Archduchess Gabriella and Prince Henri: An Old-School Royal Union

Many royal watchers were surprised by the news the other day that Archduchess Gabriella, niece of Grand Duke Henri, and her fiancée Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma recently welcomed a baby daughter. Their's is an old-school royal union, after all the Habsburgs and the Bourbons are some, if not the most important royal houses in Europe. When I set out to write this post, I had a pretty clear message in my head. I planned to say that this union may just be a bit too close to comfort for my personal taste. Archduchess Gabriella and Prince Henri are second cousins, with both their sets of parents also being second cousins.

I'm neither an advocate pro- or anti-noble unions as I simply believe that you should marry the person you love and want to spend your life with. It wasn't even simply the fact that they are second cousins, but how many times over these two are related. However, when we did the maths I - and my fellow bloggers here at Luxarazzi - were pretty surprised. We traced young Victoria's (who, by the way, due to being born out of wedlock probably does not have a style and title) back seven generations. And while they are some very interesting lineages from the same ancestors, there also are plenty little known nobles that aren't related in any way in there.

Probably most striking of all, baby Victoria is a descendant of Duke Robert I of Parma (1848-1907) and his second wife Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal (1862-1959) through four different lines. Duke Robert I of Parma had 24 children by two wives. Among them Princess Zita, (the future Empress of Austria), Prince Felix (the future Prince Consort of Luxembourg), and Prince René (who went on to marry Princess Margrethe of Denmark). It is through these three royals that young Victoria can trace her ancestry back to the last sovereign Duke of Parma and Piacenza.

The Parma connection

Robert of Parma	Robert of Parma	Robert of Parma	Robert of Parma
Zita of Bourbon-Parma	Felix of Bourbon-Parma	Felix of Bourbon-Parma	René of Bourbon-Parma
Carl-Ludwig of Austria	Jean of Luxembourg	Marie-Gabrielle of Luxembourg	Michel of Bourbon-Parma
Carl-Christian of Austria	Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg	Lydia of Holstein til Ledreborg	Erik of Bourbon-Parma
Gabriella of Austria	Gabriella of Austria	Henri of Bourbon-Parma	Henri of Bourbon-Parma
Victoria	Victoria	Victoria	Victoria

Victoria also descends in multiple ways from King Miguel I of Portugal and his wife née Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg; King Christian IX of Denmark ("the Father-in-Law of Europe") and his wife née Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel; and Duke Wilhelm of Nassau via his first or second wife. She is also a descendant of Luxembourg's very own Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix via two of their children, Grand Duke Jean and Princess Marie-Gabrielle, as also shown above.

Looking at the big picture, however, it is not nearly as bad as I thought. (Pro tip: Click on the picture while using the CTRL key and the charts should open in all their glory.)

We went back seven generation. In the row on the bottom, you can read the names of Victoria's great-great-great-great-great-grandfathers. Everyone who appears more than once is marked with a colour. Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix are marked purple; King Miguel I of Portugal and Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg red; King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel are turquoise; Duke Wilhelm of Nassau is yellow; and Duke Robert I of Parma and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal are green. (Read the chart from the left, as we stopped a line as soon as he arrived at people that previously appeared.) As you can see, there is plenty of blue - meaning people, who appear only once.

A closer look at Archduchess Gabriella's ancestors.

A closer look at Prince Henri's ancestor (to be read in addition to Gabriella's chart).

Yes, some of these lines (*cough* Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix *cough*) end pretty early on but I imagined there to be a much smaller variety of ancestors and more overlap in previous generations. Combined, Archduchess Gabriella's and Prince Henri's grandparents do include a Princess of Ligne, a Count of Holstein til Ledreborg and a Princess of Broglie-Revel though. While famous noble names, they would not have been able to marry into the ruling families of Austria, Luxembourg, (Bourbon-)Parma, Braganca or Belgium prior to the last century.

If we would go back further, we would naturally find more common ancestors. With seven generations we are, however, well into the 18th century - and if we looked at our own family trees, we would probably find a few overlaps in ancestry back then, too. Will I ever become a fan of modern-day intermarriage between rather closely-related royals? Probably not, but I got to admit that it was rather fun researching all of this. And I may just miss the days a tiny bit when you could easily make out all the close familial connections between the different reigning families. Days that a are  now gone with only a few reminders still in existence. Cases in point: Grand Duke Henri and King Philippe of the Belgians are first cousins, as are King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Margrethe of Denmark. 

A Daughter for Archduchess Gabriella

Photo: Swiss Press

Archduchess Gabriella, youngest daughter of Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria, introduced her baby daughter to the world. Little Victoria Antonia Marie-Astrid Lydia was born on October 30. The father is Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma, who proposed to Archduchess Gabriella a few days before their daugther was born.

Photo: Swiss Press

Prince Henri is the youngest son and child of Prince Eric of Bourbon-Parma and Countess Lydia of Holstein til Ledreborg, who married in 1980 and divorced in 1999. Countess Lydia of Holstein til Ledreborg is, of course, the second of seven daughters of the late Count Knud of Holstein til Ledreborg and Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Luxembourg, a sister of Grand Duke Jean. This makes Archduchess Gabriella and Prince Henri second cousins as descendants of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix. 

Photo: Swiss Press

Archduchess Gabriella is currently living in Geneva with her parents, while Prince Henri is attending university in Copenhagen. Archduchess Gabriella is taking a maternity break and plans to continue her studies in the summer of next year. Baby Victoria is the eighth grandchild of Princess Marie-Astrid and her husband as well as the 12th great-grandchild of Grand Duke Jean. (And I hope I did not forget anyone there!)

More information from Wort.

Grand Duke Jean, Daughter and Nieces Watch Cycling Race

Photo: Serge Waldbillig / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

Today was the last stage of the Tour de Luxembourg, a cycling race taking place in, you guessed it, the Grand Duchy. Every year it brings out some of the most unexpected royal sightings in Luxarazzi royal watching and this year was no difference. Grand Duke Jean always makes sure to watch the cyclists pass by his residence, the Château de Fischbach, where a pre-determined 'sprint' point was located during today's stage. This time around, he was accompanied by his daughter Princess Margaretha as well as his nieces Silvia Munro and Veronica de Pottere, both daughters of Princess Marie-Gabrielle.

More pictures of the race though not the royals at Wort.

Grand Ducal Family Celebrates 125th Anniversary of Own Dynasty

Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Grand Duke Jean, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie as well as members of the Grand Ducal Family were announced to mark the 125th anniversary of the Luxembourg-Nassau Dynasty with a family photo and a light show today - and well, a right grand ducal celebration with loads and loads of family members it was...

