Weekly Roundup: A Wedding, a Podium Concert, a Garden Party and More

June 15 to 21, 2019

Photos: Gabi

Last weekend, Prince Otto of Castell-Rüdenhausen and Sophia Mautner von Markhof celebrated their religious wedding at the former Augustinian Abbey Church in Waldhausen im Strudengau, Upper Austria with the reception and party taking place at nearby Burg Clam, the home of the family of the bride's mother, the Counts of Clam-Martinic. Among the guests for the nuptials were Princess Anunciata, Princess Astrid and Prince Josef. Many thanks to Gabi for kindly providing us with pictures.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Samuel Kirszenbaum

On June 15th, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa an event celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Château de Chambord. The event included a tour of the exhibition entitled "Chambord 1519-2019: Utopia at Work." The Grand Duke was made honorary president and gave a speech in which he noted the importance of the estate and also mentioned his own family connection to Château de Chambord: his great-grandfather Robert I, Duke of Parma, was the chateau's last owner.

Photo: Elma Korac / Vaterland / vaterland.li

On the 16th, Hereditary Princess Sophie was in Schaan to attend the award ceremony for year's podium concert series at the TAK (or Veranstaltungen TAK Theater Liechtenstein). The annual series is composed of six concerts and was founded by Lotte Schwarz.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

On the 17th, Grand Duke Henri attended a celebration for the 100th anniversary of BGL BNP Paribas.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

And it's Garden Party time again! On June 18th, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa welcomed individuals from the forces vives, including those who work in crafts, finance, industry, insurance, and trade. Additionally, the event included those in trade unions, professional organizations, EU institutions, the Army and Police, among others.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

On June 19th, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa visited Kritzel Fabrik, the workshop of artist Jacques Schneider, who has supported her initiative "Stand Speak Rise Up!", which aims to end sexual violence in areas with conflict. The visit also corresponded with the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The Grand Duchess viewed a photographic exhibition and also inaugurated a new signature wall that will be available to the public until September 19th.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

Also on the 19th, the Grand Duchess received in audience representatives of the Luxembourg City Tourist Office (LCTO), who were bringing a check for €38,734.38 in support of the Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse. The money will be used to support the initiative "Stand Speak Rise Up!"

Photo: Cour grand-ducale

On June 20th, Grand Duke Henri and Duchess Maria Teresa held a reception to honor those who had helped with the international forum "Stand Speak Rise Up!" that was held on March 260-27.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Charles Caratini

On the 21st, Grand Duke Henri awarded the Ordre civil et militaire d’Adolphe de Nassau to the 2019 recipients, who included members of the Luxembourg Army, the Grand Ducal Police, a member of the association grand-ducale des Militaires et Anciens Militaires, and staff members of the Cour grand-ducale.

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Dans le cadre de la Fête Nationale, Leurs Altesses Royales le Grand-Duc et la Grande-Duchesse, accompagnés par Leurs Altesses Royales le Prince Félix, le Prince Louis, la Princesse Alexandra et le Prince Sébastien, ont donné une réception au Château de Berg pour les habitants de la commune de Colmar-Berg. © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue, Lynn Theisen #grandduc #grandeduchesse #luxembourg #nationalday #courgrandducale

A post shared by Cour grand-ducale Luxembourg (@courgrandducale) on Jun 21, 2019 at 3:35pm PDT

Also on June 21st, Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa held a reception at Château de Berg for the residents of Colmar-Berg. Also in attendance were Prince Félix, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra, and Prince Sébastien. This event was in connection with the celebration of National Day, and we'll have a separate post on that.

Weekly Roundup: Remembering Grand Duke Jean, Superheroes and a Funeral

June 8 to 14, 2019

Photo: Sophie Margue / Cour grand-ducale

On Saturday, members of the Grand Ducal Family attended a special commemorative mass for the late Grand Duke Jean at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame. This kind of mass is traditionally celebrated six weeks after the passing and also marks the end of the official mourning period for the Grand Ducal Family. The members of the family in attendance for the mass included (from left to right) Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Archduchess Marie-Astrid, Princess Margaretha, Prince Nikolaus, Prince Jean, Archduchess Marie-Christine, Archduke Alexander, Archduchess Gabriella and Princess Astrid. 

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

On Tuesday, Grand Duke Henri was on hand for the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Centre National de Radiothérapie François Baclesse. The Centre is a non-profit institution that participates in the public health service. It supports patients with radiotherapy indications for curative or palliative purposes, in a multidisciplinary context of oncology that involves all public and private hospitals.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

The next day, it was time for Monseigneur le Grand-Duc to receive in audience Frank Engel, head of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV)...

