Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Guillaume and Stéphanie Launch Second Edition of De Mains De Maîtres

Photo: Association De Mains De Maîtres Luxembourg
Earlier today, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie launched the second edition of the exhibition De Mains de Maîtres (Of Master's Hands) to discover talented young craftsmen and art designers from Luxembourg. They first initiated the project together with the Chamber of Trade and the Ministries of Economy and Culture back in 2016 with the first exhibition taking place in December of that year in Luxembourg. It was a resounding success with more than 10,000 visitors in just four days and has since been shown abroad, too. 
Photo: Chris Karaba / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu
The second edition of the exhibition was be headlined by the motto "Gestures and wonders" with craftsmen and artists asked to submit their work until March 30. The actual exhibition will take place later in the year from November 28 to December 3. More pictures of the day are available at the cour, RTL has a video including a few bits from the Hereditary Grand Duchess' speech today. She is the honorary president of the De Mains de Maîtres association. More general information can be found at Wort.

Monday, February 26, 2018

Hereditary Princess Sophie at Military Award Ceremony

Photo: Paul Trummer / Liechtensteiner Volksblatt / Volksblatt.li
The cathedral priest of Vaduz Jochen Folz was honoured with the Silver Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany, today. Hereditary Princess Sophie was among the guests for the ceremony at the town hall in Vaduz. The German-born Folz worked as a military chaplain prior to becoming the parish priest of Liechtenstein's capital and, among others, spent time in Afghanistan supporting German soldiers as well as Catholic U.S. troops.

A gallery of pictures can be found at Volksblatt.

Friday, February 23, 2018

Princely Family Welcomes Olympic Medallist Home

Photo: Daniel Schwendener / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li
Liechtensteiners welcomed home Olympic medallist Tina Weirather earlier today - and naturally members of the Princely Family were also on hand for the reception in Schaan. Prince Hans-Adam II and Princess Marie as well as Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie congratulated Weirather on her bronze medal in the super-G event

A video of the reception, including interviews with the Fürst and the Hereditary Prince who both assertes what a great ambassador Weirather is for Liechtenstein, can be found here. Galleries of visuals are available at Vaterland and Volksblatt.

Guillaume and Stéphanie Visit Luxlait

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / tous droits réservés
On the 23rd, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie visited the dairy company Luxlait. Founded in 1894, Luxlait was originally called Zentralmolkerei, but in the late 1970s the dairy industry was reorganized and the company name changed following the merger of three agricultural associations.

Today Luxlait focuses on processing milk from Luxembourg-based herds and ensuring the final product meets international testing standards.

Photo from the Cour website.


Henri and Maria Teresa Attend Luxembourg City Film Festival

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / tous droits réservés
On the evening of the 22nd, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa attended a screening of The Breadwinner, to open the 8th edition of the Luxembourg City Film Festival. Also present were Secretary of State for Culture Guy Arendt, President of the Association Festival du Cinéma Colette Flesch, and the Mayor of Luxembourg City Lydie Polfer.

Another photo available from the Cour website.

Alois Welcomes Five New Ambassadors

Photo: Hereditary Prince Alois with Rupert Thomas Holborow of New Zealand /
llv.li
On the 21st, Hereditary Prince Alois received five new ambassadors for the presentation of credentials: Rupert Thomas Holborow from New Zealand; Harald Aspelund from the Republic of Iceland; Veronika Erte from the Republic of Latvia; Marta Kos Marko from the Republic of Slovenia; and Khanim Mammad Ibrahimova from the Republic of Azerbaijan.

More photos available here.

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Grand Duchess Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Tricentenaire

Photo: Cour grand-duale
Earlier today Grand Duchess Maria Teresa attended the 40th anniversary celebration of Tricentenaire, which provides social activities for those with disabilities. Tricentenaire was founded in 1978 by Jean Heinisch, a Catholic priest who committed his life to supporting social projects throughout Luxembourg and developed the organisation to mark the 300th anniversary of Our Lady of Luxembourg. (Read here and here for more on Our Lady of Luxembourg.)

