Weekly Roundup: Royals in Excavators, Anniversary Celebrations and More

January 19 to 25, 2019

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

It's time for our new Weekly Roundup and in keeping with our promises last week, here are pictures of the Grand Duke visiting the judicial authorities of the District Court in Diekirch where he was welcomed by the Minister of Justice Felix Braz...

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

...and of the 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 alongside Grand Duke Jean. More pictures at the cour.

Photo: IKR

While the Luxembourgs mostly kept to themselves for this week, there were a handful of events for the Liechtensteins. On Monday, Hereditary Prince Alois attended the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos alongside Prime Minister Adrian Hasler. Among others, the Hereditary Prince took part in a discussion about making globalisation work for all.

Photo: Eddy Risch / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

Wednesday was a big day for the Principality kicking off their 300th anniversary celebrations. We conveniently covered the event for you in a separate and longer post. The event was attended by Prince Hans-Adam, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie, Prince Max, Princess Tatjana, Prince Philipp, Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha, Princess Nora and daughter Teresa Sartorius, as well as Prince Michael, Princess Hildegard, Princess Barbara and Princess Maria-Pia - and because this is Liechtenstein we are talking about, there are no proper pictures of all the family members in attendance yet. After the official event was over, the Princely Family also hosted a dinner for the foreign guests at Schloss Vaduz.

Photo: Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

A day later, on Thursday, Princess Tatjana made another of her rare public appearances in Liechtenstein when she was on hand for the ground-breaking ceremony for a new special education residential home. Princess Tatjana, who is the President of the Princess Gina of Liechtenstein Foundation which is building the facility, probably made her own children a teeny tiny bit jealous as she got to dig herself with the excavator. More information at Vaterland, 1 FL TV has a video including an interview with Princess Tatjana (starting at 4:53).

Photo: IKR

Speaking of rare appearances... The lesser seen members of the Princely Family made the most of their time in Liechtenstein as Prince Max attended a discussion round alongside Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick on modern slavery and human trafficking organised by the Liechtenstein Initiative.

Photo: Roland Korner / Close Up AG

Also this week, Vaterland published a lengthy interview with Hereditary Princess Sophie in which the talks about falling in love, moving to Liechtenstein, her children and a lot more. We have translated the interview for you here.

Photo: Sophie Margue / Cour grand-ducale

On Friday, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa presented her initiative Stand Speak Rise Up! to end sexual violence in fragile environments, launched together with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation and the NGO We are not Weapons of War. The conference will take place on March 26 and 27, 2019, and will include three Nobel Peace Prize winners as keynote speakers. More pictures and information at the cour.

#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.

Prince Constantin and Princess Tatjana at Liechtenstein Reception in Vienna

Photo: IKR

Liechtenstein's ambassador to Austria, Princess Maria-Pia, hosted the traditional Liechtenstein reception at the Gartenpalais in Vienna in mid-September. Among its guests were Prime Minister Adrian Hasler as well as Prince Constantin and his sister Princess Tatjana. The Principality and its eastern neighbour share numerous diplomatic and contractual ties. So it's entirely possible that other Austria-based members of the Princely Family were also present for the event.

Tons of Pictures of the Liechtensteins at the Vatican

Photos: L'Osservatore Romano 

Ever cared to look at almost 1.400 pictures of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein attending one single event? Now is the chance of your lifetime! L'Osservatore Romano offers a gallery of visuals of Saturday's visit to the Pope by Prince Hans-Adam and some 36 of his closest relatives containing more than enough pictures to fullfill your wishes. In case you need to brush up on your knowledge of the less regular Liechtenstein faces here at Luxarazzi, we have them all conveniently identified for your here.

Princely Family Meets the Pope: Name That Liechtenstein

It's a good day in Luxarazzi Land as some 34 members of the Princely family unexpectedly joined Fürst Hans-Adam II and Fürstin Marie as well as Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie for a visit to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis. Of course our Who's Who section is always there for you when it comes to identify lesser known members of both the Liechtenstein and Luxembourg families but we thought we would give you a proper rundown of all the surviving descendants of Prince Franz Josef II and Princess Gina who were in attendance. (Spoiler: It's everyone but the three younger children of Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie.)

