balanced, and I think the combination of the rounded elements and the upright pieces works so well. It was gorgeous on Princess Angela at her wedding!
Least Liked: Princess Margaretha's Sapphire Necklace Tiara doesn't do it for me. Too spindly!
Dark Horse: The Boucheron-made tiara from the Greek royal family is not one of my personal favorites -- it's a little too tall for my liking -- but it is a design triumph in many ways, and I think many will be rightfully impressed by it.
Which Will Advance?: Either the Kinsky Tiara or the lovely pearl and diamond floral tiara worn by Sophie.

Overall: which will win?
Ooh, this is tough. So many good choices! I'm going with the Habsburg Fringe -- it has classic style and an imperial legacy, and it's still in the royal spotlight at major events today.

Which one do you think will get the crown? Leave us a comment below and make sure to return tomorrow to cast your first vote!

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Guillaume and Stéphanie Visit Poland With Youth Group

Photo: Kathoulesch Kierch zu Lëtzebuerg
Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie are in Poland this weekend. They were joined by Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich as well as a group of about 270 young people from Luxembourg, Mexico and Thailand who are on a pilgrimage together as part of the 2016 World Youth Day, which will be held in Krakow next week. 

Together they visited the town of Lubiaz today to remember Luxembourgish citizens deported to Lubiaz by the Germans during World War II. Between September 1942 and January 1943, they worked as forced labourers at Lubiaz Abbey, at the time used as secret research laboratories and manufacturing facilities, before being brought to the concentration campns in Bobernstein and Hirschberg. Many of them did not survive and never returned to Luxembourg.

With their visit to Lubiaz, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie follow in the footsteps of Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte who did so in 1993. The Hereditary Grand Duke also is no stranger to World Youth Days. Together with his siblings and cousins he has been around the world for many of them in previous years.

Friday, July 22, 2016

Sophie Talks Stuart Heritage and a New Furry Child

Photo: Roland Korner
Hereditary Princess Sophie has given an interview to the third edition of the "oho"-magazine published in Liechtenstein once a year. In the lengthy interview, the Hereditary Princess spoke about her Stuart heritage which regularly links her to the British throne joking, "This story was never something we discussed at home, and until I travelled to London with my school class, I had not even heard about it. An acquaintance of my English teacher once said to me: “But you’re a Stuart.” And I just thought: what is he talking about? When I got back home, I asked my parents. They found the whole thing hilarious, and then explained the background to me. I can therefore assure you, I shall not be asserting a claim to the British throne."

In the lengthy interview, Hereditary Princess Sophie also reveals that her children do not want her to speak Liechtenstein dialect as "it sounds terrible" and that she has a new furry companion, a dachshund called Tipsy. In addition, she speaks about raising children in general and raising an heir to the throne in particular saying "I hope that my children will say that their mother was always there for them, and had an open ear for their worries and concerns". The English translation of the interview is available here.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Guillaume and Stéphanie Attend EMDR Conference

On July 5th, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie were at the University of Luxembourg to attend the conference Des blessures de la vie quotidienne au trauma. Les solutions de la psychothérapie EMDR ("Injuries from everyday trauma. EMDR psychotherapy solutions"). The conference was jointly presented by Isabel Fernandez, the President of EMDR Europe and Jaques Roques, the co-founder of EMDR France, in participation with EMDR Luxembourg.

EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is an eight-phase form of psychotherapy that is used to treat PTSD, as well as trauma in children.

No photos at present, but they'll be added if they're made available.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Lannoy Family News

To keep us busy in the low season - yes, we do have a summer series for you, please be a little more patient - some Lannoy family news to keep us entertained. Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie recently became an aunt again. Count Léopold de Lannoy was born on July 6. He is the third son and third child of Count Olivier de Lannoy and his wife née Alice van Havre. In addition, the Hereditary Grand Duchess will also become a sister-in-law again son. Another one of her brothers, Count Amaury de Lannoy, recently got engaged to Astrid d'Harcourt. Congratulations!

Princess Tessy Supports UNAIDS in South Africa

Princess Tessy has been in Durban, South Africa to support UNAIDS and the 21st International AIDS Conference. Yesterday (the 19th), she was among those who congratulated winners of the 2016 Red Ribbon Award, which recognizes organizations that are active in the fight against AIDS. Additionally, she spoke at the event and visited the Blue Box Clinic, to see how clinic workers reach out to high-risk members of the population and provide HIV testing and counseling.

See here for a little more about Tessy and her statement about her commitment to women's rights and women's sexual health.