More information about who is on the picture above at the cour.


Princely Family Supports Tina Weirather at Olympics

Photo: Liechtensteiner Vaterland
Turns out the princely cheering squad at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang is larger than expected: Earlier today, Prince Max, Princess Nora and her daughter Teresa Sartorius, as well as Princess Anunciata were on hand to support Tina Weirather alongside Prime Minister Adrian Hasler during the Downhill event. The Super-G bronze medallist missed the podium narrowly and came in fourth today. The members of the Princely Family also saw the Men's Ski Cross competition today, where Swiss Marc Bischofsberger, who usually competes for a Liechtenstein-based team, won silver.

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Grand Ducal Family Attends Annual Te Deum in Belgium

Photo: Belgian Royal Palace
Archduchess Marie-Astrid and her husband Carl-Christian as well as Prince Guillaume and his wife Princess Sibilla all attended a mass to commemorate the deceased members of the Belgian Royal Family at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwkerk or Église Notre-Dame - depending on which of Belgium's major languages you prefer - in Brussels earlier today. The mass is held annually every February. Archduchess Marie-Astrid's and Prince Guillaume's late mother Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte was, of course, a born Princess of Belgium and sister to former King Albert II, who also attended alongside his wife Queen Paola as well as King Philippe, Queen Mathilde, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz, Princess Esmeralda and Princess Lea.

Guillaume and Stéphanie Visit Berlin and Potsdam

Photo: Cour grand-ducale
Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie visited Germany yesterday on the occasion of the Berlinale, the Berlin International Film Festival, currently happening in the German capital. They were accompanied by Prime Minister Xavier Bettel who also used the chance to meet with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the President of Parliament Wolfgang Schäuble.
Photo: Cour grand-ducale
To start off their visit, the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess made the quick trip to nearby Potsdam to see the Babelsberg Film Studio, the oldest large-scale film studio in the world, producing films since 1912, and still Europe's largest film studio. It also brought us the super cute moment of Guillaume handing his coat over to his freezing wife - what a gentleman, a round of awww, please. Afterwards, the couple had lunch at the Luxembourgish restaurant "De Maufel" in Berlin.
Photo: Cour grand-ducale
The couple also visited the Michel Majerus Estate. Majerus was a Luxembourgish artist whose work combined painting with digital media. He lived and worked in Berlin until his untimely death in the crash of Luxair flight 9642 in November 2002. The Michael Majerus Estate, housed in the late artist's former studio in Berlin, is currently showing the third and final chapter of the exhibition "Michael Majerus - Laboratory for Appraising the Apparent" curated by Brigitte Franzen. Presenting early paintings, archival material and digitised documentation of a group of notebooks from 1995, this show in three parts aims to show Majerus’s work before he came to international recognition with his Kunsthalle Basel show in 1996. There is also a permanent exhibition of Majerus's work in Luxembourg at the Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie is the President of.
Photo: Cour grand-ducale
To round off their day, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie also attended a reception hosted by the Luxembourgish embassy in Berlin and the Lëtzebuerger Film Fong. As part of the reception journalists Jean Pütz and Ranga Yogeshwar as well as author Tom Hillenbrand were awarded with orders for their work. Pütz and Yogeshwar are both Luxembourgers and probably the best known science journalists in Germany. Hillenbrand is a German crime author many of whose books play in the Grand Duchy.

The cour offers a gallery of visuals of the day, as does Wort.

