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Showing posts with label National Day. Show all posts

Sunday, June 24, 2018

All the Photos from National Day

Photo: Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

Here is a convenient list of links to more pictures (and a few videos) than you will probably ever care to look at from all the different National Day celebrations... To learn more about the events, simply click on the name of the event.

Visit to Esch-sur-Alzette

Wort

RTL (incl. video)

Tageblatt

Journal
L'essentiel
Cour

Visit to Larochette

Wort

RTL (incl. video)

Tageblatt

Journal
Cour

Torchlight Parade

Wort

RTL

Tageblatt

Journal
Cour

Official Ceremony

Wort

RTL

Tageblatt
Cour
Shortened RTL broadcast

Military Parade

Wort

RTL

Tageblatt
L'essentiel
Cour
Full RTL broadcast

Te Deum

Catholic Church
Wort
L'essentiel

PPE

Cour
Full RTL broadcast

Gala
Cour
PPE

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Garden Party, the First

Photo: Roland Miny

Yes, the British aren't the only one who can throw a good ol' garden party (though this garden party actually starts inside): The Grand Ducal Family hosted the first one of their two traditional national day garden parties today. This year's National Day squad was on hand for the occasion as Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie welcomed guests from the worlds of politics, culture, sports, press, aid organisations and finance for a reception at the Château de Berg earlier this evening. A second garden party will take place later in the week.

Galleries of visuals are available at Tageblatt and RTL.

Friday, June 23, 2017

Fashion Friday: National Day Edition (June 17th - June 23th)

This week's Fashion Friday will be focused on the National Day celebrations since it has been a very quiet week from the Lux ladies otherwise.

Yesterday, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were in Bettembourg for the first part of the National Day celebrations. Maria Teresa wore a new jumpsuit and jacket by Max Mara. She also wore a green clutch and black pumps.

Max Mara

Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie were in Esch-sur-Alzette. She wore her red Tara Jarmon dress again with possibly old shoes and a new clutch. I believe the clutch could be by Russell & Bromley, similar to the one the Duchess of Cambridge owns. However, the brand could not confirm that this is in fact their clutch so this is just a guess as of now.

Tara Jarmon

Russell & Bromley

Today, Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Hereditary Grand-Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie were in Luxembourg City to attend the National Day celebrations. For the official ceremony and military parade, Maria Teresa wore a new red custom made Yves Dooms outfit with silver Prada pumps (similar to this model) and a silver clutch, probably by Prada too.

Prada

Stéphanie wore a new Paule Ka orange belted dress with matching pumps and a gold clutch. With thanks to Marion MacPherson, Stephanie is wearing Rupert Sanderson shoes!

Paule Ka

Rupert Sanderson

While the Grand Duchess didn't change for the Te Deum mass (she did add a matching hat to her Yves Dooms outfit), Hereditary Grand-Duchess Stephanie changed and wore a beautiful pink cape dress with a jeweled neckline. I have no information on the designer of the dress yet. She also wore her Chanel pumps and an old clutch that I think is by Judith Leiber (similar to this model), I'm waiting for confirmation from the brand.

Chanel

Judith Leiber

For the gala dinner, Maria Teresa wore a new red Yves Dooms gown with a silver clutch. Stéphanie wore a purple gown that was worn by her mother-in-law for the gala dinner during the State Visit to Sweden in 2008. This gown is by Elie Saab.

Zimbio

I would like to thank the cour and Yves Dooms for sharing information about Grand Duchess Maria Teresa's outfits! What did you think of the outfits of the Grand Duchess and Hereditary Grand Duchess during these celebrations?