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

...and pay a visit to an exhibition about Superhjemp, the Grand Duchy's very own superhero comic strip (also recently made into a movie). 

Later in the week also saw the accreditation of several new ambassadors to Luxembourg. The new ambassadors of Morocco, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Lithuania and Croatia all presented their letters of credence to the Grand Duke.

Photo: ORF

Also this week, the funeral of Countess Priscilla of Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems took place in Austria. The born Countess of Schönborn-Wiesentheid passed away on may 31 at the age of 85. Among the mourners at the funeral were Prince Hans-Adam and Princess Marie as well as Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie.

Weekly Roundup: A Wedding, a Luxo-Liechtenstein Meeting and More

June 1 to June 7, 2019

Photo: Stefan of Royal Travel

Summer is here and with it the season of weddings (and our third weekly roundup in a row featuring one)... This time around, it was Prince Casimir of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and Alana Bunte who tied the knot. The second son of the head of the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn Fürst Alexander and wife Fürstin Gabriela, who you may recall as a guest from various big events in Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, and the American model married on Saturday at Schloss Sayn in Germany.

Photo: Stefan of Royal Travel

Among the plentiful guests at the wedding were Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla as well as their niece and nephew Princess Anunciata and Prince Josef, children of Princess Margaretha and Prince Nikolaus. Stefan of Royal Travel went to the wedding, you can see more of his wonderful pictures here (and many thanks once again for sharing them with us!)

Photo: Sophie Margue / Cour grand-ducale

This week also saw an official Luxembourg-Liechtenstein meeting as Grand Duke Henri, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie participated in the annual gathering of the heads of state of the German-speaking countries. The other four countries attending include Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium which explains why Queen Mathilde is also in the picture above. (Plenty more at the cour.) This year's meeting took place in Linz, Austria, and included a visit to the Ars Electronica Center.

Photo: Sophie Margue / Cour grand-ducale

On Thursday, Grand Duke Henri paid a visit to the glass blowing workshop Seil in Bendorf. They are currently reproducing a range of historic crystal glasses, blown and engraved with the coat of arms of the Grand Duke. The effort forms part of an initiative launched by the Chamber of Trade to highlight the know-how of Luxembourgish crafts bringing together the tradition of rare trades and those of high technology.

Photo: Laurent Blum / Cour grand-ducale

Earlier today, Friday that is, Grand Duke Henri received in audience Franz Fayot, President of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers Party (LSAP), and Agnès Durdu, new President of the Council of State, in office since 1 April 2019.

Grand Duke Jean Leaves Colmar-Berg For The Last Time And Arrives In Luxembourg City

Photo: Gerry Huberty / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

The casket of Grand Duke Jean has been transferred from Château de Berg to the palais grand-ducale. The late Grand Duke was accompanied on his final journey from his former long-time home to Luxembourg City by his five children, Grand Duke Henri, Archduchess Marie-Astrid, Prince Jean, Princess Margretha and Prince Guillaume, his children-in-law and several grandchildren. The grandchildren present today included Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume with Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra, Prince Sébastien, Archduchess Marie-Astrid with husband Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum, Archduke Alexander, Archduchess Gabriella, Princess Anunciata, Princess Astrid, Prince Paul-Louis, Prince Léopold and Princess Charlotte. 

Photo: Pierre Matgé / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

The motorcade left the castle in Colmar-Berg shortly before 2.30pm and passed through the village where the streets were lined by several hundred Luxembourgers paying their respects. They arrived at the palais grand-ducal at 3.10pm while the knells of several churches nearby were sounding after passing by several of Luxembourg City's landmarks. Again, many people lined the route to pay their respects to Grand Duke Jean who passed away at the age of 98 on Tuesday this week. Grand Duke Jean will lie in state at the palais for the coming week. If you are in  or around Luxembourg and wish to pay your final respects, you can do so from Monday to Friday.

Photos and videos of Grand Duke Jean's last journey can be found at Wort #1, Wort #2, Tageblatt and RTL.

