Thursday, March 29, 2018

Hereditary Grand Duke Meets Doctena Founder

Photo: Cour grand-ducale
Earlier today, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume received Patrick Kersten, founder and director of Doctena at the palais grand-ducal. Operating in the Benelux-countries as well as Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the company in the biggest online platform to find and make a medical appointments with a doctor. 

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

The Liechtensteins: When a 21st-Century Family Moves Into a 12th-Century Castle

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The New York Times Style Magazine recently published a story about Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein and wife Princess Alice (funnily without making any mention whatsoever of the fact that they are of those Liechtensteins that have actually given their name to a country they are still the heads of state of) entitled "When a 21st-Century Family Moves Into a 12th-Century Castle". You can find the full article here.

We usually do not cover Prince Alfred and Princess Alice on this blog - genealogy check: Prince Alfred is a second cousin once removed of Prince Hans-Adam II, whose cousin Prince Emmanuel owns Riegersburg and who we have also featured on the blog a while ago - but the article makes for a very interesting read! It mainly focuses on how the couple have tried to make Schloss Hollenegg their own by blending its history and historical appearances with modern conveniences and their personal taste. Schloss Hollenegg in Styria is one of one or two dozen castles still owned by (extended) Liechtenstein family in Austria.

Hereditary Prince Alois at Finance Forum Liechtenstein

Photo: Daniel Schwendener / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li
Hereditary Prince Alois was among the guests for the Finance Forum Liechtenstein last week alongside Prime Minister Adrian Hasler, heaps of other politicians and people involved in the world of finance and business. Prince Michael was also in attendance. The headline of this year's Finance Forum was "Finance 2.0 - die Finanzbranche im Wandel" (Finance 2.0 - the Changing Financial Sector).

Vaterland has a gallery of visuals of the event.

Guillaume and Many Orange Ties Celebrate Company Anniversary

Photo: e-Kenz / Mediation
On Monday and fresh off his trip to Mexico, the Hereditary Grand Duke attended the 10th anniversary celebration of Luxembourgish IT consulting agency and hosting provider e-Kenz, whose employees apparently all own some fancy orange-coloured ties. While the cour doesn't provide more information about the company, their website tells me that they offer SAP IT services in a private cloud mainly to mid-sized companies, which can this benefit from state-of the art SAP solutions without having to make major investments in hardware and/or IT people.

Guillaume at World Scout Foundation Meeting in Mexico

All photos: World Scout Foundation / Victor Ortega
Look who was in Mexico the other day! On Saturday, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume attended a gathering of the World Scout Foundation In Mexico City. He was awarded the World Baden-Powell Fellowship by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden as a new member of the World Scout Foundation. The Hereditary Grand Duke has been a member of Luxembourg's scouts for years and is following in his families' footsteps. Former Grand Duke Jean, for example, has been the head of Luxembourg's scouts since October 28, 1945. The World Scout Foundation's aim is to raise many for projects of the scout movement all around the world.
Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and the King of Sweden also attended a meeting of scouts from around the world. "We were challenged and deeply touched by the courage of the Latin American Scouts who helped in the areas devastated by the earthquakes in Haiti and, recently, in Mexico. Scouting teaches these young people the fundamental values they will need to become the leaders of tomorrow", the Hereditary Grand Duke said. 

More info and pictures at the cour.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Grand Duke Henri Visits Royal Military School

Photo: © EMA / Cour grand-ducale
On the 26th, Grand Duke Henri paid a visit to the École royale militaire in Brussels. Also in attendance were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Etienne Schneider and General Alain Duschène who is the Chief of Staff of the Army. During his visit, the Grand Duke signed the guest book, exchanged gifts, reviewed educational activities, and met with the nine Luxembourgish students at the school.

Photo: © EMA / Cour grand-ducale
A number of other photos at the Cour website.


Friday, March 23, 2018

Fashion Friday: State Visit Edition

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were on a state visit to France from Monday to Wednesday and Maria Teresa had a lot of outfit changes so this is a bigger edition than usual.

But first, let's talk about two events that happened before the state visit.

On March 14th, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa visited the offices and studios of RTL. Maria Teresa wore her Armani Privé jacket.

Photo: Olivier Cros / RTL

Photo: Vogue Runway
Prince Christian of Hanover married Alessandra de Osma in Peru last weekend and Princess Astrid and Princess Anunciata of Liechtenstein were among the guests. Both of them wore Carolina Herrera dresses.
Photo: NTB Scanpix
Photo: Carolina Herrera
Photo: Carolina Herrera
And now, let's start our exciting coverage of the Grand Ducal couple's state visit to France.

Prior to the State Visit, Paris Match published an interview with Grand Duchess Maria Teresa in which she talks about Luxembourg and France. She wore a  new Weill coat with new Bottega Veneta nude pumps.
Photo: © Vlada Krassilnikova / Paris Match
Photo: Weill
Photo: Bottega Veneta


The Grand Ducal couple arrived in Paris by train on Sunday. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore an old coat and her Prada black pumps.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Bertrand Rindoff, Getty Images
Photo: Prada
On the first day of the state visit, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were officially received at the Invalides. The Grand Duchess's outfit is not new but I don't have any IDs for it. However, she wore new Prada pumps with Swarovski crystals on the heels.

Photo: SIP

Photo: Prada

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa changed for the official welcome at the Elysée Palace in a new coat that I haven't been able to find. She wore a black clutch with the same Prada pumps as earlier.