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Liechtenstein Wins Bronze at Winter Olympics (and Fun Facts)

Embed from Getty Images
Liechtenstein won its 10th Olympic medal in history earlier today when Tina Weirather took home the bronze medal in the women's super-G event. The Principality's only IOC member Princess Nora was on hand later in the day to award Weirather, who placed third behind surprise winner Ester Ledecka representing the Czech Republic and Anna Veith of Austria, her medal. (Unfortunately, I have not yet been able to find a picture of Princess Nora and Tina Weirather together.)
Embed from Getty Images
And now for a quick fire round of Liechtenstein Olympic fun facts: The Principality is the only nation to have won all of its medals in one event - alpine skiing that is - at the Winter Olympics. It is also the only country to have won medals at the Winter, but not Summer, Olympic Games. Liechtenstein has the most medals per capita of any country, with nearly one medal for every 3,600 inhabitants - after all it is a country of  about 36,000 and has one skiing area, Malbun. 

Friday, February 16, 2018

New Picture of the Hereditary Grand Duchess

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Lola Velasco
The cour grand-ducale has released a new official photo of Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie to mark her 34th birthday on Sunday. The Hereditary Grand Duchess was born as the eigth and youngest child of the Count and Countess of Lannoy in Renaix, Belgium, on February 18, 1984. The  new picture was taken last year.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Celebrate Wedding Anniversary

Photo: Cour grand-ducale
The Grand Duke is back in his realm and together with his lovely wife, the Grand Duchess, he visited an exhibition by Jacques Schneider yesterday to celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary. The couple tied the knot on Valentine's Day in 1981 - see our look back here - and the exhibition by Luxembourgish artists Schneider marks their 37 years together with 37 portraits of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. 

The cour has an additional photo of the visit.

Birthday Reception for Prince Hans-Adam II

Photo: Liechtensteiner Volksblatt / Volksblatt.li
Prince Hans-Adam II celebrated his 73rd birthday yesterday. As is tradition in the Principality, the Prince and his wife, Princess Marie, a reception was hosted at Schloss Vaduz to mark the occasion. Among the guests for yesterday's event were the members of government and parliament, the presidents of courts and senate, the mayors, the presidents of all parties and the local priest.

More pictures are available at Vaterland and Volksblatt.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Luxarazzi 101: Princess Antonia of Luxembourg, Crown Princess of Bavaria

After a long absence, we complete our series on the sisters of the only ruling Grand Duchesses of Luxembourg, Marie-Adélaïde and Charlotte. Today we'll get to know a little more about the fourth of the six sisters, Princess Antonia. Antonia's life alternated from prominence to controversy to tragedy, from her marriage to a member of the Bavarian royal family to her extraordinarily difficult experience during World War II.

Antonia was born at Schloss Hohenburg in Bavaria on October 7, 1899, during the reign of her grandfather, Grand Duke Adolph, who - before ascending to Luxembourg's throne - had also ruled as the Duke of Nassau. She was the fourth daughter of the future Wilhelm IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and his wife Maria Ana, a Portuguese infanta by birth. She was named in honor of her maternal aunt, Antonia of Portugal, and was also christened with the names Roberte, Sophie and Wilhelmine. Antonia followed her sisters Marie-Adélaïde, Charlotte, and Hilda, with younger sisters Elisabeth and Sophie joining the family in the following years. Her nickname within the family was “Toni”. 

Antonia grew up in the family homes at Château de Berg and Schloss Hohenburg. The family was a loving one, although Grand Duke Wilhelm’s stroke in 1908 interrupted their quiet life. While Maria-Ana served as regent and tended to her husband’s failing health, Antonia and her sisters spent much of their time with their paternal grandmother, the Dowager Grand Duchess Adelheid-Marie. Among her sisters, Antonia stood out as a gifted pianist.

Antonia's teen years were difficult due the outbreak of World War I, the death of her grandmother Adelheid-Marie, and Germany's occupation of Luxembourg. Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde'S troubled reign ended with her being viewed as pro-German, leading to her eventual abdication. However, it was the German occupation of the country that brought Antonia closer to her future husband, Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria. 