Photo: L'Osservatore Romana

Quick tip before we start: Click on the picture to enlarge and get a proper look at everyone's faces. And with that, we are off starting from the left: Princess Maria-Anunciata, Princess Margaretha, Prince Nikolaus, Anna von Lattorff, Camilla von Lattorff, Marie von Lattorff, Elisabeth von Lattorff, Lukas von Lattorff, Philipp von Lattorff, Maximilian von Lattorff, Sophie von Lattorff, Princess Tatjana, Prince Alfonso, Princess Angela, Prince Max, Prince Wenzel, The Princess Marie, The Prince Hans-Adam, Pope Francis.

Let's take a quick breather and start with everyone on the right of Pope Francis in the picture: Hereditary Prince Alois, Hereditary Princess Sophie, Prince Constantin, Princess Marie, Prince Moritz, Princess Georgina, Prince Benedikt, Prince Philipp, Princess Isabelle, Prince Alexander, Princess Astrid, Princess Theodora, Prince Wenzeslaus, Prince Rudolf with Princess Laetitia, Princess Tılsım with Prince Karl Ludwig, Prince Josef, Princess Marie-Astrid, Princess Nora and Teresa Sartorius.

Princely Family Meets the Pope

Embed from Getty Images

Pope Francis received pretty much the entire Princely Family at the Vatican today. (Well, those descending from Prince Franz Josef II and Princess Gina anyway). I could spy in pictures: Prince Hans-Adam II and Princess Marie; Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie with Prince Wenzel; Prince Max and Princess Angela; Prince Alfonso; Prince Constantin and Princess Marie with Prince Moritz, Princess Georgina, Prince Benedikt; Princess Tatjana and Philipp von Lattorff with Lukas, Elisabeth, Marie, Camilla, Anna, Sophie; Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle; Prince Alexander and Princess Astrid with Princess Theodora; Prince Wenzeslaus; Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım with Prince Karl Ludwig and Princess Laetitia; Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha, Princess Anunciata; Princess Astrid; Prince Josef; Princess Nora and her daughter Maria Teresa Sartorius y de Liechtenstein.

After meeting the Pope, the princely guests also met with His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary for Relations with States. As per the Holy See's press release, "During the cordial discussions the good bilateral relations between the Holy See and Liechtenstein were evoked, and the historic role of the Catholic Church and the positive contribution she continues to offer to the life of the country were recognised. Appreciation was then expressed for the Principality’s efforts in the international sphere, particularly in the protection of human rights."

More pictures at Getty Images #1, Getty Images #2, APA.

To read about previous Vatican visits by the Princely Family, check out this Luxarazzi 101.

Liechtenstein's National Day In Depth

Photo: Daniel Schwendener / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

How time flies! It's already August 16 and thus it was national day in Liechtenstein yesterday. After the short version of our coverage earlier on, here's more than you need to know and see all cramped into one informative post.

Who attended? The Prince Hans-Adam II and the Princess Marie; the Hereditary Prince Alois and the Hereditary Princess Sophie with Prince Wenzel, Princess Marie-Caroline, Prince Nikolaus and Prince Georg; Prince Constantin and Princess Marie with Prince Moritz, Princess Georgina and Prince Benedikt; (I think) Camilla von Lattorff, daughter of Princess Tatjana; Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha; Prince Michael with Princess Thera and Princess Gisela. Quite likely also: Prince Stefan and Princess Maria Pia.

Photo: Daniel Schwendener / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

What happened? There was the ceremony on the castle meadow, the reception in the gardens of Schloss Vaduz, lots of interviews, mingling with the regular folks at the fair and, of course, the fireworks. Venture over to this Luxarazzi 101 to read all about the historical background of the Staatsfeiertag.

