The state funeral of Grand Duke Jean will take place on Saturday, May 4, at the Cathédral Notre-Dame de Luxembourg and is set to start at 11am. As expected, RTL will show the funeral on television and a stream will be available online under RTL.lu. The special broadcast will start at 10am and end at 1pm. Some of Luxembourg's newspapers are also likely to provide a stream online.
Following the funeral broadcast, RTL will also show several documentaries about the life and work of Grand Duke Jean all day long long including "Jean - Grand-Duc vu Lëtzebuerg" at 1pm, the 1978 documentary "D’Groussherzoglech Famill vu Lëtzebuerg" at 3.30pm and "Zwee Lieve fir ee Land" (2000) at 5pm.
On Monday the 29th, members of the Luxembourg government came to pay their respects to Grand Duke Jean, including Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, members of the Chambre des députés, and other national representatives. Members of the public will also be invited to pay their respects starting on April 29th.
The casket of Grand Duke Jean has been transferred from Château de Berg to the palais grand-ducale. The late Grand Duke was accompanied on his final journey from his former long-time home to Luxembourg City by his five children, Grand Duke Henri, Archduchess Marie-Astrid, Prince Jean, Princess Margretha and Prince Guillaume, his children-in-law and several grandchildren. The grandchildren present today included Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume with Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra, Prince Sébastien, Archduchess Marie-Astrid with husband Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum, Archduke Alexander, Archduchess Gabriella, Princess Anunciata, Princess Astrid, Prince Paul-Louis, Prince Léopold and Princess Charlotte.
Photo: Pierre Matgé / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu
The motorcade left the castle in Colmar-Berg shortly before 2.30pm and passed through the village where the streets were lined by several hundred Luxembourgers paying their respects. They arrived at the palais grand-ducal at 3.10pm while the knells of several churches nearby were sounding after passing by several of Luxembourg City's landmarks. Again, many people lined the route to pay their respects to Grand Duke Jean who passed away at the age of 98 on Tuesday this week. Grand Duke Jean will lie in state at the palais for the coming week. If you are in or around Luxembourg and wish to pay your final respects, you can do so from Monday to Friday.
Photos and videos of Grand Duke Jean's last journey can be found at Wort #1, Wort #2, Tageblatt and RTL.
This week was tainted with sadness over the death of Grand Duke Jean on Tuesday, April 23. His coffin will be brought from the château de Berg to the palais grand-ducal on Sunday where Luxembourg's former head of state will lie in state and people will be able to pay their last respects. More details about the arrangements for the coming days here.
The funeral is to take place on May 4. Thus far Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, King Harald V, Queen Sonja and Princess Astrid of Norway, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium and the Princess Royal as well as the Count of Paris have already confirmed their attendance. Several royal families and heads of state have sent letters of condolence to the Grand Ducal Family. The Emperor and Empress of Japan paid a visit to the Luxembourgish embassy in Tokyo to pay tribute to Grand Duke Jean.
More sad news came during the course of the week when the passing away of Grand Duke Jean's first cousin Duchess Gabrielle of Croÿ on Good Friday was announced. The funeral of the daughter of Princess Antonia of Luxembourg will take place on May 3.
In the only Liechtenstein news this week, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie visited the country's largest dairy to tour the facilities. During the visit they were presented with a cheese loaf especially produced to mark the 300th anniversary of the Principality this year. More, including a picture, at Vaterland.
Further details about the funeral arrangements of Grand Duke Jean have been announced by the cour grand-ducale. (For all previous details for the coming days, please see here.)
The coffin of Grand Duke Jean will be transferred from Château de Berg to the Palais Grand-Ducal on Sunday, April 28. The coffin of the former head of state is expected to leave Colmar-Berg at 2.30pm and arrive at the palais at 3pm. The motorcade will pass by the Boulevard Royal and the Rue Notre-Dame before arriving at the Rue du Marché aux Herbes.
The mortal remains of Grand Duke Jean will lie in state at the palais grand-ducal between Monday and Friday of next week. The public wishing to pay their last respects to His Royal Highness are invited to do so on following days and times: Monday between 2pm and 7pm; Tuesday between 10am and 12pm as well as 2pm and 7pm; Wednesday between 10am and 7pm; Thursday between 10am and 12pm as well as 2pm and 7pm; and Friday between 10am to 12pm as well as 2pm and 4pm. Condolences books are available to be signed at the palais grand-ducal, Château de Berg and Château de Fischbach.