Rupprecht was the son of King Ludwig III of Bavaria and Maria Theresia of Modena. He had held several prominent commands and earned numerous accolades in the German Army during World War I. He initially commanded the German 6th Army in Lorraine and eventually rose to the rank of Field Marshall. Rupprecht had been married previously to Marie-Gabrielle of Bavaria (a first cousin to Antonia through their respective mothers, Duchess Maria Josepha of Bavaria and Grand Duchess Maria Ana), who had died in 1912. The couple had had five children, but only Albrecht (the third child and the paternal grandfather of Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein) survived to adulthood. One daughter had been stillborn, while the other children died separately of polio, diabetes, and diphtheria.

The Bavarian and Luxembourg royal families had been friends for years, as their summer homes in Bavaria were located in the same area. It is likely Antonia and Rupprecht met long before the war given that he was married to her first cousin, although Antonia was probably just a little girl at the time. 

Rumors of an engagement between Antonia and Rupprecht had surfaced during the last year of the war. Prince Rupprecht spent time in occupied Luxembourg during the war, given the position of his troops in neighboring Lorraine. It is believed he and Antonia met again during one of these trips. Word also spread that Antonia was being forced into the marriage because her three elder sisters all refused Rupprecht. The couple may have become engaged as early as February 1918, but the official engagement was announced on August 26, 1918, in a statement made by King Ludwig III from Munich.

The engagement came with an enormous amount of controversy in Luxembourg and France. Rupprecht was not held in high regard within the grand duchy, to say the least - his nickname among the people was "the Luxembourg hangman." The public was critical not only of the considerable difference in age between Antonia and Rupprecht, but also because of the latter’s prominent positions in the German Army and Bavarian royalty and the concern that Antonia had no choice in the engagement just as the people of Luxembourg had been forced into German occupation during the war.

But political pressures made Rupprecht rethink the engagement, which jeopardized both his family as the rulers of Bavaria and Antonia's sister Marie-Adélaïde as the increasingly unpopular monarch of Luxembourg. With a heavy heart, Rupprecht called off the union. Antonia retreated to Hohenburg, where she further pursued her musical studies at an academy in Munich, while Rupprecht tended to his wounded heart in Berchtesgaden.

But the abdication of both Rupprecht's father and Marie-Adélaïde following the end of the war meant that at least the political resistance to the marriage was gone. Dowager Grand Duchess Maria Ana and her sister (and Rupprecht's mother-in-law) Maria Josepha intervened and arranged the couple to meet again during the summer of 1920, allowing the two to rekindle their romance. 

The match was on for good as of February 1921, with Antonia at the age of majority and insistent on proceeding with the marriage. In defense of Rupprecht and her marriage, Antonia said, "I love him more than my life," while Rupprecht stated that his love for Antonia made him feel like a young man again. The Parliamentary vote on Antonia's engagement passed barely in the couple's favor - 26 to 24 votes.

Antonia married Rupprecht civilly on April 6, 1921, with a religious ceremony following the next day. Antonia was 21 years old at the time, while Rupprecht was 53. Both events were held at the family home of Schloss Hohenburg, with the religious wedding conducted by Bavarian papal nuncio Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII. The Bavarian public was more receptive to the union, and hundreds of locals flocked to the streets to wish the couple well. Antonia wore the magnificent Bavarian Ruby and Spinel Tiara in some of her official wedding pictures, which you may remember from our previous Luxarazzi 101s. Antonia’s youngest sister Sophie married Ernst Heinrich of Saxony at Schloss Hohenburg just a few days later on April 12.

The new couple made their home at Schloss Leuchtenberg in central Munich, while summers were spent at Schloss Berchtesgaden and at Château de Berg. The family also spent time at palaces in Leutstetten, Wildenwart and Hohenschwangau. 

