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.

The Last "Äddi": Grand Duke Jean Laid to Rest

Photo: Cour grand-ducale

It was shortly before half-past eleven this morning when Grand Duke Jean left the palais grand-ducal for the very last time. Representatives of eleven reigning monarchies, countless non-reigning and noble houses, former presidents of Germany, France and Portugal, national and international dignitaries had already taken their place at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg, when Luxembourg's former Grand Duke, who died almost two weeks ago aged 98, made his final journey through the streets of Luxembourg towards the Cathedral. 

Photo: Cour grand-ducale

The coffin of Grand Duke Jean was draped in a flag based on the Grand Duchy's coat-of-arms prominently displaying the Red Lion. The Grand Duke's mortal remains were carried on a howitzer gun mount, once gifted to Grand Duke Jean by the Irish Guards, towed by a military vehicle of the Luxembourg Army. As 21 canon salutes were fired, the funeral procession including the members of the Grand Ducal Family, military and police delegations, the highest ranking political and other dignitaries, slowly made their way to the Cathedral. It was interesting to note that the three oldest of Grand Duke Jean's great-grandchildren, namely Princes Gabriel and Noah and Count Léopold de Limburg-Stirum, also attended the service. 

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

Grand Duke Jean's coffin was carried into the Cathedral to the sounds of De Wilhelmus, Luxembourg's grand ducal anthem, the lyrics of which are actually about (the love of) Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix, the late Grand Duke's parents. The funeral mass was presided over by Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich and his concelebrants included former Archbishop Fernand Franck and Augustine Kasujja, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Grand Duchy. The Grand Ducal Family was heavily involved in the service with both Archduchess Marie-Astrid and Prince Guillaume giving the readings in French and Luxembourgish respectively. Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume (in Luxembourgish), Princess Marie-Gabrielle (in French), Princess Anunciata (in English), Prince Paul-Louis (in Luxembourgish) and Archduchess Marie-Christine (in French) read the intercessions, which they wrote themselves.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Samuel Kirszenbaum

The mass ended with the Sonnerie Nationale and the singing of the national anthem Ons Heemecht. Then came the perhaps most moving part: Grand Duke Jean's coffin was carried out of the Cathedral to the sounds of Highland Cathedral played by bagpipers of the Irish Guards together with the Military Music. It is a song that it very moving in itself and was probably the emotional highpoint of a generally very emotional day. Grand Duke Jean was then privately laid to rest at the Cathedral's crypt alongside his wife, parents, brother and further relatives.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale

If you wish, you can (re)watch the funeral service over at RTL. You can find more pictures in our posts here and here and all over the Luxembourgish media, just go on their websites and you will find easily find them. Our "field reporter" Arjan was in Luxembourg today and he will share experiences in the coming days, so make sure to come back. As we noticed that some attendees were missing on the guest list published in advance, we may also come up with a more comprehensive one sometime next week.

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.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Family "Stand Speak Rise Up!"

Photo: Stand Speak Rise Up

The much anticipated "Stand Speak Rise Up!" conference took place in Luxembourg this week. The international conference committed to ending sexual violence in fragile environments was initiated by the Grand Duchess together with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation and We are NOT Weapons of War (WWoW), supported by the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society and the Luxembourg Government.

Photo: Stand Speak Rise Up

The aim of the conference was to raise awareness of sexual violence in conflict zones, particularly rape as a weapon of war. Sadly both have experienced in upsurge in today's conflicts yet are rarely talked about. While sexual violence is a deep-rooted global phenomenon affecting every human being, women are oftentimes the most vulnerable. Fragile environments, such as war and guerilla zones, displaced communities, detention centres, isolated rural villages and areas ravaged by natural disasters, are fertile grounds for these heinous crimes that have become part of military strategy and a weapon of war.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

Already on Saturday, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa celebrated her birthday with a party together with 50 survivors of sexual violence in conflict zones who had already travelled to the Grand Duchy for the conference that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

On Monday, the Grand Duke welcomed two of the conference's attendees, Atifete Jahjaga, former President of Kosovo, and Pramila Patten, United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, for audiences at the palais.

Photo: Stand Speak Rise Up

The actual conference took place on Tuesday and Wednesday with a concert at the Philharmonie rounding off the event. It was great to see so many family members coming out to support such an important cause. Among those who attended the various events related to the conference were, of course, Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duke Jean, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Prince Félix and Princess Claire, Princess Alexandra, as well as Archduchess Marie-Astrid and Princess Anunciata and Princess Charlotte (daughter of Guillaume and Sibilla).

Pictures of the conference are available on Flickr as well as at the cour here and here. RTL has several news reports about the events, here and here for example, as well as a lengthy interview with the Grand Duchess.

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: 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.