Photo: Pierre Matgé / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

First row, from left: 

Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Grand Duke Jean, Grand Duke Henri, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie (in Valentino)

Second row: 

Prince Guillaume, Princess Margaretha, Archduchess Marie-Astrid, Prince Jean

Third row: 

Princess Sibilla, Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, Archduke Carl-Christian, Countess Diane de Nassau

Fourth row: 

Princess Eleonora of Ligne, Prince Michel de Ligne, Prince Robert of Luxembourg, Baroness Sophie de Potesta, Countess Monica of Holstein-Ledreborg

Fifth row: 

Countess Silvia of Holstein-Ledreborg, Countess Lydia of Holstein-Ledreborg, Princess Anne of Ligne, Baron Jean-Louis de Potesta, Henrik de Jonquières.

Sixth row: 

John Munro of Foulis, Countess Tatiana of Holstein-Ledreborg, Prince Wauthier of Ligne, Chevalier Charles de Fabribeckers de Cortils de Grâce, Princess Sophie de Ligne.

Seventh row: 

Countess Antonia of Holstein-Ledreborg, Mark von Riedemann, Princess Régine of Ligne, Prince Lamoral of Ligne, Princess Jacqueline of Ligne

As you may notice by the diverse names, all the children of Grand Duke Jean as well as children of his brother and almost all of his sisters were present for the occasion - what a nice surprise! Can we make this happen more often? Maybe through in some more grandchildren into the mix?

The occasion for the large family gathering was the closing of the celebrations of the 125th anniversary of the Luxembourg-Nassau dynasty. The former Duke Adolph of Nassau became Grand Duke of Luxembourg in November of 1890 upon death of King-Grand Duke Willem III. He arrived in Luxembourg on December 8, 126 years ago today, together with his wife and heir to take his oath on the constitution. 

Grand Duke Adolph had inherited the Luxembourgish throne based on the Nassau family pact. Already in 1783, the two lines of the House of Nassau - the other one once ruled Luxembourg and still rules the Netherlands - had formed the Nassauischer Erbverein, which covered the areas of inheritance and succession. It stated that if one line of the House of Nassau became extinct in male line, the other one succeed. It was also agreed that the pact would be applied to those territories owned or acquired in the then Holy Roman Empire. Even though Luxembourg had been acquired after the pact was formed and even after the Holy Roman Empire came to its end, it was still part of the German Confederation which was considered as the Empire's successor.

On this basis, the Grand Duchy was inherited by the House of Nassau-Weilburg. While there were efforts to change the Luxembourgish law of succession so that a female could inherit the throne, it is generally said that King Willem III's wife, Queen Emma, a niece of Duke Adolph had campaigned against such a change so that her uncle would once again become a sovereign. Over the course of the last year, there have been various celebrations to mark the 125th anniversary of these events. Apart from the large family gathering, there was also a light show as part of the "Luxembourg Light Nights". The light projected the history of the Luxembourg-Nassau dynasty and Luxembourg's history onto the facade of the palais grand-ducal. This video by RTL gives a few insights into the preparations. Wort has more pictures of the event itself, as does Tageblatt. The family also attended the Christmas market after the show

Luxarazzi 101: Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Luxembourg, Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg

Over the years here at Luxarazzi we have talked in great detail about the long and full life of Grand Duke Jean. However, the siblings of Grand Duke Jean have led interesting lives of their own both in and away from Luxembourg.  Today we'll learn more about Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Luxembourg, the third sister of Grand Duke Jean. Marie-Gabrielle is the Dowager Countess of Ledreborg-Holstein and also godmother of Grand Duke Henri.

Marie-Gabrielle as a child

Marie-Gabrielle Adelgunde Wilhelmine Louise was born on August 2, 1925, the fourth child and third daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte and her consort, Prince Felix. She had five siblings: Grand Duke Jean, Princess Elisabeth, Princess Marie-Adelaide, Prince Charles, and Princess Alix. Marie-Gabrielle spent her early years at Château de Berg, where she was privately educated with her siblings. The artistic flair seen in some members of the Grand Ducal Family appeared in Marie-Gabrielle during her childhood. Like her siblings, Marie-Gabrielle was raised in the Catholic faith, which has been very important to her throughout her lifetime.

Marie-Gabrielle, along with her siblings Jean and Alix, their parents, and the Dowager Grand Duchess Maria Ana fled Luxembourg on May 10, 1940, following the German invasion during the Second World War.  Marie-Gabrielle was fourteen at the time. During this frightening trip, Marie-Gabrielle - riding in a car along with Jean and Alix - was barely able to avoid incoming bands of German soldiers on multiple occasions, but was luckily able to escape the country. The family joined Marie-Adelaide, Elisabeth, and Charles in Belgium, where they were attending school and staying with the Prince Consort's sister Zita, the former Austrian Empress. The entire family, along with Zita and her children, were able to flee Belgium through France, Spain, and finally to Portugal. 

Felix had requested and received temporary asylum in the United States from President Roosevelt, as well as transport on the naval cruiser the USS Trenton.  Marie-Gabrielle embarked for the United States with her father, siblings, and grandmother on July 15, 1940. Grand Duchess Charlotte stayed behind in Portugal for the meantime, joining her family later. The Grand Ducal Family was greeted the following week at the White House where they attended a luncheon with the President. 

After a few weeks' stay in the United States, Marie-Gabrielle and her family settled in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.  The move was necessary in order not to violate the then-neutrality of the United States; Canada was already involved in the war. Additionally, the grand ducal children could continue their education in the French language (of which they were more familiar than English) in Quebec.  Marie-Gabrielle and all three of her sisters joined their aunt Zita's family in Quebec City, where they attended the College Jesus-Marie de Sillery, a French language girls' school associated with Laval University.  

Marie-Gabrielle (second from right) with her family,
Long Island, New York 1940

Marie-Gabrielle lived in Quebec for two years, after which time the family moved to Britain, where Marie-Gabrielle and her siblings became involved in activities with the British Red Cross. Marie-Gabrielle and her siblings remained in the public eye, appearing at both private and official events associated with the family and Grand Duchy. She was present at a mass for her grandmother, Dowager Grand Duchess Maria Ana, who died in New York in July 1942. Marie-Gabrielle also appeared at a 1944 event in New York celebrating the 700th anniversary of the Luxembourg Freedom Charter. 

The Grand Ducal Family returned to Luxembourg on April 17, 1945.  The now 19-year-old Marie-Gabrielle, along with her siblings Elisabeth, Marie-Adelaide, and Charles, drove in the convoy of ambulances and trucks donated to the country by the British Red Cross. The convoy carried emergency food, personal care items, and medical supplies to aid in the recovery of the Grand Duchy's citizens. 

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Marie-Gabrielle was a student of sculptor Auguste Tremont (whom we have discussed before in relation to the animal sculptures he designed at Château de Betzdorf, Cathédrale Notre-Dame, and the Luxembourg Town Hall). Marie-Gabrielle exhibited her sculptures several times under the name "Mademoiselle de Clervaux" in both France and Luxembourg.  She also served as a patron of the Salon de l'Art Vivant à Differdange, an art exhibition in the Grand Duchy. 