National Day Gala: Tiaras and Hey, I Know That Dress

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

It's not National Day in Luxembourg without a sparkling gala event to round it all off - and thankfully we are visually blessed this year. Ch-ch-check out Tageblatt and the cour for more pictures. Before we get to the tiaras and gowns, get our facts out of the way: Invited 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 were received by a rather small numbers of members of the Grand Ducal Family: Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

Both the Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duke looked their dashin selves sporting the Ordeer of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore a red gown by who seems to be her new favourite designer: Yves Dooms. I can't say I object cause this lacy number looks trés chic. The Grand Duchess also sported the Belgian Scroll Tiara and small diamond earrings.

Photo: Zimbio

Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie wore a purple dress previously worn by her mother-in-law during a state visit to Sweden several years agon in 2008. I must say that I love the sentiment (always have, always will) but I find this to be a less than successful attempt at clothes sharing. It looked smashing on Maria Teresa almost ten years ago, but it would have needed a proper fitting for Stéphanie. On the tiara front, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie sported the Oval Amethyst Parure, she has worn twice before.

What else happened today? For our previous National Day coverage, have a look here.

National Day Continues With Te Deum Mass

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

The Grand Duchy's National Day celebrations continued with the Te Deum mass at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg this afternoon. For everything that happened previously today, have a look here. The Te Deum used to be the focal point of the National Day festivities but was replaced by a secular ceremony three years ago, it's still held but in slightly smaller fashion in the afternoon. Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie were all present for the occasion.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

As it has been for a while now, the Te Deum was an interreligious one, concelebrated by the archbishop of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Hollerich; the chief rabbi of Luxembourg, Alain Nacache; and the imam of the Muslim community, Muhamed Rizvic. Like every year, the climax of the thanksgiving service was the "Domine salvum fac magnum ducem nostrum" - "Oh Lord, save our great leader" or something along those lines if my Latin serves me right - played in a different arrangement every year. Other musical pieces traditionally featured were the national anthem, Ons Heemecht, the grand ducal anthem, De Wilhelmus; as well as the Sonnerie nationale, which gets me every year.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa wore the same Yves Dooms dress and coat combination as this morning with a new hat, Hereditary Grand Duchess looked pretty in pink in a cape-style dress (whose designer we are trying to identify) and a pink fascinator. The Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duke looked dapper as always in their morning suits with the lapel pins of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau.

Today's National Day will be rounded off by a gala reception at the palais with gowns, tiaras and dashing gentlemen. Keep your fingers crossed for some sparkling surprises!

Grand Ducal Family Celebrates National Day

Luxembourg's National Day celebrations are in full swing. As this post is published, members of the Grand Ducal Family are attending the Te Deum mass at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame. Last night, after the visits to Esch and Bettembourg, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie attended the traditional torchlight procession. (And yes, I totally had a post about it ready to go last night and planned on waiting to add pictures - but then I fell asleep, so we will just conveniently insert it here.)

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Dominique Gaul

The torchlight parade features firefighters, scouts and basically everyone who is old enough to hold it carrying (surprise, surprise) torches. (It seriously makes you wonder if there is a national shortage of torches after June 22 in Luxembourg...) In addition there are folklore and musical groups and associations performing. The torchlight procession is part of the street festival taking place in the city on the day prior to the National Day. The pre-celebrations were rounded off by a fireworks display watched by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as well as their oldest son and daughter-in-law from the balcony of the Place de la Constitution.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

This morning, the festivities of the Grand Duke's official birthday kicked off with the not-so-new anymore official ceremony. First introduced in 2013, the secular ceremony took place at the Salle de concerts Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte, also known as the Philharmonie Luxembourg, this year. The event was attended by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie. Curious me can't help but wonder if the reduced attendance of family members wasn't coincidental but intentional as not to draw attention to the (possibly still pending) divorce of Prince Louis and Princess Tessy. On a brighter note: The Grand Duchess was a lovely lady in red in an outfit by Yves Dooms, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie wore a summery orange Paule Ka dress.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

In front of some 1,200 dignitaries, diplomats and deserving citiziens, the Grand Duke gave a speech saying, "On National Day, we put aside our differences of opinions. Today we look at what we have together and what our nation represents (...) Today is a day for us all, the day we stand together, celebrate together and be happy." Grand Duke Henri also spoke of the challenges faced by Luxembourg and the world stating that courage and a strong will are needed more than ever, "Our political system, featuring democracy, freedom and respect for human rights is not a matter of course." (Full speech.)

