Friday, August 9, 2019

We Are On A Break

Dear readers, times flies when you are having fun - but as Luxarazzi is turning ten this year, we have decided to take an extended hiatus. It wasn't an easy decision for us as it has been an amazing ride this past decade and along the way, we - the people behind Luxarazzi - became good friends wherever around the globe we live(d). However, ten years also mean a lot of changes in our offline lives: New jobs, new towns, new babies, new responsibilities, new passions. Balancing it all and the running of a royal blog can be tough sometimes and being realistic, we decided it is best to take a break for now. 

Thank your for all your support and loyalty throughout the years! 

Luxarazzi 101: Prince Consort Felix - Later Years

For the first three parts of our biography series about Prince Felix, 
please have a look here, here and here.

***

It was clear to Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix the minute they returned to Luxembourg after the end of World War II that much work needed to be done to heal the Grand Duchy and its people following the war. The first few years meant nearly endless touring of the country, meeting with inhabitants who needed help, and commemorating those who had lost their lands, loved ones, and lives in the devastation.

Felix (far left) at the 1945 Metz liberation vigil
Felix and his family had experienced some of that pain in that they temporarily lost their home. Château de Berg was commandeered by the Nazi occupiers who refurbished it into a girls' school. The home was not suited to house the Grand Ducal Family until extensive renovations had been completed, so for several years Felix, Charlotte and the children lived at Château de Fischbach. While that property had also been used (and looted) by the Germans, its floor plan had not been altered significantly and was thus inhabitable.


Charlotte and Felix concentrated their activities on ceremonies honoring the war experience in Luxembourg, as well as repairing the resulting war damage. One of his chief duties during this time was to assist in the repatriation of deportees, survivors of concentration camps, and other Luxembourg citizens displaced by the war. In late 1945, Felix attended a vigil marking the liberation of Metz as well as the funeral of American General George S. Patton in Luxembourg City. Felix was also a regular attendee at the annual Memorial Day service in Hamm, Luxembourg, honoring American servicemen who lost their lives during the war.

The Prince Consort also received several honors for his own service during the war and its aftermath.  Felix was granted the French Croix de Guerre by General Marie-Pierre Koenig and the Silver Star Medal and Legion of Merit Award from the US Armed forces in 1945. The following year Felix was created a Knight of the British Empire by King George VI of the United Kingdom. He later received the Luxembourg War Memorial Cross in 1949. In 1950, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Avis in Portugal, and became a Knight of the Order of Seraphim in Sweden in 1951. Felix was granted the American Legion Gold Medal in 1957 and the Badge of Honor from the National Society of Belgian War Crosses a year later.

During these years Prince Felix also began to resume some of his pre-war service within the Grand Duchy. He served as Commander-in-Chief and Inspector General of the Luxembourg Army from 1945 to 1967. Felix also resumed his position as head of the Luxembourg Red Cross in 1947, a position he held until 1969.

In the last years of the 1940s and into the 1950s, Felix and his family settled into a more peaceful life. Felix and Prince Jean participated in a hunt in the Netherlands hosted by Prince Bernhard in December 1948. In January 1949, Felix helped to organize a series of celebrations honoring the thirtieth anniversary of Charlotte's reign. Felix also received much of the art stolen from Villa Pianore during the war this year after it was recovered from Dornsberg Castle.

Felix and his grandchildren, circa 1962
Meanwhile, Felix's children were growing up - and falling in love. Youngest child Alix was the first to marry in 1950, followed by Marie-Gabrielle (1951), Hereditary Grand Duke Jean (1953), Elisabeth (1956), and Marie-Adelaide (1958). (Prince Charles married a few years later, in 1967.) By 1968, Felix's children had made him a grandfather 27 times over.

As Felix's children were now adults, he began the process of taking a less active role in the direct management within the Grand Duchy. Felix resigned his seat on the Council of State to be filled by Hereditary Grand Duke Jean in 1951. However, the Prince Consort still kept up a very busy calendar of official and personal events. Felix dined with General Dwight D. Eisenhower during a visit to Luxembourg in January 1951. Felix and Charlotte attended the funeral of King George VI in London in 1952, as well as that of George's mother Queen Mary the following year. The couple also paid a state visit to the Netherlands in 1956. The Prince Consort was present with Charlotte at the dedication of the American Military Cemetery at Luxembourg on July 4, 1960, and the two visited France and dined with President Charles de Gaulle in February 1961.

But this relatively busy and peaceful time was marked with personal tragedy for the Prince Consort. Felix's disabled elder brother Giuseppe died in 1950, with Felix at his side. His youngest brother Gaetano died in 1958. The year 1959 was a particularly difficult one for Felix, as four members of his family died within the first six months. His elder sister Maria Teresa died in January, followed by sister Marie Adelaide the following month. Felix's mother died at Château de Berg in May of 1959 at the age of 96. Maria Antonia had lived in Luxembourg with her son's family since the end of World War II. Felix's brother Elias died just over a month later in June. Elias had long served first as head of the Bourbon-Parma family on behalf of two disabled brothers (Enrico and Giuseppe) and in his own right from 1950-59.