Antonia and Rupprecht had six children:

- Heinrich (1922-1958)

- Irmingard (1923-2010)

- Editha (1924-2013)

- Hilda (1926-2002)

- Gabriele (1927-)

- Sophie (1935-)

Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany in the 1920s and 30s was to have an enormous affect on Antonia, Rupprecht, and their children. Hitler respected Rupprecht for his military accomplishments and noticed how the Bavarian people still had great affection for the former royal family. Hitler tried to enlist Rupprecht for an endorsement of his planned regime, believing that Rupprecht's support would provide additional legitimacy for Hitler's rule. But Rupprecht flatly refused, and his dislike of Hitler and the Nazi Party never wavered. 

During the 1930s, Rupprecht and Antonia sent their children to the United Kingdom for their education. This was done so the children could avoid being forced to join any Nazi youth groups as was required in many German schools. The couple’s daughters attended Sacred Heart Convent in Roehampton, which was later attended by their cousins, the daughters of Grand Duchess Charlotte.

Antonia and her children were in Brussels when war was declared in September 1939, while Rupprecht was visiting family in Hungary. Rupprecht’s vocal opposition to the Nazi regime caused the family to essentially go on the run. Strained finances were also a worry, as Antonia and her family were cut off from much of their income. Grand Duchess Charlotte was able to provide support until her own departure from Europe in May 1940.

Antonia and her family moved multiple times before finally settling in Florence, Italy, where they lived a fairly peaceful life until early 1944. But with German and German-sympathetic Italian forces in control of much of northern Italy, the family was in danger. Although Rupprecht tried to hide Antonia and their three youngest daughters in a convent, the women were discovered and arrested in April. They were later joined by Editha and Irmingard, both of whom were arrested elsewhere in Italy.

Antonia and her daughters were moved to various locations in Italy before finally ending up in Innsbruck, Austria. Antonia and Irmingard became ill with typhus and were hospitalized there. The remaining children were sent on to a series of concentration camps in Sachsenhausen, Flossenburg, and Dachau. Antonia and Irmingard later joined the family, which by then included Antonia’s stepson Albrecht and his family. During her time at Flossenburg, Antonia underwent torture at the hands of her captors. Antonia was repeatedly pressed to reveal the location of her husband; each time she refused.

But Antonia’s health, aggravated by malnutrition, effects from the torture, and insufficient medical care, had not fully recovered from her bout with typhus. By the time Antonia was found to be recuperating in a hospital in Jena, she weighed less than 80 lbs. Her brother-in-law Prince Felix took her back to Luxembourg to continue her rehabilitation. Her daughters were able to join her in May 1945, not long after the end of the war in Europe.

Rupprecht had fortunately evaded capture throughout the war, despite being ill for some time in the fall of 1944. He moved frequently to avoid capture, living in Padua, Brixen, Rome, and Florence. Heinrich, Rupprecht and Antonia's only son, was also able to escape arrest by the Nazis and jointed his father in Florence in the last months of 1944. The two returned to Schloss Leutstetten in September 1945.

Antonia rarely spoke of the treatment she'd suffered during the final year of the war. She declared that she would never return to Germany again, a promise she kept. Instead, she divided her time between Italy and Switzerland.

Antonia was helping her youngest daughter Sophie prepare for her wedding when on July 13, 1954, the family received terrible news. Second daughter Editha and her husband, Italian engineer Tito Brunetti, were involved in a serious car accident. Editha survived, but was seriously injured while Tito was killed almost instantly. Antonia's delicate health could not hold up to the shock, and it was soon clear that she would not survive.

Antonia died on July 31, 1954, in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Sophie's wedding was postponed, and the family gathered instead for Antonia's funeral. Her body was buried in Rome, while her heart was interred in Bavaria. Rupprecht followed her just barely a year later, dying on August 2, 1955. The couple's only son Heinrich died in a car accident only three years after Rupprecht's death. Among Antonia's descendants are members of the Bavarian royal family, the House of Croÿ and the House of Arenberg.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Opening Ceremony of the PyeongChang Olympics

Photo: Screenshot ARD
Earlier today, Grand Duke Henri was on hand to cheer on Luxembourg's only athlete at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. My guess is that Princess Nora, who is an IOC member just like the Grand Duke, was also present to support Liechtenstein's team. Both of them already attended the IOC session in advance to the Olympics during the past few days. The Grand Duke is scheduled to stay in South Korea until February 11.