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

In addition to the Grand Duke, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and President of Parliament Mars di Bartolomeo also held speeches. Part of the official ceremony is also the awarding orders and medals to deserving citizens by the Grand Duke, Prime Minister and President of Parliament. After the end of the official ceremony, 21 canon salutes were fired from the Fetschenhof to honour the Grand Duke.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess as well as the Hereditary Grand Duke and the Hereditary Grand Duchess then made their way to the Avenue de la Liberté for the military parade. Both Henri and Guillaume changed into their uniforms for the occasion. The military parade traditionally also includes representatives of the police as well as aid, emergency and security services.

More pictures of today and yesterday at the cour with more to come in a round-up post.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Grand Ducal Family Visits Esch-sur-Alzette and Bettembourg

It's that time of the year again: Tomorrow is the Grand Duke's Official Birthday. The festivities all over the Grand Duchy always start on the eve of National Day - so, you know, you can let loose and use National Day for recovery (or something along those lines)... At 4pm sharp, it was the time for the traditional changing of the guard at the palais, which always kicks of the National Day celebrations.

Photo: Laurent Blum / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

The first grand ducal sighting of this year's National Day events we got in the form of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duke Stéphanie during their annual trip to Esch-sur-Alzette. It has been a tradition for decades that members of the Grand Ducal Family visit Luxembourg's second largest city to celebrate the nation on the eve of the Grand Duke's official birthday. At 5pm, the duo was welcomed in front of the Théâtre Municipal by mayor Vera Spautz, members of the Chamber of Deputies, the government and local politicians. After the laying of a wreath of flowers at the war memorial, they made their way to the city centre of Esch.

Photo: Laurent Blum / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

On the place in front of the town hall, the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess then watched a parade of the associations and clubs of the town. This was followed by a short reception hosted in the honour of the royal guests at the town hall and an appearance on the balcony. Afterwards, the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple made their way to the Escher Volleksfest, a public fair celebrating National Day, where they mingled with the people and lit a fire together with young scouts.

Photo: Lex Kleren / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

Meanwhile at 6pm, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa arrived in Bettembourg. While Guillaume and Stéphanie always go to Esch for the eve of National Day, the grand ducal couple likes to change things up a bit and thus always goes to different places. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess were welcomed in Bettembourg by deputy mayor Laurenz Zeimet.

Photo: Lex Kleren / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

After the official welcome, the grand ducal couple made their way to the Château de Bettembourg were they visited the exhibition "Beetebuerg erliewen" or "Experiencing Bettembourg". They also signed the golden book of the municipality at the castle. Next on the agenda was a visit to the castle's park where the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess saw a presentation of local gymnasts before making their way to the Place Nelson Mandela for the Fête de l'amitié. The "Festivel of Friendship" showcased traditional local dances and more recent additions to Luxembourgish life, in the form of Syrian food, for example, likewise. To round off their visit, the grand ducal couple also met with local volunteers.

More pictures of the visit to Bettembourg here and of the visit to Esch here. (As always, we will have a round-up post with more links in the days to come.)

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Visual National Day Round-Up

View image | gettyimages.com

As promised, here are a bunch links which will lead you to a ton of pictures of this year's national day celebrations. One last question before you can head of in the land of visuals though: Where can we petition that we see such a large grand ducal turn-out for the event each year? Curious minds want to know! (Another quick note: Some websites below have one gallery for all events, so some of the links below will lead to the same page.)