The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess also invite members of the public to take part in the funeral mass for Grand Duke Jean on Saturday, May 4. As limited seats are available, members of the public wishing to attend the funeral will need to register with the cour starting on Monday at 9am on their website www.monarchie.lu or via telephone.
The cour grand-ducale also announced that they will hold a six week long mourning period following the death of Grand Duke Jean.
Crown Princess Antonia with five of her six children
Duchess Gabrielle of Croÿ, daughter of Princess Antonia of Luxembourg, younger sister of Grand Duchess Charlotte, and Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and thus first cousin of the late Grand Duke Jean, died on Friday, April 19, 2019, at the age of 91. With the death of Duchess Gabrielle last Friday and Grand Duke Jean on Tuesday, there are only two surviving grandchildren of Grand Duke Guillaume IV and Grand Duchess Maria Ana left: Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Luxembourg, Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg and Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Duchess of Arenberg.
Duchess Gabrielle was born on May 10, 1927, to the last Crown Prince of Bavaria and his Luxembourgish wife. She married the future Duke Carl of Croÿ in 1953. The couple went on to have three children. She will be laid to rest on Friday, May 3, in Dülmen, Germany.
Grand Duke Jean passed away shortly after midnight earlier today at the age of 98 after suffering from a pulmonary infection surrounded by his family. As little bits and pieces of information have been coming out over the course of the day (and will probably continue to), we decided to conveniently put them into one post, which will continuously update over the coming days.
• The state funeral will take place on Saturday, May 4, at 11am at the Cathédral Notre-Dame.
• Luxembourg will observe a national period of morning until May 4 at 6pm. All flags have been lowered to half-mast.
• The government met today at 10am to observe a minute of silence and discuss the plans for the coming days. • At 12pm, Grand Duke Henri and Prime Minister Xavier Bettel met at Château de Berg. • At 12.15pm, the bells of all the Catholic churches in Luxembourg rang for 15 minutes in honour of Grand Duke Jean. • Today's parliamentary session in Luxembourg as well as several press conferences by the government and other organisations in the Grand Duchy have been postponed. • Later today (Tuesday) will see the removal of Grand Duke Jean's banner as a Knight of the Garter in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. The same will happen for the Order of the Seraphim in Stockholm after the funeral. • On Saturday, April 27, at 5pm the Archbishop of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Hollerich will celebrate a special mass in honour of Grand Duke Jean. All Catholic parishes in the Grand Duchy are asked to keep the former Grand Duke in their prayers this weekend. Update #1 (April 23, 3pm) • An official farewell ceremony for Grand Duke Jean will take place at the Chamber of Deputies on Friday, May 3. • The Luxembourgish football league (FLF) has announced that there will minutes of silence at all their matches today and tomorrow. Update #2 (April 23, 9.30pm) • Several people paid a visit to Château de Berg today to offer their condolences to the Grand Ducal Family. In addition to Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and President of Parliament Fernand Etgen, those who did also included members of the Belgian royal family, namely King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, King Albert II and Princess Astrid. A video of their cars arriving here. King Albert was, of course, a brother-in-law to Grand Duke Jean. • The ministry of education has announced that there will be no school in Luxembourg on May 4, the day of the funeral of Grand Duke Jean. This also includes musical and language schools.
Update #3 (April 24, 4.30pm)
• Grand Duke Henri has cancelled his scheduled events for tomorrow. It is fairly unlikely we will see any members of the Grand Ducal Family attending official events until after the funeral on May 4.
• The state visit by the President of Cape Verde to Luxembourg originally scheduled between May 7 and 9, 2019, has been postponed. No new date has been set yet. Update #4 (April 25)
• The coffin of Grand Duke Jean will be transported to the palais grand-ducal where he will lie in state the next week. The public is also invited to attend his funeral. More details on both here.
A visibly touched Prime Minister Xavier Bettel gave the following speech this morning remembering Grand Duke Jean who passed away during the hours of the night. The translation was done by us and is not official:
I have the sad duty to inform you that during the night at 12.25am at the age of 98, Grand Duke Jean has left us forever. It is a difficult moment for us all, for our country, for all Luxembourgers and all people of the Grand Duchy. It is an especially difficult and sad time for the Grand Ducal Family, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, for the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Grand Duke Jean and the many people who were close to him. In the name of the government and all the people of Luxembourg, I want to express my condolences and wish them courage during these difficult times.