Felix with Charlotte, c. 1963
Charlotte abdicated the grand ducal throne on November 12, 1964, in favor of Hereditary Grand Duke Jean. She had ruled Luxembourg for over 45 years, with Felix serving as her consort for all but a few months of that reign. The couple continued to live at Château de Fischbach, which had been their home since 1945. They were joined there by Princess Elisabeth and her daughters Anita and Sophie, and later by Prince Charles, Princess Joan, and their children Charlotte and Robert. Charlotte and Felix celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1969 among their many children and grandchildren. The two received the Cross of the Order of Resistance to commemorate the event.

Felix died on April 8, 1970, at Château de Fischbach after several months of increasingly ill health. His remains lay in state for three days at the Grand Ducal Palace. Felix's military funeral on April 11 was attended by several members of European royalty and heads of state.

Fourteen years after the Prince Consort's death, his great-grandson, the second child of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, was named Félix in his honor. The following year, in 1985, Grand Duchess Charlotte died of cancer at the age of 89. She is buried beside her husband in the crypt at Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Weekly Roundup: Palais Tours, a Swedish Visit, and a Speech

July 6 to July 19, 2019

This week's Roundup will actually cover the previous two weeks, as last week, ahem, completely slipped our minds. It turned out, though, that not much is going on during the summer holidays.

Last week marked the annual event during which school children have the opportunity to visit Palais grand-ducal. Organized by the Luxembourg City Tourist Office (LCTO), the Palais welcomed 555 students from 23 schools across Luxembourg. Starting July 13th and running through September 5th, the Palais grand-ducal will be opened to the general public for guided tours.

Photo: © C.Chaton / Cour grand-ducale
On July 12th, Prince Félix joined Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden for a tour of a water treatment plant on the Swedish island Öland. The plant was developed using technology from the Luxembourg-based company Clean-Tech APATEQ.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli
Also on the 12th, Grand Duke Henri delivered a speech at the opening event for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which was held in Luxembourg from the 12th to the 13th.

Friday, July 5, 2019

Weekly Roundup: Audiences, Tennis, and a Statement

June 29 to July 5, 2019

Photo: Luxembourger Wort / wort.lu
On Tuesday, July 2nd, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume was at Wimbledon to cheer on Luxembourg athlete Mandy Minella in her match against Kiki Bertens.

Photo: llv.li
On the 3rd, Hereditary Prince Alois received the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Titov, who paid a courtesy visit to Schloss Vaduz. While in Liechtenstein, the Deputy Minister highlighted the 25 years of diplomatic relations between the countries, and both sides agreed about the importance of continued diplomacy.

Additionally, in light of the recent political scandal in Liechtenstein, with the dismissal of Councillor  (and former Foreign Minister) Aurelia Frick, Hereditary Prince Alois commented on the potential for further fallout. He noted that he wasn't concerned about significant impact, particularly from an international perspective.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue
On the 5th, Grand Duke Henri received in audience the Assemblée Parlementaire de l’Organisation pour la Sécurité et la Coopération en Europe (OSCE). The organization's 28th annual session is being held this year in Luxembourg, from July 4th through July 8th.

Sunday, June 30, 2019

Weekly Roundup: Another Party in the Garden, Nature Visits and More

June 22 to 28, 2019

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale
This week was much influenced by Luxembourg's National Day which took place last weekend. For our coverage please have a look at our posts about the National Day events, the gala and the fashion during all the events. The National Day events continued with a second garden party on Monday this week hosted by the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. More pictures.
Photo: Cour grand-ducale
On Tuesday, the launch of the white paper about the "Stand Speak Rise Up!" conference hosted by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa was announced.  The white paper is available here.
Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale
On Wednesday it was audience time in the Grand Duchy as Grand Duke Henri received the directorate general of the Caisse Médico-Complémentaire Mutualiste, a supplemental health insurance supplier, as well as representatives of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.
Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale
On Thursday, Grand Duke Henri got to be bus driver for a day as he visited the transportation company Sales-Lentz Group. (Well, sort of - he simply toured their facilities and got to sit down in some fancy busses and more.) 
Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale
Continuing his run of fun activities that day, the Grand Duke also visited the valley of the river Syre and the birdringingstation Schlammwiss. Parts of the valley are run by the the Fondation Hëllef fir d’Natur - natur&ëmwelt, the Grand Duke is patron of. Plenty of photos at the cour.
Photo: IKR
There weren't an awful lot of Liechtenstein news this week apart from Hereditary Prince Alois receiving several new ambassadors to the country to be presented with their letters of credence. The new ambassadors came from Benin, Saudi Arabia, Chad, Bulgaria and Vietnam.