Solemn changing of the guard and balcony appearance

Le Quotidien
Cour grand-ducale

Visit to Esch-sur-Alzette

RTL

Visit to Mondorf-les-Bains

Torchlight parade

RTL
Cour grand-ducale

Official ceremony

RTL

Military parade

RTL

Te Deum

Gala

Tageblatt
Cour grand-ducale

Monday, June 23, 2014

Military Parade & Te Deum

#451087538 / gettyimages.com

The Grand Ducal Family is still going strong and so are we: After the newly introduced official ceremony at the Grand Théâtre this morning, Luxembourg's National Day returned to business as usual with the military parade and an inter-religious Te Deum at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg.

While it was the Grand Duke now in uniform and a behatted Grand Duchess as well as the Hereditary Grand Duke also wearing his uniform and befascinatored Hereditary Grand Duchess who represented the Family at the military parade that traditionally also includes representatives of the police as well as aid, emergency and security services, the foursome was joined by Prince Félix, Prince Louis and Prince Sébastien for the church service.

Photo: Anouk Antony / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

Like last year, the Te Deum was an inter-religious one and concelebrated by the archbishop of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Hollerich; the chief rabbi of Luxembourg, Alain Nacache; the imam of the Muslim community, Halil Ahmetspahic; and Anglican chaplain Christopher Lyon. During the service, all four of them recited prayers asking for the blessing of the Grand Duke, the Grand Ducal Family as well as the Grand Duchy. Like every year, the climax of the thanksgiving service was the "Domine salvum fac magnum ducem nostrum" - "Oh Lord, save our great leader" or something along those lines if my Latin serves me right - played in a different arrangement every year.

For the occasion, the Grand Duchess repeated an Armani outfit previously worn at Prince Félix's wedding and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie also wore a wedding-experienced outfit, a red coat previously worn at the wedding of Princess Marguerite de Mérode last year.

Pictures of the military parade can be found at Getty Images, Tom Wagner, PPE, Wort in German, Wort in French, Wort in English. Wort also has a video of the parade.

Visuals of the Te Deum are located at Wort in German.

Source: Cour grand-ducale

National Day Thus Far *

#451088062 / gettyimages.com

Luxembourg's actual National Day kicked off this morning in a different fashion than in previous years. While the day usually started with the Te Deum at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, it did with the newly introduced official ceremony at the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg this time around. The religious ceremony will instead take place this afternoon so stay tuned for later today as we'll have another chance to get to see the Grand Ducal Family! (Plus, there's also the national day gala tonight.)

The secular celebrations at the Grand Théâtre were attended by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie (wearing a pink Libélula coat) as well as Prince Félix, Prince Louis and Prince Sébastien. The non-attendance of other family members isn't an unusual thing; you might remember that there has always been pretty varying attendance by the younger children of the Grand Ducal Couple in previous years.

#451088074 / gettyimages.com

The members of the Grand Ducal Family were welcomed at the Grand Théâtre by the President of the Chamber of Deputies Mars di Bartolomeo, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Luxembourg's mayor Lydie Polfer. During the ceremony also attended by members of the government, the member of the Chamber of Deputies, members of the town council of Luxembourg, the members of the Council of State, members of the judiciary, the heads of administration and the diplomatic corps, the Grand Duke, the President of the Chamber of Deputies and the Prime Minister gave speeches. In addition, they also presented deserving citizens with orders.

After the official ceremony, 101 canon salutes were fired from the Fetschenhof to honour the Grand Duke. At the moment Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie are at the Avenue de la Liberté where they are watching the military parade which also includes representatives of the police, fire and emergency services for example.

Visuals are available at Getty Images, Tageblatt, RTL, Wort in English, Wort in French and Wort in German. In addition, there is a video at Wort.

Source: Cour grand-ducale

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Torchlight Parade

F. Aussems / Luxemburger Tageblatt / Tageblatt.lu

After the visits to Rosport and Esch-sur-Alzette earlier today, the Grand Ducal Family rounded off the day by attending the traditional torchlight parade earlier tonight. Due to construction works, there were a few changes to the usual outlay of the event and so Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, Prince Louis and Prince Sébastien watched the parade from the Place des Martyrs on the Avenue de la Liberté.