Monday, July 18, 2016

Guided Tours at the Palais Grand-Ducal

From July 17th to September 4th, the Palais grand-ducal will be open to the public for guided tours. Each tour lasts 45 minutes and is available in several languages, including French, German, Dutch, English, and Luxembourgish. (Tours in each language are scheduled throughout the day.) Additionally, the Palais grand-ducal offers accessibility, via elevator, for those with reduced mobility. The palace is open for tours every day of the week except Wednesday, between 10 AM and 5 PM.

The special exhibit "La Dynastie Luxembourg-Nassau," by Marc Schoentgen, can be seen during the tour.

Tickets are available at the Luxembourg City Tourist Office (LCTO). See here for more information about the tours, including cost. For the Luxarazzi 101 link about the Grand Ducal Palace, see here.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Marie-Astrid and Carl-Christian in Israel

Photo: Office of the President of the State of Israel
Archduke Carl-Christian was in Israel this week as part of a group of descendants of Eugène, 11th Prince of Ligne and his wife Philippine, who saved hundreds of Jewish children at the Château de Belœil in Belgium during the Holocaust. They were received by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and met with descendants of the rescued children and their families. Prince Eugène and Princess Philippine were named Righteous Among the Nations in 1975.

They are the grandparents of the husband of Archduchess Marie-Astrid, elder sister of Grand Duke Henri, who was also there according to advance reports. Naturally, a number of children and grandchildren of Princess Alix of Luxembourg, who was married to the youngest son of Prince Eugène and Princess Philippine, were also present.

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Hereditary Grand Duke Meets U.S. Secretary of State

Photo: Pierre Matgé / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu
United States Secretary of State John Kerry was on a visit to the Grand Duchy today. Apart from taking a bicycling tour with Tour de France winner Andy Schleck (and, truth be told, Luxembourg's Minister for Foreign Affairs so you can file into under work meetings), he also met a number of other important Luxembourgish people including the world's only Hereditary Grand Duke. John Kerry was received for an audience at the palais by Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume. 

More pictures at Wort.

Guillaume Lays Wreath for Victims of Nice Attacks

Photo: Chris Karaba / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu
Earlier today, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume was among those attending a gathering paying tribute to the more than 80 victims of the Nice attacks. Together with Luxembourg mayor Lydie Polfer and members of the government, he laid wreaths at the Place de la Constitution. Meanwhile, Grand Duke Henri has sent a message of condolences to the French president saying:
C’est avec très grande douleur que la Grande-Duchesse et moi-même avons appris la nouvelle de l’attentat perpétré sur la promenade des Anglais à Nice.

Alors que la France fait l’objet d’agressions terroristes répétées, il me tient à cœur de vous exprimer au nom de tous mes compatriotes et en mon nom personnel notre profonde compassion et notre solidarité.

Les habitants du Luxembourg ressentent une très profonde émotion dans ce qui est aussi un combat pour nos valeurs de civilisation.
More pictures at Wort.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume Visits Fit for Life

Photo: ©2016 / Marc Schmit / tous droits réservés
On Thursday the 14th, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume was in Larochette to visit participants in Fit for Life, which provides young people between the ages of 14 and 16 with a range of life skills. The life skills are taught in a six-part curriculum that includes personal finance and long-term career goals that take individual strengths and interests into account.

The Hereditary Grand Duke took time to meet with the 19 students and discuss their participation in the program. The event took place at the Service National de la Jeunesse location.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Guillaume and Stéphanie Attend a Fair Milk Conference

Photo: CLC / clc.lu
Back on June 30th, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie attended the 3rd European Conference on Fair Milk, at which Fair Mellech Lëtzebuerg was represented; this organization is also part of the European Milk Board (or EMB). The "fair milk" label indicates fair trade practices, as well as sustainable production, and at present there are around 300 vendors in Luxembourg that stock this label. The EMB is represented by 14 different countries and has approximately 100,000 members.

The Hereditary Grand Ducal were in Ettelbrück, where the event was held. As the photo above indicates, they were present for the prize-giving ceremony, which included the golden Faironika.

A little more at the website for CLC (Confédération luxembourgeoise du commerce).

Monday, July 11, 2016

Guillaume and Stéphanie Visit the Port of Mertert

Photo: H. Montaigu / Lëtzebuerger Journal / journal.lu
Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie visited the Port of Mertert on July 5th. The event was to recognize the Port's 50th birthday and to acknowledge the importance of the multimodal platform that connects river, road, rail, and air transportation for freight.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister François Bausch was there, along with Port President Jeannot Poeker. The Port is jointly owned by the State, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, ArcelorMittal, and BGL BNP Paribas.

A little more information, as well as a couple more photos, at Lëtzebuerger Journal.