Photo: SIP

Photo: Prada

For the gala dinner, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa sadly didn't wear any tiara but she wore a new green gown! I got confirmation from the brand that it is a custom made Elie Saab gown, inspired by the Spring 2012 collection! She wore new Prada silver pumps with a gold clutch that belonged to Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte and that Maria Teresa has worn several times over the years. (Thanks to Sarah for spotting it!)

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Bertrand Rindoff / Getty Images

Photo: Prada

On the second day of the visit, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a new Max Mara green jacquard coat with new Prada pumps (same model as the one she wore when they arrived in Paris but in burgundy) and a matching burgundy Bottega Veneta clutch.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Bertrand Rindoff / Getty Images

Photo: Farfetch



Photo: Prada



Photo: Bottega Veneta
In the late afternoon of the second day, Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Brigitte Macron, the French First Lady, visited Station F. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa changed into a new Weill coat with a new Weill blouse. 

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Bertrand Rindoff / Getty Images
Photo: Weill

Photo: Weill
She wore new black Bottega Veneta pumps (same as the ones she wore in the Paris Match photoshoot) with a Prada black clutch.

Photo: Bottega Veneta

Photo: Prada
For their visit to the Académie Française, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a third outfit! This time, she recycled the Weill coat and Bottega Veneta shoes she wore for the Paris Match interview and an Armani clutch which dates back to 2012.
Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Bertrand Rindoff / Getty Images


Photo: Weill

Photo: Bottega Veneta
Photo: Lookovore

For the final event of the day, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa held a reception at the Rodin Museum. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a vintage YSL tuxedo from 2005 (as confirmed by the Court) with the same Bottega Veneta black shoes as earlier in the day and a black Armani clutch (pictured here in nude) she owns since 2008.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Bertrand Rindoff / Getty Images


Photo: Bottega Veneta
Photo: Vestiaire Collective
Surprisingly, all of the Grand Ducal couple's children (except Prince Sébastien) and their daughters-in-law also attended the reception! 

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Bertrand Rindoff / Getty Images


Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie wore a white lace and sequin Elie Saab dress from the Spring 2012 collection. She carried a Prada clutch that I believe belong to her mother-in-law and I believe her shoes are new lace pumps from LK Bennett.
Photo: Livingly


Photo: Prada
Photo: LK Bennett

I believe Princess Claire wore a Victoria Beckham white dress with an Alaïa nude belt and Valentino shoes. She first wore this bag for Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Nassau's wedding last summer but I haven't been able to find it.


Photo: Net-A-Porter


Photo: Barneys

Photo: Lyst

Princess Alexandra wore a new top from Ba&Sh, a French brand, with black trousers and black pumps.

Photo: Place des Tendances
For the last day of the state visit, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa went to Toulouse. Maria Teresa wore a new Max Mara coat with a Max Mara scarf. She also wore new Sergio Rossi shoes. I have no confirmation about her bag but I found similar Gucci bags. 

Photo: ©SIP/Charles Caratini

Photo: Max Mara
Photo: Lyst
Photo: Sergio Rossi

_____________________________________________________________

I also have some additional, non-state visit related news! 

On March 20, an official portrait was released for Grand Duchess Maria Teresa's 62nd birthday. She looked beautiful in her Yves Dooms gown, previously worn at the National Day Gala Dinner last year.
Photo: ©Cour grand-ducale / Lola Velasco / tous droits réservés

I also have some old finds for you, it appears that Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is a big fan of Armani's clutches and YSL gowns! (all finds except the 1st one were made by Sarah)

 Armani clutch worn at a UNESCO meeting in Paris in November 2017.

Photo: © Cyril Bailleul

Photo: Vogue Runway

Armani clutch at the German-Speaking Head of States meeting in September 2017:

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Olivier Minaire

Photo: Lookovore
Armani clutch at the 90th Anniversary celebrations of the Biermans-Lapôtre Foundation (first worn at Queen Fabiola's funeral)
Photo: © Cyril Bailleul


Photo: Lookovore

Armani clutch during the State Visit to Poland in May 2014.

Photo: SIP/Nicolas Bouvy

Photo: Lookovore


YSL gown and necklace at a concert in honor of the Grand Duke's accession in April 2001:


Photo: Europeana
Photo: Vestiaire Collective

YSL gown at Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway's pre-wedding dinner in August 2001:

Photo: Livingly


YSL gown for Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee Celebrations in June 2002:


Photo: Livingly

What did you think of Grand Duchess Maria Teresa's outfits in France? and about Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, Princess Claire, and Princess Alexandra's surprise appearances? Would you like to see the Grand Duchess wear one of these YSL gowns again? As always, I'm still working on finding what is still UFO so don't hesitate to share your own finds if you have some! 

I would like to conclude this Fashion Friday post with a simple but important reminder: please give credit to me (or Sarah, or whoever I credit for the finds I write about in these posts) if you use these finds on your own account/website/forum. I really don't mind if people post my finds elsewhere as long as credit is given. I have spent a huge amount of time (all my free time this week actually) working on this post so that I could give you as much information as I can and while I didn't manage to ID everything, I'm really happy with how much I managed to find! But this excitement died down when I realized that some people were waiting for me to update my other website, UFO No More, with the finds before posting them as their own. So please, don't forget to give credit when you share someone else's find, it is very important!