In 1947 Marie-Gabrielle attended the wedding of her cousin, Jacques of Bourbon-Parma, to Danish countess Birgitte of Holstein-Ledreborg. Birgitte was part of a branch of the family who had converted to Catholicism in the 1860s. It was there that Marie-Gabrielle became acquainted with the bride's brother, Knud. Knud was deeply interested in agriculture and forestry, and had spent time studying and working in the field in various parts of Europe. When Marie-Gabrielle returned to her sculpture and Knud to his agriculture, the two kept up a correspondence and love blossomed between them. The couple's engagement was publicly announced on August 24, 1951. 

Marie-Gabrielle and Knud were married civilly on November 5, 1951, and religiously the following day, which happened to be her parents' 32nd wedding anniversary.  The civil wedding was conducted by Alfred Wagner, the mayor of Colmar-Berg, at Château de Berg. The religious ceremony, conducted by Monsignor Leo Lommel, took place at the Colmar-Berg parish church. Marie-Gabrielle wore the Diamond Vine Leaves Tiara as her wedding tiara, as did each of her sisters.

Marie-Gabrielle and Knud
on their wedding day

Marie-Gabrielle became the Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg immediately as Knud's father had died a few months before the wedding.  Marie-Gabrielle and Knud settled at Ledreborg Castle, the seat of the Holstein-Ledreborg family, an 18th century property on the Danish island of Zealand. The couple became parents to seven daughters born between 1952 and 1962:

- Monica (1952-)

- Lydia (1955-)

- Veronica (1956-)

- Silvia (1958-)

- Camilla (1959-2010)

- Tatiana (1961-)

- Antonia (1962-)

Knud managed the family finances and affairs, while also involving himself in local politics. The Ledreborg-Holstein family remained in close contact to the Luxembourg Grand Ducal Family during the following years via family events such as wedding, christenings, funerals and many more inbetween. Along with the future King Albert II of Belgium, Marie-Gabrielle served as godparent to Grand Duke Henri in 1955.

In 1984, Marie-Gabrielle and her family received communion from Pope John Paul II.  The following year, Grand Duchess Charlotte died, which hit Marie-Gabrielle very hard.  In response, Marie-Gabrielle made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, Yugoslavia (now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina), where the Virgin Mary was said to have appeared multiple times since 1981. Although the Catholic Church has not yet taken an official stance on the situation, the site is one of the most popular in Europe for pilgrimage. Marie-Gabrielle claimed to be affected greatly by these experiences within her faith. Her youngest daughter Antonia later made the same trip to Medjugorje; soon after this pilgrimage, Antonia joined the Emmanuel Community, a Catholic lay society with members dedicated to simplicity and celibacy.

Marie-Gabrielle (second from left) with siblings Alix, Jean,
Elisabeth, and Marie-Adelaide

In 1990, Knud retired from active management of Ledreborg Castle and the family holdings. The properties are now managed by Silvia, the couple's fourth daughter. Knud and Marie-Gabrielle continued to live at Ledreborg, making occasional appearances at official and family events in Luxembourg. 

Following Knud's death from cancer in 2001, Marie-Gabrielle has sadly lost her sisters Marie-Adelaide (2007) and Elisabeth (2011) as well as her fifth daughter Camilla (2010). Her public appearances are now rare due to her advanced age. Marie-Gabrielle recently celebrated her 91st birthday, and now has a total of fourteen surviving grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren (at least last time we checked). 

Birthday Concert for Grand Duke Jean

Photo: SIP / Julien Warnand

The celebrations of the 95th birthday of Grand Duke Jean this evening culminated in a concert at the Philharmonie. After the photo opportunity at the palais grand-ducal, the Grand Ducal Family and their royal guests all made their way to the concert building, where the concert to honour Luxembourg's former Grand Duke took place at the Salle de Concerts Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte named for his late wife. (We noted some additional royal guests apart from those seen previously, we'll update our guest list as we go along.)

The younger grandchildren of Grand Duke Jean - that's everyone minus the Hereditary Grand Duke - and their assorted spouses as well as Prince Gabriel and Prince Noah, his eldest great-grandchildren, made their way to the Philharmonie in not one but two busses. (Talk about a large family!) The royal guests, Grand Duke Jean's children and spouses, as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie were taken there by car. They all were welcomed by Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Pierre Ahlborn, President of the Philharmonie, and Stephan Gehmacher, General Director of the Philharmonie. Grand Duke Jean did not make an official arrival but instead greeted his guests inside the concert hall.

Photo: Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

Tickets for the concert for the general Luxembourgish public were available and sold out within a matter of hours. I know that some had hoped that we would also see the younger great-grandchildren of Apapa Jean such as counts Léopold and Constantin de Limburg-Stirum, sons of Archduchess Marie-Christine, Archduchess Maria-Stella, daughter of Archduke Imre, Archduchess Katarina, daughter of Archduke Christoph, as well as Princess Amalia, daughter of Prince Félix, but considering that all the official events took part during the evening hours, it was a long stretch to hope so to begin with and all the understandable.

Anyway, back to what actually took place: The Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg under the direction of Gustavo Gimeno and with soloist Daishin Kashimoto kicked the concert of with Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61. The 42 minutes long piece was followed by the overture of Johann Strauss II's Die Fliedermaus as well as the polonaise from Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The concert was rounded of by a hearty rendition of Happy Birthday played by the Irish Guards and a birthday cake for Grand Duke Jean: the traditional Luxembourgish Baamkuch with a crown on top. 

There was also a joined speech by Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Archduchess Marie-Christine, Prince Constantin, Princess Anunciata and Prince Paul-Louis, representing the five lines of Grand Duke Jean's descendants. Here's hoping we'll get to see some video clips of it!

Pictures of the concert as well as the earlier photo op are available at Wort, Tageblatt, RTL, Belga, L'essentiel, AFP, EPA and a few other places. (We might add a few more links tomorrow.)

And last but not (well, kinda) least: Fashion-wise Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie wore a Diane von Furstenberg jumpsuit (and her diamond earrings) with more IDs possibly heading your way in the next couple of days.

Guest List for Grand Duke Jean's Birthday Concert

Just a few minutes ago, the birthday concert for Grand Duke Jean started. Here's the official list of guests of all those attending... Turns out that the party for the 95th birthday is even bigger than the one five years ago, as members of several foreign royal families and noble relatives and friends are also in attendance!