Grand Duke Jean was, is and will remain a symbol of our country, of our shared history. He stands for diligence and loyalty to our country, a close bond with the people. Grand Duke Jean was a role model for us all. With his commitment and dedication he left traces that will remain forever. He was born on January 5, 1921, at the castle in Colmar-Berg and was named Hereditary Grand Duke on the day of his 18th birthday. As a young prince, he fought for our values and convictions during World War II. He landed in the Normandy in June 1944. Three months later, he was able to help free the capital and rebuild the country after the war. Grand Duke Jean has fought for our freedom, our independence and the unity of our country. We will remain forever grateful and have the highest respect for his commitment.
He stood from 1964 until 2000 at the head of Luxembourg. During his 36 years as head of state, Grand Duke Jean saw great milestones in the history of our country, he led us through good times and worse times. His affinity to the nature and his role as head scout are well-known, his respect towards others and his work for the weaker members of society will never be forgotten.
At 10am this morning, the government will meet to discuss the events of the coming days. At 12pm, I will also meet with the Grand Duke at Colmar-Berg. The state funeral will take place on Saturday, May 4, at 11am at the Cathedral.
It was a family man who left us today, a great statesman, a hero, a role model, a great life and a kind, great-hearted human.
The state funeral for Grand Duke Jean will take place on Saturday, May 4, at 11am at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has announced. The details of the funeral as well as the coming days will be arranged by the Conseil d'État and made public in due course. Grand Duke Jean passed away at 12.25am this morning at the age of 98.
During a short public speech this morning, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel called Grand Duke Jean "a symbol of the nation", "a hero" and "a role model for us all". As condolences pour in from all sides, flags in the Grand Duchy have been lowered to half-mast. We will continue to try to bring you all the latest news during the course of this day.
Grand Duke Jean passed away peacefully, the cour grand-ducale has sadly announced at 6am this morning. He died surrounded by his family at 12.25am on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Luxembourg's former head of state had been in hospital since Saturday, April 13, with a pulmonary infection. While his condition initially improved, it had been in decline since last Saturday night. All of Team Luxarazzi is immensely saddened be these news and our thoughts and prayers are with the members of the Grand Ducal Family and the whole of the Grand Duchy at this moment in time.
Grand Duke Jean celebrating his 98th birthday alongside his family in January of this year
(Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale)
Grand Duke Jean was one of the formative figures of 20th century Luxembourg. He was born on January 5, 1921, to Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix just a few years after the country's abdication crisis. Growing up at Château de Berg, Prince Jean was educated in Luxembourg before he went on to attend Ampleforth College in Yorkshire, a Catholic boarding school. In 1939, on his 18th birthday Prince Jean was named The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, a title he would hold until he succeeded his mother on the throne many years later. A year after Hereditary Grand Duke Jean reached maturity, German troops invaded Luxembourg in the course of the Second World War in the morning hours of May 10, 1940.
After fleeing Luxembourg via France, Spain, Portugal and the United States to Canada to continue his education, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean joined the Irish Guards as a volunteer to be able to fight in the war. After being trained at the Royal Military College in Aldershot in the United Kingdom, he was commissioned into the Irish Guards as a Lieutenant in March 1943 and in 1944 promoted to captain. On June 11, 1944, he landed in the Normandy. As part of the 32nd brigade of the Guards Armoured Division, he took part in the Battle of Caens and the Liberation of Brussels before finally crossing the Luxembourgish border for the first time since he and his family had to flee years earlier on September 10. Together with his father Prince Felix, he was greeted by the cheers of the masses and carried on the shoulders of the Luxembourgish people. Soon after, he rejoined his regiment to free other parts of Europe from Nazi rule.
Following the end of World War II, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean took a greater public role within the Grand Duchy to help rebuild the country after the war. On April 9, 1953, he married Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, oldest child and only daughter of King Léopold III of the Belgians and his wife née Princess Astrid of Sweden. The couple went on to have five children: Princess Marie-Astrid, Grand Duke Henri, Prince Jean, Princess Margaretha and Prince Guillaume.
On April 28, 1961, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean was appointed as Lieutenant Representative by his mother, Grand Duchess Charlotte, meaning that he assumed most of his mother's constitutional powers. Upon Grand Duchess Charlotte's abdication on November 12, 1964, he ascended to the throne as Grand Duke Jean I of Luxembourg and took the constitutional oath before the Chamber of Deputies later that day. He would go on to reign the Grand Duchy for 36 years.
On Christmas Eve 1999, Grand Duke Jean announced his plans to abdicate in favour of his oldest son Henri. With a delay due to a heavy car accident of Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla, Grand Duke Jean finally officially abdicated on October 7, 2000. Two years before he had already created his oldest son his Lieutenant Representative. Since his abdication, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte enjoyed a quiet life at Château de Fischbach. Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte predeceased her husband having died in 2005 after suffering from cancer.