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Guillaume Celebrates Ceratizit Anniversary

Photo: Didier Sylvestre / Tageblatt / Tageblatt.lu
On Friday, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume was among 300 guests present to celebration the 85th anniversary of Ceratizit, which is headquartered in Mamer and specializes in hard materials production. The event also saw the inauguration of the company's new building, which will be the new headquarters for the 1200 employees who work there.

More information at Tageblatt.

Guillaume and Stéphanie Open Young People's Leisure and Education Centre

Photo: Gerry Huberty / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu
Yesterday, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie visited the Centre de jeunesse Marienthal for its inauguration. The former Marienthal monastery has been used by the Service National de la Jeunesse since 1977. The building underwent extensive renovations in the past few years before it was opened as a Young People's Leisure and Education Centre now. The centre aims to educate young people about well-being, teamwork and physical activity. Also present for the occasion were Ministers François Bausch and Claude Meisch, state secretary Guy Arendt as well as Georges Metz, head of the Service National de la Jeunesse.

Pictures of the day at Wort.

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Twins for Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım

Some very happy news coming out of Liechtenstein (or France, actually) this week: As Point de Vue reports, Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım of Liechtenstein are expecting twins. The two additions to the Princely Family are due to be born in a couple of weeks. Prince Rudolf's and Princess Tılsım's daughter Princess Aliénor tragically died late last year and was laid to rest in Liechtenstein in March. Prince Rudolf is the third son of Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle and this nephew of Prince Hans-Adam II.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Guillaume and Stéphanie Inaugurate New Bank Building

Photo: Pierre Matgé / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu
On Tuesday, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie were at the former ARBED steel headquarters to see it be inaugurated as the new Spuerkeess (or BCEE) building. The bank purchased it in 2014, and it has undergone extensive renovation work since then.

Also present were Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister (and Minister of the Economy Etienne Schneider), and Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna.

A few more photos at Wort.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

A Rose For Stéphanie

Photo: Charles Caratini / Cour grand-ducale
A rose by any other name would indeed smell as sweet, but as with all things sometimes it's all in the name... The Lëtzebuerger Rousefrënn association has grown a new rose and named it for Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie. The rose Princesse Stéphanie Grande-Duchesse Héritière de Luxembourg was christened by its namesake at the palais grand-ducal today. The event was witnessed by Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, members of the Luxembourgish rose friends as well as agriculture minister Fernand Etgen.

The rose follows in the footsteps of several other flowers with the sweat smell named for members of the Grand Ducal Family including Rosa Maria Teresa (1982), Grande-Duchesse Joséphine Charlotte (1989), Grand-Duc Henri (2001), Grande-Duchesse Maria Teresa (2007), Grand-Duc Jean (2009), Alexandra, Princesse de Luxembourg (2010) and Princesse Sibilla de Luxembourg (2010)

Another picture at RTL.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Princess Claire is Pregnant


Today the cour grand-ducale officially announced that Princess Claire of Luxembourg is pregnant! The new prince or princess is due this fall. This will be the second child for Princess Claire and Prince Felix. The couple already have a daughter, Princess Amalia, who turned two years old on June 15.

The baby will be the fourth grandchild for Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa. This will be the tenth great-grandchild for Grand Duke Jean.

The child will have the style of Royal Highness and the title Prince/ss de Nassau. The new prince or princess will be 4th in the line of succession regardless of gender. 

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Stéphanie and Guillaume Celebrate 10th Anniversary of MUDAM

Photo: Lex Kleren / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu
This weekend, the Musée d’art moderne Grand-Duc Jean, better known as MUDAM, celebrates its 10th anniversary. To do so, the museum is open 31 hours straight this weekend until 6pm on Sunday. After attending the opening of the Wim Delvoye exhibition on Friday, yesterday saw Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie attending the official reception to celebrate the anniversary. As the president of the administrative board of the MUDAM foundation, the Hereditary Grand Duchess gave a speech, as did Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and MUDAM director Enrico Lunghi.

Wort has more pictures.

Stéphanie and Guillaume Open Exhibition

Photo: Gerry Huberty / Luxemurger Wort / Wort.lu
On Friday, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie attended the opening of the Wim Delvoye exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art Grand-Duc Jean, better known as MUDAM. The Hereditary Grand Duchess is the MUDAM's president of the administrative board and this wasn't the only event she attended this weekend to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the museum, but more on that in a while. Wim Delvoye is a neo-conceptual artist known for his inventive and often shocking projects. Much of his work is focused on the body, or so Wikpedia tells me.

Pictures of the event can be found at Wort and Tageblatt.