To see pictures of the evening event, have a look at Tageblatt.

Source: Cour grand-ducale

Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Visit Rosport

Photo: Tania Feller / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

On the occasion of National Day, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa visited Rosport, a commune and small town on the banks of the Sauer river in eastern Luxembourg, today. Located in the canton of Echternach, the town of Rosport roughly has 650 citizens. The commune also includes the villages of Dickweiler, Girst, Girsterklaus, Hinkel, Osweiler and Steinheim. All in all the commune has about 2000 inhabitants so it's not hard to imagine what a big thing the visit by the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess was.

Upon their arrival to Rosport, the royal guests were welcomed by mayor Romain Osweiler as well as Ministers Nicolas Schmit and Carole Dieschbourg. After being introduced to other local authorities, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess got the chance to discover the Sauerpark, a large children's playground. Together with children from the neighbouring German commune of Ralingen located directly on the opposite side of the Sauer river, children from Rosport gave a performance for Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa. Afterwards, the Grand Ducal Couple was given a presentation about trans-border cooperation between municipalities.

After touring the village by foot and a stop at the town's oldest pub, the Café du Commerce, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess paid a visit to the Rousperter Kleederstiffchen, an association of volunteers helping families who find themselves in difficult situations. The Grand Ducal Couple's visit continued with the laying of a wreath of flowers at the Second World War memorial next to the parish church and a visit to the local castle formerly owned by Luxembourgish industrialist and inventor Henri Tudor, who developed the first practical lead-acid battery in 1886. Today the castle built in 1892 and usually either called Château de Rosport or Château Tudor houses a museum as well as the municipal administration. After a tour of the surrounding park, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa got the chance to mingle with locals to round off the visit.

A video of the Grand Ducal Couple's visit can be found at RTL. Galleries of visuals are offered by Wort in German, Wort in French and Wort in English.

Source: Cour grand-ducale

Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple Visits Esch-sur-Alzette

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Luxemburger Wort / Wortl.lu

On the eve of National Day, the Hereditary Grand Duke and his +1 traditionally visit the Grand Duchy's second biggest town and so Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, who wore a dress and a jacket by Weill, arrived in Esch-sur-Alzette at around 5pm earlier today. The couple were greeted at the Place de la Résistance by the town's officials. After the laying of a wreath of flowers at the war memorial, they made their way to the city centre of Esch by car.

In front of the town hall the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess watched a parade of the associations and clubs of Esch-sur-Alzette. After a short reception hosted in the honour of the royal guests at the town hall and an appearance of the balcony, the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple made their way to the Escher Volleksfest, a public fair celebrating National Day, where they mingled with the people and lit a fire together with young scouts.

In difference to previous years, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie will not receive a gift from the town of Esch-sur-Alzette as it was mutually agreed that the town will instead make a donation to an Esch-based charity in the name of the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple.

Lots of lovely pictures are available at L'essentiel, Tageblatt, Wort and the cour.

Source: Cour grand-ducale

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Luxembourg's New National Day

Luxembourg's government has made significant changes to the country's national day celebrations. A few months ago, prime minister Xavier Bettel announced that changes were to be made to make the the national day more "civil" (though I believe he used the wrong word as civil would probably mean more non-military when he actually meant non-religious a.k.a. secular).

In order to achieve that, a new ceremony at the Grand Théâtre will be hosted in the morning instead of the traditional Te Deum. The ceremony will include speeches by the Prime Minister and the President of the Chamber of Deputies as well as the award of decoration to outstanding citizens. This new ceremony will be followed by the traditional military parade. The Te Deum has been postponed to the evening hours according to Bettel's statement. As the gala dinner for foreign dignitaries usually takes place in the actual evening hours, I guess that the late afternoon is meant. No word yet on which events will be attended by the Grand Ducal Family.