Monday, June 24, 2019

Fashion Focus: National Day Edition

Fashion Focus is back! This is our first post in 2019 and there are two explanations for that. First of all, there hasn't been much to cover when it comes to fashion before this National Day weekend. Second of all, we wanted to respect the period of mourning for the late Grand Duke Jean. I can't say the Fashion Focus posts will be back on a regular schedule because it will depend on the activities of the grand-ducal family. So I think the next Fashion Focus will be published when I have enough information to write about in a full post. Now, let's start this Fashion Focus edition with a few fashion ids from earlier this year.


On 22 May, the Grand Ducal couple, the Hereditary Grand Ducal couple and Prince Louis opened the 4th edition of the exhibition 'Révélations' in Paris. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a Lanvin coat.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue
Photo: Lanvin



Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie wore a Hobbs dress with an LK Bennett bag.

Photo: Hobbs

Photo: LK Bennett

For the closing of the Octave, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a new coat while Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie wore an old dress and repeated accessories. Princess Claire wore a dress by Zimmermann.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

Photo: Zimmermann
On 18 June, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa gave a garden party for the forces vives. Maria Teresa wore a green lace outfit by Carolina Herrera.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue
Photo: Carolina Herrera


On 21 June, Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Prince Felix, Prince Louis, and Princess Alexandra attended a reception for residents of Colmar-Berg. Maria Teresa wore a red Carolina Herrera wrap top.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

Photo: Carolina Herrera
22 June marked the start of the National Day weekend. Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa visited the Château de Bourscheid while Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie attended celebrations in Esch-Sur-Alzette. Stephanie wore a new yellow Natan dress with her Russell and Bromley clutch.
Photo: Guy Wolff / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

Photo: Lutz.nl

Photo: 1stDibs
In the evening, the Grand Ducal family attended the torchlight parade. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore an Etro long coat with her Sergio Rossi shoes.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

Photo: Farfetch

Photo: Sergio Rossi
Princess Alexandra wore an Etro ikat print jacket while Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie wore the same outfit as earlier in the day.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli 
Photo: Farfetch


On 23 June, the Grand Ducal family celebrated the National Day. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a new Lanvin dress with Prada pumps.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

Photo: Lanvin
Photo: Prada
While she changed her earrings for the Te Deum, she wore mismatched Isabel Marant earrings at the Philarmonie.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

Photo: MyTheresa


Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie wore a beautiful pink dress by Paule Ka (with thanks to Avery) with her Sophie Habsburg clutch and Rupert Sanderson pumps. Her hat was created by Sylvia Martinez for Les Folies Bibis and it is made of porcelain.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue
Photo: Harrods

Photo: Sophie Habsburg

Photo: Rupert Sanderson

Photo: Sylvia Martinez


Princess Alexandra wore a suit that was first worn by her mother in 2003.


In the evening, the family attended the gala dinner. Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa wore a Paule Ka gown, belt and bolero (with thanks to @ImperialJPNFan) and I think she might have worn her Prada silver pumps.  I don't know anything about Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie's outfit and Princess Alexandra wore a top that was first worn by her mother in the 1980s.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

Photo: Paule Ka
Photo: Lyst



Photo: Lyst

Photo: Prada

What did you think of this year's national day fashion?



Sunday, June 23, 2019

Tiara Galore and Dashing Gentlemen: National Day Gala

All photos: Sophie Margue / Cour grand-ducale
Today is Luxembourg's National Day and, saving the best for last, the Grand Ducal Family rounded off the day with the traditional gala events a.k.a. the only sure time of the year we get to see the grand ducal ladies in tiaras - and today was no different. Everyone who attended the day's events minus Prince Félix, who probably had to head back to wife and kids, was present for the evening event as well.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa sported one of her go-to tiaras, the Belgian Scroll Tiara, together with pearl earrings that we believe date back to the days of Grand Duchess Adelheid-Marie.
Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie adorned her red gown with the Nassau Floral Tiara and one of the Nassau Rose Brooches as well as some mystery ruby earrings she previously sported in Cannes. Fun fact: I believe this is actually a tiara premiere for the Hereditary Grand Duchess. If my memory serves me right, she has not worn this tiara before.
Princess Alexandra topped of her dress that is older than this lovely lady herself (well, part of it at least) with the Turquoise Tiara, necklace and earrings as well as a major diamond ring.
Of course the gentlemen of the Grand Ducal Family also were their dashing selves this evening. While Grand Duke Henri, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Prince Sébastien sported their military uniforms, Prince Louis was in white tie.
Among the invitees for tonight's gala were members of the government, the bureau of the Chamber of Deputies, the Council of State, representatives of the judiciary, heads of the administration and foreign ambassadors - and they all looked to have a jolly good time!