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg celebrates his 95th birthday with family and royal guests @CourGrandDucale pic.twitter.com/UCWO6FzaEQ

— Patrick van Katwijk (@Patrickvkatwijk) January 9, 2016

Grand Duke Henri
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa
Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume
Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie
Prince Félix
Princess Claire
Prince Louis
Princess Tessy
Prince Gabriel de Nassau
Prince Noah de Nassau
Princess Alexandra
Prince Sébastien

Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria
Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria  

Archduchess Marie-Christine of Austria
Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum
Archduke Imre of Austria
Archduchess Kathleen of Austria
Archduke Christoph of Austria
Archduchess Adélaïde of Austria
Archduke Alexander of Austria
Archduchess Gabriella  of Austria

Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein
Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein
Princess Maria-Anunciata of Liechtenstein
Princess Marie-Astrid of Liechtenstein
Prince Josef of Liechtenstein

Prince Jean
Countess Diane de Nassau
Princess Marie-Gabrielle de Nassau
Prince Carl de Nassau
Prince Constantin de Nassau
Prince Wenceslas de Nassau

Prince Guillaume
Princess Sibilla
Prince Paul-Louis de Nassau
Princess Charlotte de Nassau
Prince Léopold de Nassau
Prince Jean de Nassau

Princess Anne de Ligne
Chevalier Charles de Fabribeckers de Cortils et Grâce

Countess Antonia de Holstein-Ledreborg

Dr Jean H. Fruchaud

Princess Tatiana Radziwill

Archiduchess Anna-Gabriella of Austria

Archduchess Catharina of Austria

Prince El Hassan of Jordan
Princess Sarvath of Jordan

King Konstantine of Greece
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece

Queen Sofia of Spain

Princess Irene of Greece

Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands

King Philippe of the Belgians
Queen Mathilde of the Belgians

Edited to add: 
The above names are the ones on the official list, 
here area few other royals and nobles we spied

Princess Sophie of Hohenberg
Baron Jean-Louis de Potesta  

Archduke Karl Peter of Austria
Archduchess Alexandra of Austria

Archduke István of Austria
Archduchess Paola of Austria

Count Andrea Czarnocki-Lucheschi
Archduchess Isabella of Austria-Este

Luxarazzi 101: Grand Duke Jean During World War II

In 1939 the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg had celebrated the 100th anniversary of its independence in grand fashion but a year later came the biggest thread to the country's freedom when Nazi-Germany invaded the tiny Grand Duchy on May 10th, 1940. Today, members of the Grand Ducal Family are commemorating the landing of allied forces in the Normandy in 1944 alongside other world leaders. However, the only (former) head of state present who actually participated in those landings is Grand Duke Jean. And so I thought we'd take the opportunity to chronicle his life during the war years.

The Grand Ducal Family prior to the war

Plans of an imminent invasion by the German forces became known already a few days prior to the actual invasion. The Grand Ducal Family had decided that they would stay on Luxembourgish territory until the last moment possible and Prince Felix, Grand Duke Jean's father, had drawn up plans for the family to leave the country via two separate ways. While Grand Duke Jean and his sisters Princess Marie-Gabrielle and Princess Alix were to travel in one car, Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix as well as Grand Duchess Maria-Ana would try to make their way out of the country by a number of other ones. After all, the Germans should not be allowed to capture the entire Grand Ducal Family, and especially not Grand Duchess Charlotte and then-Hereditary Grand Duke Jean, at once. (The other children of the family were staying with their paternal aunt Empress Zita of Austria near Brussels at the time)

Grand Duke Jean and his sisters were accompanied by two aide-de-camps and the original plan was to bring them to Esch-sur-Alzette where they should have stayed with the friend of one of the aide-de-camps until further instruction. However, the friend wasn't home and so they made their way via various towns and villages along the French border as the aide-de-camps weren't entirely sure whether to leave the Grand Duchy behind or not. Just outside of Niederkerschen they almost came into contact with German soldiers when a plane landed on a meadow nearby. Out of the plane jumped armed German soldiers though the car carrying Grand Duke Jean, Princess Marie-Gabrielle and Princess Alix was able to turn around. Another critical situation happened when they had to cross a German road block but in the end they - just as the rest of the family - were able to leave Luxembourg safely.

At the Château de Bostz,
where the family stayed
between May 20th and
June 16th, 1940
(Photo: Collections grand-ducales)

The Family reunited during the evening hours in Sainte Menehould before making their way to Paris, which was about 220 kilometres away, the following day. On the day of Belgium's capitulation to Germany (May 28th), the family stayed together with their Habsburg and Bourbon-Parma cousins at the Château de Bostz, owned by Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, a brother of Prince Felix, in Besson about 300 kilometres south of Paris.

On June 18th, Prince Felix and his children made their way to Saint-Jean-de-Luz close to the French-Spanish border where they stayed at the property of the Spanish Carlist politician Rafael Olazabal. A day later, Grand Duchess Charlotte also arrived there and it was decided that the aide-de-camp who had already brought Grand Duke Jean and his sisters out of Luxembourg would travel with all of the Grand Duchess' children to Spain where they would stay in San Sebastian. Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix followed them a day later but very soon afterwards the Family received a letter by the Spanish dictator Franco that they were not welcome in Spain. After already having received visas from Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Grand Ducal Family then made their way via Vitoria, Burgos and Valladolid to Salamanca and then finally arrived in Portugal on June 24th.

On board the USS Trenton

After a few days of uncertainty it was Prince Felix who sent a cable to the United States of America asking for asylum for the Grand Ducal Family and the few employees that had fled with them. As luck would have it, Prince Felix and Grand Duke Jean had personally met President Roosevelt a year earlier and so their request was immediately accepted. On July 15th, Prince Felix and his children boarded the USS Trenton while Grand Duchess Charlotte stayed behind in Europe. When the ship arrived to the United States in Annapolis near Washington D.C. the members of the Grand Ducal Family were welcomed with 21 canon salutes. The first point on the Family's agenda after arriving to the United States was a luncheon at the White House.

In October 1940, the Grand Ducal Family as well as Luxembourg's exiled government took up residency in Canada. This relocation enabled the Grand Ducal as well as the children of the ministers to continue their education in French. Soon after Grand Duke Jean attended Université Laval in Québec where he majored in Political Science. In February 1941, Grand Duke Jean participated in a state visit to the United States alongside his parents. During the state visit President Roosevelt, who simply called the Grand Duchess 'my dear child' and Hereditary Grand Duke Jean and Prince Felix by their first names, told the Grand Duchess, "Don't worry, dear child, I'll bring you home again."

Just like his parents, Grand Duke Jean participated in a number of goodwill tours travelling all over the US. He also held a number of speeches on Luxembourg's behalf. On the invitation of emigrated Luxembourgers, he also paid a visit to Brazil in June 1942. 