What did the Hereditary Prince say in his speech? That Liechtenstein is in a good place looking at the current political situation including Brexit, refugee crisis et al. Large parts of his speech also dealt with the topic of an upcoming referendum about the financing of child care in the Principality. For his full speech, have a look here.

Where to look for pictures? Vaterland #1, Vaterland #2, Volksblatt #1, Volksblatt #2 and Getty Images.

Where can I see videos? 1 FL TV got you covered. They have a video of the Hereditary Prince's speech, a video with footage of the day's events including interviews with the Fürst and the Hereditary Prince as well as a video from the rose gardens including interviews with Hereditary Princess Sophie and Prince Nikolaus. Reports can also be found at ORF and TVO.

What else? Stay tuned! Our friend Arjan - who you can also find on Twitter - was in Vaduz for national day and he'll share his experiences with us in the coming days.

Leyen/Königsegg-Aulendorf Wedding

Wedding news: Back on September 6, Prince Georg von der Leyen und zu Hohengeroldseck and Countess Nathalie von Königsegg-Aulendorf religiously married in the Austrian town of Frauenkirchen after already civilly saying 'I do' on August 1 in Germany. This week's edition of Bunte* has a report about the wedding that counted Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Sophie as well as Princess Tatjana and husband Philipp von Lattorff among its guests. Other royal and noble attendants included Sophie's sister Duchess Marie and husband Duke Philipp of Württemberg as well as Princess Irina of Hesse, her husband Count Alexander of Schönburg-Glauchau and their daughter Maria-Letitia.

(* Well, not every edition. As you never stop learning, I learned today that there must be regional editions of the German magazine Bunte. This wedding wasn't covered in my edition but it was in the one of Stefan of Royal Travel, so a big Dankeschön for the heads up!)

Princess Tatjana and Family Cheer on Liechtenstein

Photo: Eddy Riesch / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

Earlier this week, on Monday to be precise, Liechtenstein had its last qualifying match for the Euro 2016 finals (which they rather unsurprisingly didn't make). Gathering five points during the whole qualifying round, they also lost their last match to Austria, who finished with 28 points, at the Ernst Happel Stadion (0-3). In Vienna to cheer on the Liechtenstein team was Princess Tatjana, only daughter of the Prince Hans-Adam II, a Liechtenstein scarf as well as her husband Philipp von Lattorff (half hidden behind the small Liechtenstein flag on the left) and possibly their daughter Sophie, the young girl between them.

Princess Tatjana at Liechtenstein Reception in Vienna

Photo: Peter Kube

On Thursday last week, Liechtenstein ambassador to Austria, Princess Maria-Pia, hosted the traditional Liechtenstein reception at the Gartenpalais in Vienna. Among its guests were Prime Minister Adrian Hasler as well as Princess Tatjana, only daughter of Prince Hans-Adam (both pictured above). The Principality and its eastern neighbour share numerous diplomatic and contractual ties. It's rather likely that other Austria-based members of the Princely Family, such as Prince Constantin and Princess Marie, were also present for the event.

(At Least) 7 Liechtenstein Royals at Concert in Vienna

Photo: Österreichisches Rotes Kreuz

And another one for the "Better late than never"-category: In her capacity as President of the Liechtenstein Red Cross Hereditary Princess Sophie hosted a charity concert together with the President of the Austrian Red Cross on May 28 at the Stadtpalais in Vienna. She was joined by quite an array of relatives for the event also including a dinner afterwards: her husband Hereditary Prince Alois, her mother-in-law Princess Marie, her brother-in-law Prince Constantin and his wife Princess Marie, her uncle-in-law Prince Nikolaus, as well as Philipp von Lattorff, husband of her sister-in-law Princess Tatjana. The money raised was used for a joined project of the Austrian and Liechtenstein branches of the Red Cross to help people in Eastern Ukraine.

More pictures on the website of the Austrian Red Cross.

Prince Hans-Adam and His Family...

