A little more than a week ago, Grand Duke Jean was laid to rest. Our fellow royal watcher and occasional contributor Arjan was in Luxembourg for the day. Make sure to follow him on Twitter here and find his previous reports for Luxarazzi here. Once again a massive thank you to Arjan for sharing his experiences with us!
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After having been in the public for the wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie in 2012 (read my reports
here and
here), I travelled to Luxembourg again on 4 May for the funeral of Grand Duke Jean.
As soon as I heard of his death, I was considering going to the funeral. Especially when the date was announced (the first Saturday of a week off for me), I decided to go. From my house in the Netherlands, it's a 3-hour drive to Luxembourg - so very doable. And a big reason to go was the obvious fact that this funeral would be attended by members of many European dynasties, both reigning and non-reiging; the late Grand Duke was a former head of state and a beloved member of the Gotha. He was closely related to many Catholic dynasties (Parma, Habsburg, Braganza) and through his late wife Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, who was a Belgian princess as we all know, he got even more family connections with various dynasties. Besides that: Grand Duke Jean was one of the last old skool royals: being born in a totally different world, just a few years after WW1, in a time when royals only married royals (like he did himself; his marriage to Joséphine-Charlotte is considered to be the last arranged marriage in royal Europe). His generation of traditional royals is disappearing now and going to Luxembourg would be my way of saying goodbye to a great man and royal - and also to some extent saying goodbye to a kind of royalty that is becoming rarer and rarer.
I decided not to spend the night before the funeral in Luxembourg - that would save me time and money. So instead, I got up at 3.15AM (!) on Saturday 4 May and I drove off one hour later. The weather forecast was not good: we would get rain and even snow in Luxembourg with only about 10 degrees Celsius. During my drive to Luxembourg, I got a nice sneak preview; when driving through the Ardennes, there was a lot of snow. At some point, I was driving through a winter wonderland! Luckily, when I arrived in Luxembourg, there was no snow, but it did rain - and it did so quite heavily and uninterrupted.
I parked my car at Place de Martyrs, just a 10-minute walk from Notre Dame Cathedral, where the funeral service would take place. I came prepared: a few days before the funeral, a dear Twitter friend of mine had sent me the 'secret' media guide for the funeral, so I knew where I would want to stand. I knew already that the royal guests would arrive at Rue de l'Ancien Athénée (the grandest entrance, which is actually a side entrance of the Cathedral) and I decided that I would go there first. So the funeral procession would only consist of family members (unlike previous grand ducal funerals, where both family and foreign royalty walked behind the coffin) and they would arrive at the main entrance at the Rue Notre-Dame. My plan was: watching the royal guests arrive and then try to get into the Rue Notre-Dame to watch the funeral procession arrive at the main entrance. It was risky: if that wouldn't work out (because it would be too crowded), I would not be able to see the funeral procession and I would have lost my good spot at the entrance at the Rue de l'Ancien Athénée.
When I arrived at the Cathedral at 8AM, I was surprised that only a handful of people was standing there. Yes: the weather was bad, it was cold and it was early, but I still would have expected more people. Almost immediately, my Twitter friend Stefan saw me and came to me. He had a very good spot, so we held each other company during the hours of waiting.
And it kept raining. And raining. It was depressing: I got very cold: at one point, I couldn't even feel my fingers anymore (okay, that sound dramatic, but you know what I mean). I was worried: if it would keep on raining, the royals would arrive under their umbrellas and it would be difficult to see them (let alone take some pictures).
Some minor royals arrived when it was still raining (but it wasn't that heavy anymore).
Note: the mediatized houses don't interest me that much, so I don't recognize many of them I don't recognize many of the extended Habsburg family.
Hélène Vestur: not a royal but she was married to one (Prince Jean of Luxembourg, the late Grand Duke's second son).
The Duke and Duchess of Castro (the Duke is a pretender of the throne of Two Sicilies). Behind them: Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon (a pretender to the French throne) with his fiancee Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg (a great-granddaughter of Emperor Karl I of Austria and niece of Prince Lorenz of Belgium). On the right in a uniform of the Order of Malta is Count Lancelot d'Ursel.
Seen from the back: Prince Serge and Princess Eleonora of Serbia. Leaving the bus: the Duke of Anjou (another pretender to the French throne) and Prince Charles-Henri de Lobkowicz.