Weekly Roundup: Youth Awards, Blue Lights, and Beyond Skis

March, 28 to April 5, 2019

Photo: Editpress / Hervé Montagu

Catching up a little from last week, on March 28th Grand Duke Jean attended the presentation of the Insignes du Mérite Jeunesse, 250 to be exact.  He was accompanied by his youngest son Prince Guillaume and granddaughter Princess Charlotte. Among the winners were two young men who were awarded for their project "The Luxembourgish Peanut Butter," which raised funds for charity.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

From March 30th through April 5th, the front of the Palais grand-ducal will be lit with blue light as part of "Light It Up Blue," a movement that raises awareness about autism. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is the patron of the Fondation Autisme Luxembourg.

Photo: Daniel Ospelt / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / vaterland.li

On March 29th, Hereditary Prince Alois honored Liechtenstein's 300-year anniversary by attending a Liechtenstein Day event in Bendern, hosted by the Ospelt Group.

Photo: Sven Daniel Beham / Volksblatt / volksblatt.li

On April 2nd, Prince Nikolaus was present for an event hosted by the International Liechtenstein Press Club (LPC), with the focus around the international perception of the Principality. In the 1970s, Liechtenstein was known mostly for ski slopes and stamps, although the perception has since expanded to include banking at the Princely family.

And...you might have noticed that the blog was a little busier this week, with several other posts added. Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie were in Switzerland for a state visit: Day 1 and Day 2. (Alas, no tiaras.) Additionally, a British judge dissolved Prince Louis's marriage to Tessy Antony, so they are now officially divorced. Her title is in transition.

Weekly Roundup: Abu Dhabi and Beyond

February 22 to March 1, 2019

It has been a rather quiet week in Luxarazzi land but nonetheless it's time for our Weekly Roundup... 

Photo: Photo: Abu Dhabi Festival

On Monday, Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle attended the opening of the Abu Dhabi Festival Exhibition showing paintings of the Princely Family in, you guessed it, Abu Dhabi. The exhibition is entitled "Distant Prospects – European Landscape Paintings from Liechtenstein" and will run through to March 25 at the Gallery S at Manarat Al Saadiyat. It features works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Joos de Momper, Jan Brueghel the Younger and Peter Paul Rubens, among many others. While in  the United Arab Emirates, Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle also paid a visit to the local Louvre.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

On Thursday, Grand Duke Henri welcomed several new ambassadors to Luxembourg. The incoming ambassadors from the Seychelles, Myanmar, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), San Marino and Mozambique all presented their letters of credence to the Grand Duke at the palais. More photos.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

To mark International Women's Day, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa received members of the National Counsel of Women at Château de Berg on Friday. The counsel represents twelve different organisations in the Grand Duchy. More photos.

Also on Friday, Grand Duke Henri received the the first responders to the horrific accident at the munition depot that happened in Luxembourg last month and killed several soldiers. Already last week, he and Prince Sébastien paid their final respects to the deceased soldiers during a military ceremony.

Photo: IKR

Also on Friday, Hereditary Prince Alois met with the General Secretary of EFTA Henri Gétaz, his deputy Pascal Schafhauser as well as Ambassador Peter Matt at Schloss Vaduz. EFTA is the European Free Trade Association the Principality is a member of.

This evening, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duke Henri attended an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Scouts and Guides of Luxembourg. No pictures as of yet so we will add that to next week's post.

Photo: Photo News via Getty Images

Last but not least, an addition to last week's post: On February 19, Princess Margaretha attended the traditional mass for the deceased members of the Belgian royal family at the Église Notre-Dame de Laeken.

#Liechtenstein300: The Principality Kicks Off Birthday Celebrations

Photos: Screenshots Landeskanal

Today, the sixth smallest country in the world celebrated its 300th birthday. That country, of course, is Liechtenstein. (Brush up on your game show knowledge of all things Liechtenstein in our recent Luxarazzi 101.) In fact, today was just the first day of many celebrations to be held this year. The first day of the celebrations saw people from the Oberland, or upper county (the former county of Vaduz), and the Unterland, or lower county (once the lordship of Schellenberg), hike to the Scheidgraben, a ditch that used to mark the border between historical dominions, working together as teams and solving challenges along the way. The day-long journey also formed an integral part of the official celebrations this evening that officially kicked off the anniversary year. Naturally, an array of members of the Princely Family were also in attendance.

However, locating all the members of the Princely Family who were present for the evening celebrations was a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack. Thus far we could positively identify Prince Hans-Adam II and at least three of his children, Hereditary Prince Alois with wife Hereditary Princess Sophie, Prince Max and Princess Tatjana as having been there. All of the Fürst's surviving siblings Prince Philipp, Prince Nikolaus and wife Princess Margaretha as well as Princess Nora with daughter Teresa Sartorius were also in attendance. From the wider family I could also definitely spy Prince Michael and Princess Hildegard as well as Princess Maria-Pia.