Yesterday was Prince Hans-Adam's 70th birthday and we celebrated it with a marathon of interviews with him, his son Hereditary Prince Alois, his grandson Prince Wenzel and the ladies of his life. We will now likely - as you never know what might pop up in the coming days - end our birthday coverage with a collage of pictures of Prince Hans-Adam, Princess Marie and their descendants. And cause you possibly don't know all their names by heart, here's a quick rundown:

1) Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein

2) Princess Marie of Liechtenstein

3) Prince Constantin of Liechtenstein

4) Princess Georgina "Gina" of Liechtenstein

5) Prince Benedikt of Liechtenstein

6) Prince Moritz of Liechtenstein

7) Princess Marie of Liechtenstein

8) Marie von Lattorff

9) Elisabeth von Lattorff

10) Anna von Lattorff

11) Sophie von Lattorff

12) Tatjana von Lattorff, Princess of Liechtenstein

13) Philipp von Lattorff

14) Maximilian von Lattorff

15) Camilla von Lattorff

16) Lukas von Lattorff

17) Prince Maximilian "Max" of Liechtenstein

18) Prince Alfonso of Liechtenstein

19) Princess Angela of Liechtenstein

20) Prince Joseph-Wenzel "Wenzel" of Liechtenstein

21) Prince Georg of Liechtenstein

22) Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein

23) Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein

24) Princess Marie-Caroline of Liechtenstein

25) Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein

...and What the Ladies Have to Say

After our marathon of princely interviews yesterday - Haven't read them yet? Check here, here and here for lengthy interviews with Prince Hans-Adam II, Hereditary Prince Alois and Prince Wenzel on the occasion of the Fürst's 70th birthday. -, there is basically one post left: A post with what the ladies in Prince Hans-Adam's life have to say about him. Mind you, it's not all the ladies but representative selection of them: his wife Princess Marie, his daughter Princess Tatjana, his daughter-in-law Princess Sophie, and his granddaughter Princess Marie-Caroline.

The Princess Marie

Photo: Manfred Bauer / VOL.at

Serene Highness, do you still recall the first thought that went through your mind when you met Prince Hans-Adam for the first time?

I thought of him as a cheerful young man.

What do you value most about Prince Hans-Adam as a husband?

That he is very intelligent, that he has humour and that he is a faithful husband.

If you had to describe Prince Hans-Adam with three adjectives, which ones would it be?

I think I have basically already answered this question with the answers to the first two questions.

When was the last time your husband made you laugh and how did he do it?

The last time was this morning. I put on a red jacket as I know that he likes to colour. I always tell him that he is like a bull.

Can you tell us an anecdote about your husband as a family man?

There are many anecdotes I could tell. What always touches me is that he is such a caring and generous head of the family with all members of the family.

What do you wish Prince Hans-Adam for his 70th birthday?

That he stays as he is and that God may bless and save him.

Princess Tatjana

Photo: Exclusiv

Serene Highness, what do you value most about Prince Hans-Adam as a father?

That he has such diverse interests which you can discuss with him for hours and hours.

If you had to describe Prince Hans-Adam with three adjectives, which ones would it be?

Funny, direct and energetic.

When was the last time your father made you laugh and how did he do it?

Very often we laugh about the little ordinary things in life.

Can you tell us an anecdote about your father as a family man?

One of my daughters hurt herself last summer. My father was with us and thought that she was very brave so he wanted to gift her something. A few weeks later, he took her to the jeweller and she chose a little necklace for herself.

What do you wish Prince Hans-Adam for his 70th birthday?

All the best.

Hereditary Princess Sophie

Photo: PPE

Royal Highness, do you still recall the first thought that went through your mind when you met Prince Hans-Adam for the first time?

Unfortunately I can't recall - mind you, it has been almost exactly 30 years!

What do you value most about Prince Hans-Adam as a father-in-law?

His humour and his great knowledge in great number of subjects.

If you had to describe Prince Hans-Adam with three adjectives, which ones would it be?

Intelligent, humerous and generous.

When was the last time your father-in-law made you laugh and how did he do it?