The state of health of Grand Duke Jean has declined considerably since yesterday evening, the cour grand-ducale has announced. Luxembourg‘s former head of state was hospitalised about a week ago following a pulmonary infection. During the course of last week his health had initially improved. The whole Grand Ducal Family is at his bedside.
Welcome to our new Weekly Roundup in which we will conveniently cover the past two weeks as there hasn't been an awful lot going on in the public lives of the Grand Ducal and Princely families. The most important news upfront: Grand Duke Jean was hospitalised last Saturday but his health has been improving. Meanwhile, we haven't actually seen any of the Luxembourgs in the past two weeks. Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa did sent letters of sympathy to the President of France and the Archbishop of Paris following the Notre-Dame fire though. The Grand Duchess is the patron of one of the new bells of the Cathedral installed a couple of years ago.
Photo: IKR
Meanwhile the Liechtensteins continued celebrating the 300th anniversary of their Principality this year with a visit to Berlin. The Liechtenstein embassy in Germany hosted a reception on April 11 that was attended by Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie, who were joined by the Prime Minister of Liechtenstein as well as the Presidents of Parliament of both Germany and Liechtenstein. More pictures and information at Volksblatt.
Photo: Daniel Schwender / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li
On April 14, Princess Marie celebrated her 79th birthday. The Liechtenstein government and several other dignitaries were on hand to offer their best wishes during a reception hosted at Schloss Vaduz. Fürst Hans-Adam II was also there though the pictures available don't quite tell if any other family members were in attendance.
And with that, Team Luxarazzi is wishing all our dear readers a wonderful Easter weekend!
The health of Grand Duke Jean is improving, the maréchalat de la cour has announced. Luxembourg's former Grand Duke was hospitalised on Saturday following a pulmonary infection. While the health of His Royal Highness has improved, he will remain in the hospital for observation by the doctors. Grand Duke Jean turned 98 earlier this year.
Grand Duke Jean has been admitted to hospital following a pulmonary infection, the maréchalat de la cour hasannounced. Luxembourg's former Grand Duke, who turned 98 earlier this year, is under observation by the doctors. No further details on his current health was shared. We last saw Grand Duke Jean attending an event about two weeks ago.
Catching up a little from last week, on March 28th Grand Duke Jean attended the presentation of the Insignes du Mérite Jeunesse, 250 to be exact. He was accompanied by his youngest son Prince Guillaume and granddaughter Princess Charlotte. Among the winners were two young men who were awarded for their project "The Luxembourgish Peanut Butter," which raised funds for charity.
From March 30th through April 5th, the front of the Palais grand-ducal will be lit with blue light as part of "Light It Up Blue," a movement that raises awareness about autism. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is the patron of the Fondation Autisme Luxembourg.
Photo: Daniel Ospelt / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / vaterland.li
Photo: Sven Daniel Beham / Volksblatt / volksblatt.li
On April 2nd, Prince Nikolaus was present for an event hosted by the International Liechtenstein Press Club (LPC), with the focus around the international perception of the Principality. In the 1970s, Liechtenstein was known mostly for ski slopes and stamps, although the perception has since expanded to include banking at the Princely family.
And...you might have noticed that the blog was a little busier this week, with several other posts added. Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie were in Switzerland for a state visit: Day 1 and Day 2. (Alas, no tiaras.) Additionally, a British judge dissolved Prince Louis's marriage to Tessy Antony, so they are now officially divorced. Her title is in transition.
The cour grand-ducale announced today that "the divorce between Prince Louis and Mrs Tessy Antony was pronounced on April 4, 2019" confirming yesterday's reports. Contrary to the House Law of the Grand Ducal Family, the former wife of Prince Louis spoke to RTL sometime yesterday saying that she would continue to use the title of "Princess of Luxembourg" until September and then would go by the name "Antony-de Nassau" combining her maiden and married names.
The cour half-confirmed the statement today saying, "for the sake of the children, Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess granted to Mrs Antony the favour of adding the name "de Nassau" to her name. She will be called Mrs Tessy Antony-de Nassau from September 2019. As the result of the divorce Mrs Antony-de Nassau loses her predicate Royal Highness and the title "Princess of Luxembourg". She will not represent the Grand Ducal Family any longer." To which I ask: How are we supposed to call her in the meantime? She's not a princess any longer but she will only start using her new name in September?! Is she not technically a princess anymore but we are still supposed to call her a princess? But why don't you call it a princess in your announcement then? And, finally, why have a House Law regulating names, styles and titles in the first place when play it by ear at any chance you get?! Welcome to the oftentimes messy world a Luxembourg titles.