Near Bayeux after landing
in the Normandy
(Photo: Cour grand-ducale)

On October 6th, 1942, then-Hereditary Grand Duke Jean and his father made their way to Great Britain. About ten days later, there were received at Buckingham Palace by King George VI and during their meeting it was agreed that the future Grand Duke was to enter the Irish Guards. After entering the military on November 29th, his first few months of training led the then-Hereditary Grand Duke to Caterham and Pirbright. Being based at the Mons barracks in Aldershot, he completed his education at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst after having obtained the rank of second lieutenant. His passing-out ceremony on July 28th was attended by Prince Felix and the exiled government. On the same day, the future Grand Duke addressed the people of Luxembourg via BBC Radio. 

In August 1943, the Grand Duke Jean regained the Guards’ training battalion at Lingfield. During this time, he served as a guard at Buckingham Palace. Interestingly, he was on guard during an official visit by his mother and sisters during which he had to remain motionless the whole time. 

In February 1944, he joined the 3rd battalion of the Irish Guards at the Guards Armoured Division based at Malton, Yorkshire, where the battalion received their training for the Normandy landings on D-Day. On March 3rd, 1944, Prince Jean was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. At the end of April of the same year, the battalion was redeployed to Eastbourne. 

Photo: Tony Krier / Cour grand-ducale

On June 11th, 1944, five days after the D-Day that is commemorated today, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean landed in Normandy as member of a reinforcement unit. Subsequently, he served in the 32nd brigade of the Guards Armoured Division in Normandy thus taking part in the Battle of Caen. Having suffered major losses, the Guards Armoured Division was placed under the orders of the 30th Corps and received the order to advance to the Belgian border. On August 25th, which was also the day of the liberation of Paris, they crossed the Seine near Vernon and arrived at the Somme four days later. Liberating Arras and Douai on the way, they reached Brussels on the evening of September 3rd. The following day the division took part in the military ceremonies before the monument to the Unknown Soldier and at the Town Hall and then continued on to the East. 

While at Leopoldsburg on September 7th, Grand Duke Jean received the order to join his father, Prince Felix who had fought with the American Fifth Armoured Division. On September 10th, 1944, he returned to Luxembourg, crossing the border at Rodange, the very same place where the Grand Duchess had had to leave the country on May 10th, 1940. Once recognising Hereditary Grand Duke Jean and Prince Felix, the Luxembourgish population carried them around on their shoulders. 

Photo: Photohall Bertogne

After spending a few days in the now liberated Luxembourg, Grand Duke Jean returned to his unit, which had been involved in Operation Market Garden (Arnhem) since September 17th. They subsequently also took part in the Battle of the Bulge as well as the Reichswald attacks south of Nijmegen in February 1945. Once the German resistance had been broken in the region, the Guards Armoured Division began moving towards Bremen and Hamburg in the north of Germany. 

At the beginning of April 1945, Grand Duke Jean received the order to return to Luxembourg where the arrival of Grand Duchess Charlotte was expected. On April 14th, 1945, he was in the country to greet his mother who was greeted by an overjoyed population. Following the surrender of Germany, he was later detached to the allied military mission in Luxembourg. Dispatched to Berlin, he became particularly concerned about the deported Luxembourg nationals and the question of their repatriation. After the war, from 1984 until his abdication, he served as Colonel of the Regiment of the Irish Guards, often riding in uniform behind Queen Elizabeth II during the Sovereign's Birthday Parade.

Luxarazzi 101: Diamond Vine Leaves Tiara

Not only did a dream come true for the former Claire Lademacher yesterday when she married her hunky prince in a lovely ceremony in the south of France but also for all of us tiara lovers out there as it meant that we would get more information about one of the most lovely but also most mysterious tiaras in the Grand Ducal Collection. Unfortunately it seems that not even the Grand Ducal Family knows a whole lot about it provenance, however, we are simply going to roll with the information we have.

Princess Alix, Princess Marie-Gabrielle, Princess Elisabeth, Princess Marie-Adelaide, Princess Claire

Often simply described as the bigger one of the two floral tiaras of the Grand Ducal Family, we have come to refer to it as the 'Diamond Leaves and Berries Tiara' for the obvious reason that it features exactly that, diamonds set in a leaf motif with occasional single diamond berries set inbetween.

The cour grand-ducale decided to refer to it as the 'Vine Leaves Tiara' which is totally fine with us as, upon closer inspection, it turns out that the leaves are indeed those of vine. (How fitting as Princess Claire is the future manager of a vine estate!) While all kind of tiaras featuring different variations of leafy motives were made during the centuries, the vine leaf motif is rather uncommon sight which makes this tiara all the more special. The only stone used in this tiara are diamonds which are set in yellow gold and silver in the aforementioned vine leaf motif interspersed with more single diamonds.

Princess Claire, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie

While neither its creator nor the exact time of creation are known, the tiara seems to date to the middle of the 19th century and is owned by the family foundation which means that in difference to those pieces brought into the family by Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, this sparkler cannot be sold or willed off to children. Parts of the tiara could either be worn as brooches or a necklace in the past though it seems that the tiara has been permanently fixed into its current setting.

Even though the tiara has been in the family for a long time, it didn't get many outings until rather recently. While Grand Duchess Charlotte never wore the tiara, her four daughters, princesses Alix, Marie-Gabrielle, Elisabeth and Marie-Adelaide, wore the tiara on their respective wedding days thus giving it the sobriquet of a wedding tiara. According to the cour, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte only ever wore the tiara once while her daughter-in-law Grand Duchess Maria Teresa seems to have taken a liking to it as she regularly gets Diamond Vine Leaves Tiara out of the vaults for a spin at events that require some sparkle.

But not only was this tiara as wedding tiara during the 1950's, it also adorned the head of another new Luxembourg princess rather recently. The former Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy either chose or was offered this tiara to wear on the eve of her wedding to Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume as her first ever Grand Ducal tiara - a nice tie in with other brides of the family.

Photos: PPE / Guy Wolff / Cour grand-ducale / Getty Images / AFP Photos

Luxarazzi 101: Grand Ducal Wedding Tiaras

With not too much wedding news to report about, let's make some news of our own and have a look at the Luxembourgish wedding tiaras. That's right, not one wedding tiara but weddings tiaras. Over the years, the brides of the Grand Ducal Family have opted for very different pieces to adorn their heads on their wedding days. These tiaras are the obvious choices for Claire Lademacher to wear at her religious wedding ceremony on Saturday if she decides to wear a tiara at all. Sadly for us, quite a number of Grand Ducal brides chose not to wear any tiara at all.

Grand Duchess Charlotte, Princess Hilda

Nah, I don't even entertain the possibility that Claire will be wearing the Empire Tiara and neither should you. This sparkler was, however, worn by Grand Duchess Charlotte and Princess Hilda at their weddings to Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma and Adolph, 10th Prince of Schwarzenberg respectively. None of Charlotte and Hilda's sisters opted to wear a tiara on their big days.