We laugh so often that I can't recall a specific example.

What do you wish Prince Hans-Adam for his 70th birthday?

That his wishes will be fulfilled, he stays healthy and can continue to pursue his interests like he does now. 

Princess Marie-Caroline

Photo: Scanpix

Serene Highness, what do you value most about Prince Hans-Adam as a grandfather?

His humour.

If you had to describe Prince Hans-Adam with three adjectives, which ones would it be?

Intelligent, enthusiastic and humerous.

When was the last time your grandfather made you laugh and how did he do it?

The last time I was home.

What do you wish Prince Hans-Adam for his 70th birthday?

Health and that all his wishes may come true. 

Prince Hans-Adam, His Birthday and a Bejewelled Wedding Gift

On Saturday, Prince Hans-Adam II will celebrate his 70th birthday. Already tomorrow, there will be a reception hosted at Schloss Vaduz. The Prince will celebrate his actual birthday together with his family. In an interview with 1 FL TV he revealed that "my children, grandchildren and some of my siblings will be there. I believe there will be a cake according to an old recipe by Julie." 

Julie is Julie Hahnl, who started to work for the Princely Family in 1926 at the age of 15 when she was hired as a kitchen maid for Jagdschloss Thalhof in Lower Austria. After the death of Prince Johann II, she worked for Prince Franz I and became chef after five years. After the wedding of Prince Franz Josef II and Princess Gina, she moved to Liechtenstein with the couple. Even after her retirement, she continued to occasionally cook for the Princely Family. So in the end, she worked for four Fürsten of Liechtenstein.

To mark Prince Hans-Adam's birthday, Swiss TV SRF showed a very short biography of his life. Most interestingly, it features footage of Prince Hans-Adam as a young boy together with his parents and brothers Philipp and Nikolaus, a newborn Hereditary Prince Alois, and him playing together with his siblings Max, Constantin and Tatjana around Schloss Vaduz.

And jewellery loving me couldn't help but notice the following shot from Prince Hans-Adam's and Princess Marie's wedding. Upon her marriage, Princess Marie was gifted with a sapphire and diamond necklace that could be converted into a tiara by Liechtenstein's government. I always wondered what said gift looked like and I guess I finally have the answer:

Or maybe it's another wedding gift!? Anyhow, it's too bad we've (to the best of my knowledge) never seen it worn.

Luxarazzi 101: Royal Recycling and Clothes Sharing Vol. 4

They can't leave it, can they? The Grand Ducal Family loves to wear out each others clothes though let's be honest, if our mothers, sisters, aunts or cousins had a wardrobe full of designer gems, we would probably do the same all the time. The dress and jacket above were first worn by Princess Alexandra for national day 2008 as well as pictures taken by Lola Velasco around the same time and later by Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie for a visit to Steinfort in 2014.

This time around, even the Princely Family is in on the clothes sharing action with a sentimental favourite of mine: On national day in 2014 Sophie von Lattorff, daughter of Princess Tatjana and her husband Philipp von Lattorff, wore a dress previously worn by her cousin Princess Marie-Caroline for the wedding of little Sophie's parents in 1999.

So turns out that the coat Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie wore to Archduke Christoph's wedding in December 2012 does not originate with Princess Alexandra, who wore it to her grandfather's 90th birthday party in January 2011 (as previously mentioned in the first post of this kind), but with Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa. The Grand Duchess sported the coat - including some very obvious buttons that were later obviously removed - for an official visit of former German President Christian Wulff to Luxembourg in 2010.

And as (almost) always, there was also some hat sharing going on: For the funeral of Queen Fabiola of Belgium Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie borrowed a black pillbox hat previously worn by her mother-in-law on a number of occasions.

Not all clothes though are handed to someone else. Either these two dresses worn by Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were two strikingly similar ones to begin with or the long dress lost to the scissors et voilà, it became a short dress.

For more clothes sharing action within the Grand Ducal and Princely Families, have a look at the previous three posts of this series: Here, here and here.