Source: Wort, Tageblatt

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Political and Diplomatic News

Photo: IKR, Vaduz

In not the most exciting news of any royal blog ever, there were another few accreditations of ambassadors going on in Liechtenstein today when Luis Juan Chuquihuara Chil of Peru, Aman Rashid of Pakistan, Cosimo Risi of Italy and Jennifer MacIntyre of Canada (on the right) presented their letters of credence to the Hereditary Prince.

Meanwhile in Luxembourg, the new government is hard at work to shake things up a little. Yesterday afternoon, formateur and future prime minister Xavier Bettel was welcomed at the palais by Grand Duke Henri to talk the progress of the coalition negotiations with another meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon. Mr Bettel described the talks as "constructive" without revealing much more information. He, however, did mention that he and the Grand Duke talked about the celebration of national day and the proposed changes to the traditional Te Deum mass.

Earlier this week, the future coalition partners expressed that it was not up to them decide whether the Te Deum should be axed but that they would like to introduce a "civil character" for the celebrations. Apart from being pretty sure that they kind of muddled up 'civil' (as in non-military) and 'secular' (as in wordly) - because otherwise there wouldn't be a whole lot left if they also got rid of the (not just anymore) military parade - it remains to be seen what will come out of this.

Sources: IKR, Wort, Wort

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Planes, Pictures and a Handshake

Photo: Cour grand-ducale

Earlier today, Grand Duke Henri welcomed Zafer Çağlayan, Turkey's minister of the economy, at the palais for an audience during which they obviously shook hands though not much else is known. Mr Çağlayan arrived in the Grand Duchy yesterday with the first Turkish Airlines' direct flight between Istanbul and Luxembourg which will now be continued daily.

While nothing has yet become known about the garden party held at the Château de Berg on Monday night, the cour went artsy by releasing a bunch of black and white pictures of the torchlight parade on the eve of National Day.

Source: Cour grand-ducale, Wort

Monday, June 24, 2013

National Day Gala *

Photo: Charles Caratini / SIP

Drumroll please... To my and hopefully also your utter delight, there was a picture of the gala event of the Luxembourgish national day celebrations released. Let's pause for a moment of applause here.

Alright... Both Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie are wearing gowns that we have seen on them before. The Grand Duchess is sporting the same Elie Saab gown that she wore to the pre-wedding dinner of her oldest son last October which she topped off with the Belgian Scroll Tiara and rather substantial pearl earrings. Meanwhile, the Hereditary Grand Duchess is is repeating the pink Valentino dress she wore to the private birthday ball of Princess Maria Galitzine and Nina Peers de Nieuwburgh.

Let's pause for another moment of applause for what is happening on Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie her head, shall we? We shall!

Photos: Getty Images / Charles Caratini / SIP / Cour grand-ducale

Once again she dug deep into the family's jewel vault - I love her for that! - and unearthed another rarely seen tiara of the Grand Ducal Family. In fact, it is a bit of a mystery one. For a long time, many of us, including humble me, assumed that the amethyst tiara worn by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa on the left picture was a remodelling of the amethyst and pearl or diamond tiara worn by Princess Marie-Astrid during the 1970's and 1980's (right picture). Thanks to the Hereditary Grand Duchess, we now know that the amethyst and pearl or diamond tiara is still in existence. Well done, your highness!

In not the most surprising move of the year, Grand Duke Henri and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume looked dashing in their black gala uniforms of the Luxembourgish army, which they top of with the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau.

Let's hope that the Grand Ducal gods - also known as the cour - will be generous with us and also release pictures of Prince Louis, Princess Tessy and Princess Alexandra attending the gala reception (if they were present) for the 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.

You can catch a few glimpses of the gala reception in this RTL video (starting at 2:33).