Tonight's ceremony included a speech by the Hereditary Prince as well as talks with Liechtenstein's Prime Minister Adrian Hasler and the President of Parliament Albert Frick. The event was interspersed with lots of lovely clips from today's hiking tours including a light show reenactment of the unification of Vaduz and Schellenberg into Liechtenstein 300 years ago today. During his speech, Hereditary Prince Alois thanked the present presidents of Austria, Switzerland and Germany for the good cooperation with and respect towards Liechtenstein for three centuries and especially the last decades. He also urged Liechtensteiners to work together for a prosper future of their country saying, "The future is full of challenges: If we want to keep up the high quality of living for ourselves and our descendants we cannot rest. We have to stay active and ensure the basis of our standard of living every single day. [...] Let us use the chances that this special anniversary year brings. Let us work together in the established and trusted ways between the people and the Princely House to lay a good foundation for the years to come."

Photo: Eddy Risch / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

Update:

If you like, you can watch the full official ceremony over on Youtube. If you don't have as much time, Vaterland has videos of the Princely Family arriving including an interview with the Fürst and a rather funny video of Hans-Adam and Alois cutting the birthday cake. They also have a gallery of visuals.

Weekly Roundup: Two Funerals, A Throne Speech and More

January 12 to 18, 2019

First up, a little addition to last week's roundup: On January 11, Fürstin Paula of Fürstenberg was laid to rest in Donaueschingen, Germany. Among the mourners for Princess Paula, who died at the age of 92 earlier this month, were several members of the Liechtenstein family including Prince Hans-Adam II and Princess Marie as well as Prince Nikolaus.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

Prince Louis was back in Luxembourg on Sunday where he attended the Kagami Biraki festival 2019, jointly organised by the Interreg Judo Cooperation and the Luxembourgish Martial Arts Federation, and saw some fighting action. Prince Louis has been the patron of the latter since 2010. More pictures of the event at the cour.

Photo: SIP / Emmanuel Claude

98 and going strong: On Tuesday, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel paid a visit to Grand Duke Jean at his home Château de Fischbach. While no details were released, I'm sure the Grand Duke Jean is still very much up-to-date on and interested in the state of government in the Grand Duchy and thus welcomed the visit by the PM.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

Also on Tuesday, Grand Duke Henri met with the committee of the Baueren-Allianz, or farmer's alliance, for some unspecified reason apart from the fact that they celebrated their 30th anniversary about a year ago in January 2018 - or is that a typo by the cour? If it is, I feel ya. 

Embed from Getty Images

On Wednesday, the funeral of Count Philippe de Lannoy, father of Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie took place in the Belgian village of Anvaing. In attendance to support the Hereditary Grand Duchess and her family during these sad times were Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, of course, as well as Grand Duke Henri, Prince Louis and Princess Alexandra in addition to Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla, Archduchess Marie-Astrid with her mother-in-law Archduchess Yolande, and Princess Anunciata. Count Philippe de Lannoy passed away on Thursday last week at the age of 96. More photos at Getty Images.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Samuel Kirszenbaum

On the same day, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa was in Paris for a previously scheduled event, an award ceremony by the Fondation Stéphane Bern pour l'Histoire et le Patrimoine - Institut de France. The Grand Duchess handed out the History Award to Loris Chavanette for his book "Quatre-vingt-quinze, La Terreur en procès". The cour has more visuals and also stated the the Grand Duchess was sorry that she could not attend the Count of Lannoy's funeral but was present in her thoughts.

More sad news for Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie came later in the week: Her uncle, Dominique della Faille de Leverghem, younger brother of her mother Countess Alix, died on January 13 at the age of 72, as announced in La Libre Belgique. Our condolences go out to the family.

Photo: Daniel Schwender / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

Thursday saw Hereditary Prince Alois open Liechtenstein's parliament for this year with the traditional throne speech (and no, neither he nor his father have a literal throne to sit on while doing so). In his speech, the Hereditary Prince called on politicians and Liechtensteiners alike to unite and create a bright future for the country instead of becoming a nation of naysayers. His full speech (as well as a video of the speech) can be found at Vaterland.