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Luxarazzi 101: Royal Recycling and Clothes Sharing Vol. 12

...because, hey, the lovely ladies of the Grand Ducal Family really believe in the motto that sharing is caring. So get the bubbly out, ladies and gents, as the sisterhood of the travelling clothes is back in Luxarazzi Land!
Last year's state visit to Japan was a gift that kept on giving in terms of royal recycling courtesy of Princess Alexandra, who accompanied her father. This old Elie Saab number, with slight alterations, may not have been the most successful one but I will always repeat the sentiment: Princess Alexandra isn't a full-time royal and thus doesn't need a major royal wardrobe. Repeating outfits that have only been worn two or three times publicly by someone else thus is the wise thing to do.
Our second case of royal clothes sharing also comes by way of Princess Alexandra (at Princess Marie-Gabrielle's wedding) and her mother (sometime in the 1980's). Dear Alexandra, if you find yourself to rummage through your mother's (or even your grandmother's) old ballgowns and whatnot from before you were born again sometime, I'd be happy to supply a list of choices I would love to see worn by you (or your cousins) again.
Also spotted in Luxarazzi Land: It looks like our dear Alexandra got a few tricks up her sleeve when it comes to repurposing shawls. Case in point: This minty number she used as an actual shawl during the wedding of Prince Dmitri Galitzine and Alexandra Pollitt and to tie around her evening dress at the pre-wedding dinner.

Spotted more clothes sharing moments of the Grand Ducal Family? Make sure to let us know! 
(In the meantime, you can also check out our previous eleven editions of this post.)

Grand Duke Henri and Princess Nora at IOC Session

Photo: © IOC / Cour grand-ducale
Between the 5th and the 8th, Grand Duke Henri attended the 132nd IOC session in PyeongChang. Princess Nora, as a member of the International Olympic Committee, was also present. Additionally, the Grand Duke participated in events related to his role on the Olympic Solidarity Commission.

The Opening Ceremony will be held on the 9th, with the Games running until the 25th. Information from the Cour website.

Additionally, Grand Duke Henri took a visit to Olympic Village to meet with one of the Luxembourg athletes. More photos at Tageblatt.

Photo: Tageblatt / tageblatt.lu

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Additional Photos of Prince Sébastien's Sandhurst Graduation

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Lola Velasco
To make an otherwise rather uneventful time a bit more fun (probably not their reasoning but anyway), the cour grand-ducale has decided to grace us with a few additional visuals from the Sandhurst graduation of Prince Sébastien. You can find all of them on their website. Especially lovely: The picture above of all the grandson of Grand Duke Jean who attended the Royal Military Academy. From the left: Archduke Alexander, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Prince Sébastien, Prince Félix (who started the course but did not finish due to an injury), Prince Wenceslas and Prince Josef.

In addition, Prince Sébastien's official biography was updated to reflect that since his graduation from Sandhurst, he has been commandeding a platoon of the Irish Guard", a regiment of the British Army in which his grandfather, Grand Duke Jean, served during the Second World War.

Friday, February 2, 2018

Prince Philipp and Granddaughter Theodora at CSI Zürich

Photo: Mercedes-Benz CSI Zürich
Prince Philipp and Princess Theodora had their annual grandfather-granddaughter outing this past weekend when they handed out one of the prizes at the Mercedes-Benz CSI Zürich, an international horse show. Together they handed out the trophy for the best rider of the tournament to Martin Fuchs on Sunday. For all the showjumping adventures of Prince Philipp and Princess Theodora over the past few years, have a look here.