Princess Alix, Princess Marie-Gabrielle, Princess Elisabth, Princess Marie-Adelaide

Moving onto the next generation of Luxembourgish brides in the form of Grand Duchess Charlotte's daughters. At her wedding to Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne, Princess Alix was the first of the four sisters to wear the larger of the two floral tiaras of the Grand Ducal Collection. The has also been worn by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie for various events. It was later also worn by Princess Marie-Gabrielle, Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg; Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Hohenberg; and Princess Marie-Adelaide, Countess Henckel of Donnersmarck. Princess Joan did not wear a tiara at her wedding which happened on a much more private scale than any of the others.

Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa,
Princess Marie-Astrid, Princess Margaretha

It was the other of Grand Duchess Charlotte's daughters-in-law who brought the Congo Diamond Necklace Tiara into the Family and also started a bit of a wedding tiara tradition with it. The daughter-in-law was, of course, no other than Grand Duchess Charlotte, a born Princess of Belgium. She wore this tiara for her actual wedding while changing into the Belgian Scroll Tiara later on. Her choice was echoed by her daughter-in-law Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as well as her daughters Princess Marie-Astrid and Princess Margaretha at their weddings. Neither Princess Sibilla nor the former Countess Hélène nor Countess Diane wore a tiara on their weddings.

Archduchess Marie-Christine, Archduchess Adelaide

Not only the bigger one of the two floral tiaras has a history as a wedding tiara. The smaller one does, too. Two of the Habsburg brides of the family, Princess Marie-Astrid's daughter Marie-Christine and her daughter-in-law Adelaide, chose this sparkler for their big day. Archduchess Kathleen did not wear a tiara but a pearl headband.

Princess Charlotte, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie

You remember what I just said about the Empire Tiara not being worn next Saturday? These tiaras won't be worn either but what the heck, who doesn't love looking at a few sparklers more?! Princess Charlotte wore the tiara her mother, the former Princess Joan. Yep, she might not have worn one at her wedding but she owned one herself. Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie famously wore the tiara of her family for her wedding last year.

"The Consul of Bordeaux"

Photo: Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

Last night, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa attended the Luxembourgish premiere of the film "The Consul of Bordeaux" at the Utopolis cinema in Kirchberg as part of a series of screenings of Portuguese films organised by the Embassy of Portugal to the Grand Duchy in collaboration with Camões I, a Portuguese Cultural Centre in Luxembourg. 

Source: "The Consul of Bordeaux" official trailer from Henri Seroka on Vimeo.

The film tells the story of a man who saved the lives of about 30,000 refugees during World War II in only a week by frantically granting them visas. Among those receiving visas were no other than Grand Duchess Charlotte, her husband Prince Felix and their children Hereditary Grand Duke Jean, Princess Elisabeth, Princess Marie-Adelaide, Princess Marie-Gabrielle, Prince Charles and Princess Alix as well as Grand Duchess Maria Ana.

The man is, of course, Aristides de Sousa Mendes who is sadly largely forgotten these days. He was Portugal's consul-general in Bordeaux, France. At the time of the French capitulation in June 1940, thousands of refugees made their way south in the direction of Spain and Portugal to escape from the Germans. To enter Spain, one needed a Portuguese transit visa as Spain had already prohibited refugees to enter their country. The Portuguese dictator, António de Oliveira Salazar, then also decreed that under no circumstances Jews or dissidents were to be granted passage to Portugal.

At first Sousa Mendes only offered to grant visas to his friend, a Polish rabbi, and his family. The rabbi did not accept the offer stating that he could not leave when others were to be left behind. The Portuguese consul-general did not know what to do and after two days of thinking, on 17 June, Sousa Mendes decided to disobey the order given by his government and to issue visas for everyone, regardless of their nationality, race or religion. In the next few days, he granted about 30,000 visas to refugees, among them 12,000 Jews, the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg and 17 members of the Imperial Family of Austria.

On 20 June, Salazar ordered Sousa Mendes to come back to Portugal immediately. On his way, he granted more visas to refugees, before being stripped of his office three days later. Another day later, Salazar stated that none of Sousa Mendes' visas were valid anymore.

Sousa Mendes was later stripped of his title as diplomat and his pension was taken away. Furthermore, he was disallowed to practise law, his original occupation, and everyone in the country was forbidden to show him any charity. In 1954, he died in poverty and only in 1988 he was rehabilitated by the Portuguese parliament.

More pictures of the film premiere are located at Wort in Portuguese and on the website of Manuel Dias.

Source: Sousa Mendes Foundation, Yad Vashem, Wort

Wedding Guest List

After wading and wading and wading and wading through tons of pictures of the wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and his new wife née Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy, I have come up with an exhaustive (and exhausting) guest list. I suspect that I have missed many guests or that I might have misidentified some of them, so my apologies if that happened. Added to my own identification are people from the released guest list, plus people that were pointed out to me by others (thanks to everyone!).

Photo: Christian Aschman / Cour grand-ducale

I know that some of the titles are not entirely correct; of course it should be “Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg” or “The Grand Duke of Luxembourg”. Nevertheless, to avoid confusion, every person is listed as “*Title* *Name* of *Place*”. In some case there was no appropriate translation into English, so the title in the original language stayed.

I’m also aware that in some European countries nobility is abolished. So technically, it would be “Georg-Friedrich Prinz von Preußen” which is the actual name of “Prince Georg-Friedrich of Prussia”. As I’m not in Austria and thus not under Austrian law, all archdukes and -duchesses are listed as archduke and -duchesses and not as “*Name* Habsburg-Lothringen”. As I’m sure that some, if not many, of them aren’t Austrian citizens and I have no clue what their actual last name of the country in question is. (No, I have never seen their passports. Outrageous, I know.)

The guests are in alphabetical order by their last name / country of origin, starting with the immediate families of the groom and bride. All wives are listed with their husbands names / titles, even though some of them might still be styling themselves with their maiden names / titles. Wives of noble descendent are mentioned as “née *Title* of *Place*” because I think it is interesting to see the family connections and interrelatedness. Under-aged children are listed with their parents.