As if by magic, the rain practically stopped. I think some higher power answered my prayers. And the other good news: the buses and vans with the minor royals stopped right before me and they all left at my side as well. Things were different at the wedding in 2012: the buses and vans with the minor royals came from the other sids of the road, stopped before me but the door was at the other side of the bus, so I couldn't see them. Now, things were much better! I began to feel way more optimistic (and I started to feel my fingers too!).
More buses, vans and eventually cars with royals began to arrive now in quick succession.
Duke Philipp of Württemberg and his wife Duchess Marie-Caroline (born Duchess in Bavaria and sister of Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein).
Archduchess Anna Gabriele of Austria (daughter-in-law of the last Austrian Emperor and Empress) and Archduke István.
Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia.
Crown Prince Leka of Albania.
The Duke of Calabria (just like the Duke of Castro a pretender to the throne of Two Sicilies) and his eldest son, the Duke of Noto.
Archduke Karl of Austria, the head of the Austrian Imperial Family.
The Duke and Duchess of Parma (the Duke is a first cousin once removed of Grand Duke Jean). Agnatically, the Grand Ducal Family is a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon-Parma.
Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece...
... with his mother, Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes (a sister of the Queen of Denmark).
The Duke and Duchess of Braganza (the head of the Royal Family of Portugal and his wife). On the left: Princess Miriam of Bulgaria (widow of Prince Kardam, the eldest son of the Bulgarian King).
The Prince of Beira (the eldest son of the Duke of Braganza) accompanies Princess Miriam. Behind them: the Duke of Porto, younger brother of the Prince of Beira.
Margarita, Custodian of the Romanian Crown, with her husband Prince Radu.
The aides and ladies-in-waiting of the royal guests who were due to arrive.
Joachim Gauck, former President of Germany, with his partner Daniela Schadt.
Nicolas Sarkozy, former President of France.
Prince Hassan (the Jordanian King's uncle), Princess Sarvath and Princess Badiya of Jordan.
Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco, the brother of the Moroccan King.
The Princess Royal...
... in the same car as Lady Elizabeth Anson (sister of the famous photographer Lord Lichfield and stepdaughter of Prince George of Denmark)...
.
.. They were also joined by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester...
.... and on the left: Countess Mountbatten of Burma.
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain.
Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein.
Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium...
...with her parents, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde...
...who were also joined by King Albert II (sister of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duke Jean's late wife), Queen Paola, Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz...
...They were also joined by Prince Laurent and Princess Léa (widow of Prince Alexandre, half-brother of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte).
King Harald V (first cousin of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte) and Queen Sonja of Norway...
... who were joined by Princess Astrid, the King's sister.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
So now all foreign royal guests were inside. As I planned, Stefan and I (joined by three other people who were standing near us and asked us who all those people were) rushed to the other entrance of the Cathedral at Rue Notre-Dame to try to see the arrival of the funeral cortege. It was quite crowded in this narrow street, but, in the end, we managed to get some good spots.
Grand Duke Henri, surrounded by his family.
Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa greeting the banner.
From left: Prince Sébastien, Princess Alexandra, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and (partly hidden) Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg, Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, Archduke Carl Christian of Austria (partly hidden), Prince Jean of Luxembourg, Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria (born Princess of Luxembourg), Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein (born Princess of Luxembourg) and the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess (partly hidden).
From left: Prince Noah of Nassau, Princess Claire, Prince Félix, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg.
From left: Prince Sébastien, Prince Louis of Luxembourg with his two sons Princes Gabriel and Noah, Princess Claire and Prince Félix.
From left: Countess Marie-Christine (born Archduchess of Austria) and Count Rodolphe of Limburg-Stirum with their eldest son Count Léopold, Prince Sébastien and Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg.
From left: Archduke Christoph, Archduchess Adélaïde, Archduchess Kathleen and Archduke Imre of Austria.
From left: Antonius Willms (husband of Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Nassau), Princess Marie-Astrid (partly hidden), Prince Josef-Emanuel and Princess Maria-Anunciata of Liechtenstein, Archduke Alexandra, Archduke Christoph, Archduchess Gabriella and Archduchess Adélaïde of Austria.
From left: Princess Marie-Astrid, Prince Josef-Emanuel and Princess Maria-Anunciata of Liechtenstein.
From left: Prince Paul Louis, Prince Wenceslas and Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Nassau, Antonius Willms, Princess Marie-Astrid and Prince Josef-Emanuel of Liechtenstein.
From left: Prince Jean, Prince Léopold, Prince Constantin, Prince Carl-Johann, Prince Paul-Louis and Prince Wenceslas of Nassau.