Anyway, in the end Team Luxarazzi wishes Prince Louis and the still but possibly not really Princess Tessy all the best for their future lives - and we hope that both of them will continue to remain "a wonderful team", as Tessy put it, always putting their children first.
The second day of the state visit led the Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess and their hosts President Ueli Maurer and his daughter to Lausanne in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The day was headlined "Research and Innovation" and thus they paid a visit to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) as well as the Nestlé Research Centre where everyone tried slightly blue-looking vegan milk made of microalgae. The day ended with a boat tour on Lake Geneva to Vevey. A video of the day' events at Volksblatt.
Prince Louis and his now former wife Tessy Antony were officially divorced today. Mr Justice MacDonald pronounced a 'decree absolute' at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London today, according to press reports. The former couple announced their decision to end their marriage more than two years ago in January of 2017.
For the past two years, Prince Louis and Tessy Antony could not reach a financial settlement meaning that their divorce could not be finalised. It was since ruled by the High Court that Prince Louis should pay £4,000 child support for each of their sons, per year. The judge also ordered that his former wife and children should be given a "licence to occupy" the former family home in London "until the youngest child finishes his first degree". The Grand Duke previously let the court know that he would cover any of his grandchildren's schooling fees and health related costs. In general the High Court ruled that the Grand Ducal Family's wealth could not be factored into the divorce but that any child support would be based on Prince Louis' own earnings.
In accordance with the House Law of the Grand Ducal Family, the former Princess Tessy lost her title as Princess of Luxembourg, Nassau and Bourbon-Parma when the divorce became official. Going forward, we will make note of any of Tessy Antony's appearances at events of the Grand Ducal Family but will not cover her public and private lives any further.
This week marks a very special event in the history of Luxarazzi: While it's been six years to the month that we added the Princely Family of Liechtenstein to over coverage, we now have our very first Liechtenstein state visit on our hands as Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie are currently in Switzerland at the invitation of the Swiss Federal Council. As the Principality is such a small country and doesn't have very close diplomatic ties with very many other nations, don't hold your breath for this to become a regular occurrence though. Even state visits to Liechtenstein's closest ally, Switzerland, are few and far in between: In 1970, Prince Franz Josef II and Princess Gina paid a state visit, as did Prince Hans-Adam II and Princess Marie in 1990.
The state visit kicked off earlier this morning, when Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie were met by Swiss President Ueli Maurer and his wife at the train station in Sargans, a small Swiss town of the border to Liechtenstein. The Hereditary Princely Couple is accompanied on the state visit by Prime Minister Adrian Hasler, Deputy Prime Minister Daniel Risch, basically the whole government, the President and members of Parliament. Together they boarded a train to head to Bern, the capital of Switzerland. While on the train, the Liechtenstein delegation and their Swiss hosts had luncheon together.
After the arrival at the train station Bern, the Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess were greeted by local dignitaries and a children's choir before making their way to the city centre to sign to golden book of the Swiss Federal Council. At 3pm, the official welcome, including military honours, national anthems, a review of troops and a presentation of the respective delegations, took place at the Münsterplatz. The Hereditary Princely Couple and the President and his wife then braved the stormy weather and took the chance to chat with some bystanders.
Photo: Screenshot SRF
Next up on the day's agenda were speeches by Hereditary Prince Alois and President Maurer at the town hall in Bern. Both of them spoke of the close ties between the two nations as this year actually marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of diplomatic relations between Liechtenstein and Switzerland. In 1919, the Principality established the first diplomatic mission in Bern. For 100 years now, it has also been Switzerland that has represented Liechtenstein diplomatically in all countries where the Principality does not have its own ambassador (so practically everywhere but Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belgium and the United States).
Photo: IKR
Afterwards, bilateral talks were held between the Liechtenstein and Swiss delegations. The afternoon events were rounded off by a press conference held by the Hereditary Prince and President Maurer where both of them, once again, spoke of the close ties between the two nations, the easy cooperation and how both countries can keep learning from each other. Meanwhile, Hereditary Princess Sophie paid a visit to the 'House of Religions' in Bern.
As of the publication of this post, the gala dinner in honour of the Hereditary Prince and Hereditary Princess is taking place. No pictures or information as of yet, whether there will be a tiara. Personally, I'm not holding my breath but let's wait and see - we will keep you posted in the hours to come! In the meantime, more information, photos and videos of the day can be found at Vaterland #1, Vaterland #2 and Volksblatt. Swiss TV SRF also has a lengthy special about the day with several news clips.