Giving the Swedes a Run for Their Money

Point de Vue / Exclusiv

Showing that not only the Swedes can recycle children's clothes worn (more than a) decade(s) ago were the Liechtensteins, or more precisely Sophie von Lattorff, on the Principality's national day last Friday. The youngest daughter of Princess Tatjana and her husband Philipp von Lattorff wore the same dress (minus the sash) as Princess Marie-Caroline, only daughter of Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie, or one of the other flower girls at the wedding of young Sophie's parents 15 years ago.

Speaking of the lot, check out Exclusiv's very lovely galleries of visuals of this year's national day in which you can see a seemingly ageless Princess Tatjana, her children, Hereditary Prince Alois talking to his daughter and Countess Giorgiana of Arco, Prince Stefan, Prince Michael and his daughters Gisela and Thera, lots of waving, fair fun, a princely selfie and so much more! Also have a look at this video by 1 FL TV featuring interviews with Prince Hans-Adam and Hereditary Prince Alois as well as quite a bit of footage of the Princely Family during the morning activities.

P.S. Pictures, Videos and More

Photos: Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

Waiting for pictures and videos of Liechtenstein's national day to become available is always a bit of a trial of patience but this year seems like a special ordeal, it probably doesn't help that yesterday was a Friday, thus today a Saturday, which is not a workday but weekend. However, as we don't want to leave you waiting, here we go with those links already available. (The post will be updated with more pictures and videos whenever they became available, so make sure to check back later!)

While Vaterland offers galleries of visuals of the act of state and the garden party as well as the fair in Vaduz, Volksblatt has one of the morning activities and another gallery of the evening ones (if you skip ahead behind the 52 firework photos in the beginning).

Video-wise Austrian ORF has a short report about national day, as do Swiss SRF and Swiss TVO. 1 FL TV has videos of Hereditary Prince Alois's speech as well as the speech of the President of Parliament. As every year, they also had a broadcast including interviews with various people, usually including members of the Princely Family, but that one isn't available online yet.

As not an awful lot of photos and videos especially of yesterday evening have been published yet, it's a bit hard to tell which family members were out and about to mingle with the people at the fair last night. Prince Hans-Adam and Princess Marie as well as Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie were certainly there as they, among other things, welcomed 104-year-old German tourist Eleonora Kastner from Berlin to the Principality. "Granny Ella", as she is called, already spent her 101th birthday three years ago in Liechtenstein and has visited the country nine times since. She was especially delighted to meet the Hereditary Princess as both of them were born in Bavaria.

National Day: State Ceremony and Garden Party

Photos: Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

While the rest of the (Catholic) world is celebrating the Feast of Assumption of the Virgin Mary today, the Principality of Liechtenstein is having its national day. First taking place in 1940, August 15 was actually chosen as national day for that exact reason: The day already was a public holiday in the Principality and it thus meant that no day of productivity was lost. (Plus, the late Prince Franz Josef's birthday was on August 16 but I just love the thriftiness of Liechtenstein's government, "No, you really don't need another day off, dear citizens.")

While this year in general is the year of the silver throne jubilee of the Prince Hans-Adam II, today's national day marks the 10th anniversary of Hereditary Prince Alois becoming his father's regent in 2004. Reasons enough for a numerous attendance by members of the Princely Family: Thus far I spotted the Prince Hans-Adam and the Princess Marie, the Hereditary Prince Alois and the Hereditary Princess Sophie with three of their four children Princess Marie-Caroline, Prince Georg and Prince Nikolaus, as well as Princess Tatjana and her husband Philipp von Lattorff with their children Lukas, Elisabeth, Marie, Camilla, Anna, Sophie and Maximilian. In addition, there were Prince Nikolaus, Prince Stefan, Prince Michael with his daughters Princess Thera and Princess Gisela as well as Princess Maria-Pia. A special guest was Countess Giorgiana of Arco-Zinneberg, youngest daughter of Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria.