From left: Prince Jean, Prince Léopold, Princess Charlotte, Prince Constantin, Prince Carl-Johann and Prince Paul-Louis (partly hidden).
From left: Prince Jean, Prince Léopold, Princess Charlotte (partly hidden) and Prince Paul-Louis.
After the coffin and family had entered the Cathedral, I decided to have a look at other spots in the city.
Place Guillaume II was under construction, but some people have been very creative with making sure that the surroundings made for a fitting tribute to the late Grand Duke.
Rue de la Reine, before the Grand Ducal Palace. So strange that almost no one was there anymore.
Quite desolate: the Grand Ducal Palace.
A fitting tribute to the Grand Duke by the Maison de l'Union européenne.
Many shop windows had pictures of Grand Duke Jean, This one was especially beautiful: an old portrait of the Grand Duke with Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte.
At Place d'Armes, appromimately 100 to 150 people watched the funeral service on a big screen.
Then, after having been on my feet for many hours (several of them in the cold and rain), I was very hungry! At the Place d'Armes, I found a nice little café. I had a nice spot next to the radiator: I put my feet under it and placed my hands on it. It was heaven. I ate and drank something and then, I was ready to go back to the entrance of the Cathedral at Rue de l'Ancien Athénée to see all the guests leaving. I really hoped I could take better pictures then, because they would be walking toward me and the weather seems to be getting better.
I went back to my former spot, and although there were quite a number of people, I could still get a very good spot. Three rows of people were in front of me, but as I have the advantage of being tall, that was no problem whatsoever for me.
The coffin being carried out of the Cathedral...
... followed by the family.
Count Léopold, Countess Marie-Christine and Prince Sébastien.
Some grandchildren and partners.
Prince Léopold and Princess Charlotte.
The coffin being carried off the stairs on the side to the entrance of the Grand Ducal Crypt, where the Grand Duke would be interred.
After the coffin and family were down in the Crypt, the guests were leaving. And the sun came out just a little bit as well! I was at a perfect spot to watch all the guests again - and I could see them way better than when they arrived.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway with the King's sister, Princess Astrid.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians with their eldest daughter, Princess Elisabeth...
... followed by Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz...
... and Prince Laurent and Princess Léa.
Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain.
Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands.
The Princess Royal...
... followed by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester...
...and Princess Badiya of Jordan and Countess Mountbatten of Burma...
...and in the back, on the left: Lady Elizabeth Anson.
Countess Mountbatten of Burma got confused: she didn't know in which car to sit...
... She got in this car...
... and then in this car... In the end, I think she got in the car with the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. She did look a bit annoyed!
Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Former German President Joachim Gauck with his partner Daniela Schadt.
Prince Hassan and Princess Sarvath of Jordan.
Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes and her son Crown Prince Pavlos.
Margarita, Custodian of the Romanian throne with her husband Prince Radu, followed by Archduke Karl of Austria and Princess Miriam of Bulgaria.
Queen Anne-Marie and Crown Prince Pavlos.
Margarita, Custodian of the Romanian Crown, and Prince Radu.
Archduke Karl and Princess Miriam.
The Duke and Duchess of Braganza.
Prince Robert of Luxembourg and his first cousin Princess Sophie de Ligne, daughter of Alix of Luxembourg
The Duke and Duchess of Parma, behind Princess Anne de Ligne and husband Chevalier Charles de Fabribeckers de Cortils de Grâce.
A long row of royals from non-reigning houses, members of mediatized houses and nobles, including several nieces and nephews of Grand Duke Jean such as children of his sisters Princesses Alix, Marie-Gabrielle, Marie-Adelaide and Elisabeth and his brother Prince Charles as well as the Count of Paris.
Crown Prince Leka of Albania.
Crown Prince Leka and Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia.
Prince Alois Konstantin of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg with his wife Princess Anastasia (born Princess of Prussia). On the right: Princess Mathilde of Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg (born Duchess of Württemberg). Behind: Prince Wauthier de Ligne, nephew of Grand Duke Jean.
The Duke and Duchess of Braganza.
Prince Robert and Princess Sophie de Ligne.
The Duke and Duchess of Parma.
Once again, a number of nieces and nephews of Grand Duke Jean with their spouses.
The Count of Paris.
From left: Duke Franz of Bavaria, Crown Prince Leka of Albania and Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia.
Prince Georg Friedrich and the Prince and Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.
Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia sharing a joke with the Prince and Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. The Princess is a first cousin of his late father.