Family of the groom

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa
and Grand Duke Henri
(Photo: RTL)

Prince Félix of Luxembourg

Prince Louis of Luxembourg
Princess Tessy of Luxembourg
Prince Gabriel de Nassau

Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg

Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg

Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria
Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria, née Princess of Luxembourg

Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum
Countess Marie-Christine de Limburg-Stirum, née Archduchess of Austria

Archduke Imre of Austria
Archduchess Kathleen of Austria

Archduke Christoph and his fiancée
Adélaïde (Photo: RTL)

Archduke Christoph of Austria
Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch

Archduke Alexander of Austria

Archduchess Gabriella of Austria

Prince Jean of Luxembourg
Countess Diane de Nassau

Princess Marie-Gabrielle de Nassau

Prince Constantin de Nassau

Prince Wenceslas de Nassau 

Prince Carl de Nassau

Prince Nikolaus von und zu Liechtenstein
Princess Margaretha von und zu Liechtenstein, née Princess of Luxembourg

Princess Maria-Anunciata von und zu Liechtenstein

Princess Marie-Astrid von und zu Liechtenstein

Princess Sibilla and Prince Guillaume
with their children Leopold, Charlotte,
Paul-Louis and Jean (Photo: RTL)

Prince Josef von und zu Liechtenstein

Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg
Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg
Prince Paul-Louis de Nassau
Prince Léopold de Nassau
Princess Charlotte de Nassau
Prince Jean de Nassau

Prince Robert of Luxembourg
Princess Julie de Nassau

Marc Cunningham
Charlotte Cunningham, née Princess of Luxembourg

Hélène Vestur, former wife of Prince Jean of Luxembourg

Charlotte and Marc Cunningham,
she is the daughter of Prince Charles

Mr Luis Mestre, brother of the Grand Duchess
Mrs Nicole Mestre

Maike Mestre

Luis Mestre

Mrs Catalina Esteve, sister of the Grand Duchess

Natalia Esteve

Katarina Esteve

Victoria Esteve

Mr Antonio Mestre, brother of the Grand Duchess


Family of the bride 

Count Philippe de Lannoy

Count Christian and Countess Luisa
de Lannoy (Photo: RTL)

Count Jehan de Lannoy
Countess Caroline de Lannoy
Countess Louise de Lannoy

Count Christian de Lannoy
Countess Luisa de Lannoy

Mr John Hamilton
Mrs Nathalie Hamilton, née Countess de Lannoy
Antonia Hamilton
Charlotte Hamilton
Madeleine Hamilton

Countess Gaëlle de Lannoy

Countess Isabelle,
sister of
Count Philippe
(Photo: RTL)

Count Amaury de Lannoy

Count Olivier de Lannoy
Countess Alice de Lannoy

Mr Jean-Charles de le Court
Mrs Isabelle de le Court, née Countess de Lannoy
Isaure de le Court
Lancelot de le Court

Countess Chantal de Lannoy

Countess Isabelle de Lannoy

Count Claude de Lannoy
Countess Claudine de Lannoy, née Countess d’Ursel

Dominique and Lydia
de Schaetzen (Photo: RTL)

Mr Ladislas della Faille de Leverghem
Mrs Anne della Faille de Leverghem, née de Schietere de Lophem

Knight Dominique de Schaetzen
Mrs Lydia de Schaetzen, née della Faille de Leverghem

Mr Claude de Goussencourt
Mrs Dominique de Goussencourt, née della Faille de Leverghem

Mr Arnaud della Faille de Leverghem
Mrs Marie-Pascale della Faille de Leverghem, née de Grand Ry


Royal and noble (-related) guests

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi

Countess Maria Beatrice von und zu Arco-Zinneberg, née Archduchess of Austria-Este

Countess Anna von und zu Arco-Zinneberg

Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg

Princess Dainé d'Arenberg
(Photo: RTL)

Princess Dainé d'Arenberg

Felipe, Prince of Asturias
Letizia, Princess of Asturias

Archduke Martin of Austria-Este
Archduchess Katharina of Austria-Este, née Princess of Isenburg

Archduke István of Austria
Archduchess Paola of Austria, née de Temesváry

Archduchess Yolande of Austria, née Princess de Ligne

Archduke Rudolf of Austria
Archduchess Marie-Hélène of Austria, née de Villenfagne de Vogelsanck

Archduchess Priscilla of Austria

Archduke Rudolf with his
mother née Princess Yolande de
Ligne, his wife Archduchess Hélène
and daughter Archduchess Priscilla
are in the background (Photo: RTL)

Archduchess Anna Gabriele of Austria, née Princess of Wrede

Archduke Karl-Peter of Austria
Archduchess Alexandra of Austria, née Princess of Wrede

Archduke Simeon of Austria
Archduchess Maria of Austria, née Princess of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Archduke Michael of Austria
Archduchess Christiana of Austria, née Princess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg

Margrave Maximilian of Baden
Margravinne Valerie of Baden, née Archduchess of Austria

Hereditary Prince Bernhard of Baden
Hereditary Princess Stephanie of Baden
 
Count Andreas of Bardeau
Countess Anita of Bardeau, née Princess of Hohenberg

Duke Max and Duchess
Elisabeth in Bavaria
(Photo: RTL)

Duke Max in Bavaria
Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, née Countess Douglas

Prince Ludwig of Bavaria

King Albert II of the Belgians
Queen Paola of the Belgians

Queen Fabiola of Belgium

Prince Philippe of Belgium, Duke of Brabant
Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant

Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este
Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este

Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este

Prince Laurent of Belgium
Princess Claire of Belgium

Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Parma, Duke of Parma

The Duke and Duchess of Parma with
Queen Margarita of Bulgaria
(Photo: RTL)

Princess Annemarie of Bourbon-Parma, Duchess of Parma

Princess Lydia of Bourbon-Parma, née Countess Holstein til Ledreborg

Baron Philipp von und zu Bodman
Baroness Blanche von und zu Bodman, née Princess de Mérode

Lady Brabourne


Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Bragança
Dona Isabel, Duchess of Bragança, née de Castro Curvelo de Herédia

King Simeon II of Bulgaria
Queen Margarita of Bulgaria, née Dona Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela

Prince Kiril and his sister-in-law
Princess Miriam of Bulgaria
(Photo: RTL)

Prince Kiril of Bulgaria

Princess Miriam of Bulgaria, née de Ungría y López

Duke Rudolf of Croÿ
Duchess Alexandra of Croÿ

Duchess Gabriele of Croÿ, née Princess of Bavaria

Count Andrea Czarnocki-Lucheschi
Countess Isabella Czarnocki-Lucheschi, née Archduchess of Austria-Este

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Prince Henrik of Denmark

Lawrence Frankopan,
friend and witness of
the Hereditary Grand Duke
(Photo: CGD)

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

Don Lawrence Doimi de Frankopan

Charles de Fabribeckers de Cortils et Grâce
Anne-Marie de Fabribeckers de Cortils de Grâce, née Princess de Ligne

Don Diégo Fernandez de Cordova y Cervero
Éleonore de Potesta

Mr Jean Fruchaud
Mrs Tatiana Fruchaud, née Princess Radziwill

Prince Piotr Dmitrievich Galitzine
Princess Maria-Anna Galitzine, née Archduchess of Austria

Baron Baudouin Gillès de Pélichy

Prince Piotr Galitzine
and his wife née
Archduchess Maria-Anna
(Photo: RTL)

Baroness Elisabeth Gilles de Pélichy, née Princess de Ligne

King Constantine II of Greece
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece

Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece
Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece

Princess Caroline of Hanover, née Princess of Monaco

Fürst Karl Friedrich of Hohenzollern
Fürstin Katharina of Hohenzollern

Countess Antonia Holstein til Ledreborg

The Hon. Alexandra Knatchbull

Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan

Count Andreas of Bardeau
and his wife née Princess Anita
of Hohenberg, cousin of Grand
Duke Henri (Photo: RTL)

Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan
Princess Sarvath El Hassan of Jordan

Prince Rashid bin El Hassan of Jordan
Princess Zeina al Rashid of Jordan

Count Jefferson-Friedrich von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth
Countess Alexandra von Pfeil und Klein-Ellguth, née Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

Claire Lademacher, girlfriend of Prince Félix

Fürst Hans Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein
Fürstin Marie von und zu Liechtenstein

Princess Nora von und zu Liechtenstein

Princess Isabelle von und zu Liechtenstein, née de l'Arbre de Malander

Prince Wenzeslaus von und zu Liechtenstein

Princess Alix de Ligne, née Princess of Luxemburg

Prince Wauthier de Ligne,
a cousin of the Grand
Duke, and his wife Princess
Régine (Photo: RTL)

Prince Michel de Ligne
Princess Eleonora de Ligne, née de Orléans e Bragança

Princess Alix de Ligne

Prince Wauthier de Ligne
Princess Régine de Ligne, Countess de Renesse

Prince Antoine-Lamoral de Ligne
Princess Minthia de Ligne, née Countess de Lannoy

Count Bruno de Limburg Stirum
Countess Christine de Limburg Stirum, née Countess de Lannoy

Princess Françoise de Lobkowicz, née of Bourbon-Parma

Prince Charles-Henri de Lobkowicz

Fürst Alois-Konstantin zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
Fürstin Anastasia zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, née Princess of Prussia

Princess Xenia Galitzine
and husband Alberto Matta
(Photo: RTL)

Alberto Matta Maya
Xenia Galitzine de Matta, née Princess Galitzine

Count Christoph von Meran
Countess Marie-Charlotte von Meran, née Henckel Countess von Donnersmarck

Prince Charles-Louis de Merode
Princess Clothilde de Merode, née Countess d'Oultremont

Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco

Mr John Munro
Mrs Silvia Munro, née Countess Holstein til Ledreborg

Prince Jean-Christophe Napoléon

Prince Jean-Christophe
Napoléon and Princess
Alix de Ligne
(Photo: RTL)

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
Princess Máxima of the Netherlands

Countess Sophie de Nicolay, née Princess de Ligne

King Harald V of Norway
Queen Sonja of Norway

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway

Prince Antonio de Orléans e Bragança
Princess Christine de Orléans e Bragança, née Princess de Ligne

Prince Antonio de Orléans
e Bragança and his wife
née Princess Christine de Ligne,
a daughter of Princess Alix
of Luxembourg
(Photo: RTL)

Prince Lelio Orsini d'Aragona

Kinga, Edle von Poschinger

Baron Jean-Louis de Potesta
Baroness Sophie de Potesta, née Princess of Hohenberg

Veronica de Pottere, Lensgrevinde Holstein til Ledreborg

Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia

Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani of Qatar

Fürst Alexander von Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny
Fürstin Martina von Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny

Count Jacques Rogge
Countess Anne Rogge

Crown Princess Margarita of Romania
Prince Radu of Romania

The Prince and Princess
of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn
(Photo: RTL)

Count Axel of Rosenborg
Countess Jutta of Rosenborg

Fürst Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn
Fürstin Gabriela zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, née Countess von Schönborn-Wiesentheid

Hereditary Count Damian of Schönborn-Buchheim
Hereditary Countess Deirdre of Schönburg-Buchheim

Count Massimiliano Secco d'Aragona
Countess Catharina Secco d'Aragona, née Archduchess of Austria

Crown Prince Alexander II of Serbia
Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia

Fürst Jost-Christian zu Stolberg-Stolberg 

The Crown Princess and Prince Daniel
of Sweden (Photo: RTL)

Fürstin Sylvianne zu Stolberg-Stolberg

Princess Louise zu Stolberg-Stolberg

Queen Silvia of Sweden

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
Prince Daniel of Sweden

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden

Mr Hugo Townsend
Mrs Yolande Townsend, née Princess de Ligne

The Duke and Duchess of
Vendôme (Photo: RTL)

Prince Jean of France, Duke of Vendôme 
Philomena, Duchess of Vendôme, née de Tornos y Steinhart

Emanuele Filiberto, Prince of Venice and Piedmont 
Clothilde, Princess of Venice and Piedmont

Hereditary Countess Mathilde von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg, née Duchess in Württemberg

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Sophie, Countess of Wessex

Fürst Mariano Hugo zu Windisch-Graetz
Fürstin Sophie zu Windisch-Graetz, née Archduchess of Austria


Clergy 

Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich
(left) and the apostolic nuncio Monsignor
Giacinto Berloco (Photo: RTL)

Monsignor Giacinto Berloco, Apostolic Nuncio of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Abbot Vincent della Faille de Leverghem

Brother Emmanuel della Faille de Leverghem

Abbot Pascal André Dumont

Monsignor Fernand Franck, Archbishop emeritus of Luxembourg

Canon Ernest Gillen

Canon Henri Hamus

Canon Georges Hellinghausen

Fernand Franck, archbishop
emiritus (Photo: RTL)

Monsignor Jean-Claude Hollerich S.J., Archbishop of Luxembourg

Abbot Dominique Janthial

The Right Reverend Father Abbot Michel Jorrot O.S.B, Father Abbot of Clervaux

Canon François Muller

Abbot Jean-Pierre Reiners, master of ceremonies

Abbot Romain Richer, ceremonial official


Dignitaries, politicians and others

Prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker
and his wife Christiane Frising-Juncker
(Photo: RTL)

Orignally, I planned to also list all the dignitaries and politicans to attend the wedding. But as the wedding had hundreds of guests, it would be tiring for me (and probably also you) to list them all. Just to give you a short run-down... Of course, prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker and his whole cabinet were there, as were loads of members of the parliament. There were even more politicians in form of mayors like the mayor of Luxembourg City Xavier Bettel.  Also in attendance were the presidents of the supreme and of the adminitrative courts of Luxembourg, as were the leading figures of the Luxembourgish army and the grand ducal police.

Additionally, there were some European dignitaries like Viviane Reding, European commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship, José Manuel Barroso, president of the European commission, and Vassilios Skouris, president of the European court of justice.

Edouard Vermeulen with
Princess Isabelle and Prince
Wenzeslaus of Liechtenstein
(Photo: RTL)

All resident ambassadors to the Grand Duchy were among the guests.

The cour grand-ducale and employees of the ministery of foreign affairs were out in full force to accompany the above mentioned guests.

Last but certainly not least, the designer of the dress Elie Saab, his wife Claudine and their son Elie Jr were also among the guests; as was Edouard Vermeulen, the man behind the Natan creations.