Earlier today, Friday that is, Monseigneur le Grand-Duc visited the judicial authorities of the District Court in Diekirch. No pictures as of yet and also not pictures - because it is just about to start - of tonight's event: A concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of the accession of Grand Duchess Charlotte to the throne at the Église Saint-Michel attended by the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. We will include both events again in next week's roundup.

Pssst, also come back during the course of the week as there will be some extra posts between this and next Friday...

The Aristocrats: A 1983 Documentary About the Princely Family

Photo: Screenshot BBC

This Week's Extra: If you have a bit of time on your hands, check out this documentary about the Princely Family we just stumbled over on Youtube. Entitled "The Aristocrats", it was broadcasted by the BBC in 1983 and includes interviews with Prince Franz Josef and Princess Gina, parents of the current Fürst. While Princess Gina speaks about coming to and living in Liechtenstein, Prince Franz Josef talks about meeting Adolf Hitler, among others. There are also interviews with Prince Hans-Adam, Princess Marie and Princess Nora included.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Weekly Roundup: Wedding Details, Unexpected Sightings and More

September 29 to October 5, 2018

Photos: Bunte

On Saturday, Countess Anna Theresa married Colin McKenzie in her Bavarian hometown. We already covered the wedding here. Thanks to a few new pictures which have surfaced in the printed media we can now give you a more complete rundown of which members of the Grand Ducal and Princely Families attended: In addition to the previously mentioned Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, Archduchess Marie-Christine and husband Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum as well as Princess Margaretha and Prince Nikolaus with Prince Josef, we also spied Prince Félix and Princess Claire, Archduke Carl-Christian and Archduchess Marie-Astrid, Princess Nora as well as Princess Anunciata and Princess Astrid (in a special dress). The Hereditary Grand Duke, who appeared without a beard for the first time in years, was one of the witnesses at the wedding.

On Monday, Hereditary Princess Sophie was supposed to attend an event on the occasion of European Depression Day. While there was info published in advance, we have not found any pictures or further reports yet.

Photo: Royal Family of Romania

On Monday and Tuesday, Princess Margareta, Custodian of the Crown of Romania, and husband Prince Radu were on a semi-official visit to Liechtenstein (or whatever you call it when non-reigning royals visit reigning royals and make it look official). Princess Margareta, the daughter of Romania's last king, and her husband met with Fürst Hans-Adam II, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie as part of their visit. At least for part of their visit including visits to the Red Cross, a children's home and more, the Romanian royals were also accompanied by the Hereditary Princess.

If my eyes don't deceive me, Princess Margareta and Prince Radu also ran into Princess Anunciata, oldest daughter of Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha, fresh off her wedding adventures in Germany. Princess Anunciata, who is a niece of Prince Hans-Adam, attended some meeting in relation to the Liechtenstein Olympic Committee probably standing in for her aunt Princess Nora. (News alert! Googling around I just found out that Princess Anunciata actually is a member of the Liechtenstein Olympic Committee since May, a bit of news we seem to have missed. All the details here.) A lot more pictures (and information in case you can read Romanian) on the website of the Romanian Royal Family.

Photo: Michael Zanghel­lini / Liechtensteiner Volksblatt / Volksblatt.li

Sometime midweek, either on Wednesday or Thursday, Hereditary Princess Sophie lend her support to the building project "The Roof" by attending the groundbreaking ceremony. In two years time, the new building will house the Liechtenstein Red Cross among others. More information and pictures at Volksblatt.

On Friday (or earlier today depending on when you read this), the Grand Duchess assisted at the 125th anniversary festivities of the Cercle Artistique de Luxembourg, she is the patron of. The Cercle Artistique aims to bring together Luxembourgish artists of all kind such as visual arts, applied arts and graphics to promote arts education in the country. (Update: The Grand Duke actually attended the event probably standing in for his wife.)

Also earlier today, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced this year's winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, Nadia Murad and Dr. Denis Mukwege, who were honoured for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess sent letters congratulating both laureates. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa has met and worked with both Ms Murad and Dr. Mukwege. Together with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation, the Fondation du Grand-Duc and de la Grand-Duchesse will host a conference titled "Stand Speak Rise Up" in Luxembourg next year.

Photo: Nils Vollmar / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

File the last one under the things we missed category: Back in mid-September, Princess Tatjana was out and about in Liechtenstein giving out the award of the Prince Franz Josef of Liechtenstein Foundation honouring three associations working in the field of palliative care. The only daughter of of Fürst Hans-Adam, is the president of the foundation named in her grandfather's honour. More pictures at Vaterland.