Among the group: On the right, Prince Michel and Princess Eleonora de Ligne with Princess Gloria of Thurn und Taxis between them, behind Princess Mathilde and Prince Erich of Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg, further behind Princess Charlotte of Luxembourg (Charles' daughter) hidden by her husband Marc Cunningham.
On the right: the Duchess of Castro. In the middle: Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon and Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg. Behind them: Duke Wilhem Albert of Urach, on the far left: Princess Sylviane of Stolberg-Stolberg with her husband Prince Jost-Christian (mostly hidden).
In the middle: the Duke of Castro. To his right: Charles-Louis de Potesta, grandson of Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg.
Hereditary Prince Bernhard and Hereditary Princess Stephanie of Baden.
Behind: Archduke István and Archduchess Paola.
From left: Hereditary Prince Bernhard of Baden, Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria with her daughter, Duchess Marie Caroline of Württemberg.
This group includes, among others, Archduchess Beatrice of Austria and husband Count Riprand of Arco-Zinneberg, Archduke Karl-Peter and Archduchess Alexandra, as well as Archduchess Isabella and husband Count Andrea Czarnocki-Lucheschi.
On the right: Archduchess Anna Gabriele of Austria with her daughter Archduchess Catharina.
In the back: the Duke of Anjou (left) and Prince Charles-Henri de Lobkowicz.
In front: Charles-Louis de Potesta.
Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon and Countess Olympia of Arco-Zinneberg.
Duchess Elisabeth, Duchess Marie Caroline (barely visible) and Duke Philipp.
Hereditary Prince Bernhard and Hereditary Princess Stephanie of Baden.
In the middle: Archduke Michael and Archduchess Christiana of Austria.
Prince Serge of Serbia.
Hélène Vestur, the former wife of Prince Jean of Luxembourg, with Kathryn Mechie (the partner of her son Prince Constantin) and Ivana Jamin (the partner of her son Prince Carl-Johann). Ahead of them: One of the sons of the Duke of Croy.
In the front, first and second from the right: Hereditary Prince Carl-Philipp of Croy, the Prince of Beira and the Duke of Porto.
After the royal and noble guests had left, it didn't take much time before the Grand Ducal Family left the Cathedral after the short service in the Grand Ducal Crypt.
The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, followed by Archduke Carl-Christian and Archduke Marie-Astrid of Austria and Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein.
Prince Jean of Luxembourg and his wife Countess Diane of Nassau.
From left: Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, Queen Paola and King Albert II of Belgium and Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg...
... followed by Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, Prince Félix and Princess Claire...
... Princes Gabriel, Noah, Louis and Sébastien...
... Princess Alexandra, Countess Marie-Astrid, Count Léopold...
... Count Rodolphe, Archduke Imre, Archduchess Kathleen, Archduke Christoph, Archduchess Adélaïde, Archduke Alexander, Archduchess Gabriella, Prince Josef-Emanuel and Princess Maria-Anunciata.
From left: Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Princess Claire, Prince Félix, Queen Paola, King Albert II and (partly visible) Princes Gabriel and Noah.
Prince Sébastien and Princess Alexandra.
From left: Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Prince Guillaume, Princess Claire (barely visible), Princes Félix, Louis and Sébastien.
From left: Archduchess Kathleen, Archduke Imre (from the back), Archduchess Adélaïde, Archduke hristoph, Archduke Alexander, Archduchess Gabriella, Princess Maria-Anunciata (barely visible, Prince Josef-Emanuel and Princess Marie-Astrid.
On the right: Princess Marie-Gabrielle.
From left: Princes Wenceslas, Constantin, Carl-Johann, Paul-Louis and Léopold, Princess Charlotte (barely visible) and Prince Jean.
Flags at half mast at Place de la Constitution, with Notre Dame Cathedral in the background.
After the Grand Ducal Family had left, I immediately went to my car to go home: I was tired and full of impressions of this memorable day. This funeral was a rare event that made so many members of European dynasties come together. There will not be many gatherings like this one in the future.
I look back on this day with a feeling of nostalgia; to me, it was not only a farewell to Grand Duke Jean, but also to a world of royalty that is disappearing rapidly. Old traditions and customs are altered or abolished. Royalty is not what it was when Grand Duke Jean was young. It's a fact of life: everything changes, and so does royalty. But it does make me a bit sad, especially on a day like this!
Thanks to Stefan, who I met again; it was nice talking to him during the long hours of waiting! Thanks to the ladies at Luxarazzi for allowing me to write again for their wonderful blog. And a special thank you to Svenja, who has helped me identify some German and Austrian royals and nobles.