During his speech the President of Parliament Albert Frick thanked both the Prince and Hereditary Prince for their contribution and work for the Principality. Even though he believes it is too early to summarise Prince Hans-Adam's reign, Frick said that Liechtenstein joining both the United Nations in 1990 and the European Economic Area in 1995 will always be connected to the Fürst's name. He added that the ten years of Hereditary Prince Alois' regency have assured the country's population that the Principality is in very good hands.

Since becoming regent in 2004, Hereditary Prince Alois has always held the speech traditionally given by the head of state on national day and this year was no different. During his speech he talked about how every citizen of Liechtenstein should make their own little contribution to the balance of the state budget by only taking government benefits and subsidies when it is really necessary, and a number of other topics.

After the end of the official ceremony on the castle meadow, Liechtenstein's population and tourists are traditionally invited by the Princely Family to come join them for a garden party in the - surprise, surprise - gardens of Schloss Vaduz where everyone can have a drink and mingle with their serene and royal highnesses.

Almost 100 visuals of the official ceremony and the garden party can be found at Vaterland. Volksblatt has a video of the Hereditary Prince's speech.

Luxarazzi 101: The Princely Family at the Vatican

Already quite some time ago we did a Luxarazzi 101 showing the Grand Ducal Family on their visits to the Vatican and now, inspired by the recent canonisations of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, it is time to do the same with our (not so) new (anymore) kids to the blog, the Princely Family. As always, this post makes no claim whatsoever to be complete as I can only write about the times the Liechtensteins visited the Vatican and met the different popes which I know about.

Photo: Historischer Verein für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein

To the best of my knowledge, the first time that a member of the Princely Family visited the Vatican and was pictured doing it occured in 1941. On November 4th, Prince Franz-Josef II as well as his sisters Princess Marie-Therese and Princess Marie-Henriette were received in an audience by Pope Pius XII. Their parents, Archduchess Elisabeth and Prince Alois, had previously been welcomed at the Vatican by Pope Leo XIII during their honeymoon in 1903.

Without any visual evidence, Prince Franz-Josef II, Princess Gina and their oldest son Prince Hans-Adam were received by Pope Pius XII in a private audience in May 1950. Pope Pius XII was in fact the godfather of Prince Hans-Adam.

Photo: Historischer Verein für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein

In October 1950 occured the seemingly only full-blown state visit including orders, a tiara and more from Liechtenstein to the Holy See when Prince Franz-Josef and Princess Gina visited Pope John XXIII, who was canonised last month. On their visit, the Princely Couple was accompanied by the Principality's prime minister Alexander Frick.

Photo: Liechtensteiner Volksblatt

15 years later, Prince Franz-Josef II and Princess Gina visited the Vatican once again. By 1975, Pope Paul VI had ascended to the papal throne and thus it was he who welcomed the Princely Couple for a private audience in October of that year.

Photo: Liechtensteiner Volksblatt

In February 1980, then Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam and Hereditary Prince Marie as well as their children Prince Alois, Prince Max, Prince Constantin and Princess Tatjana visited the Vatican, where they were welcomed by Pope John Paul II, who was also canonised last month, in a private audience.

A few months later, in October of the same year to be exact, Prince Franz-Josef II and Princess Gina also paid a visit to the Vatican. Together with their three youngest children, Prince Nikolaus, Princess Nora and Prince Wenzel, they were welcomed by Pope John Paul II.

Photo: Historischer Verein für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein

Three years later, there were a whole lot of Liechtensteins and Liechtensteiners at the Vatican as the Princely Family actually led a pilgrimage of more than 700 inhabitants of the Principality to Rome. On October 14th, 1983, they were all welcomed by Pope John Paul II. The members of the Princely Family making their way to meet His Holiness included Prince Franz-Josef II and Princess Gina, Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam and Hereditary Princess Marie with their children Prince Alois, Prince Max, Prince Constantin and Princess Tatjana, Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle with their sons Prince Alexander, Prince Wenzeslaus and Prince Rudolf, Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha, Princess Nora as well as Prince Wenzel.

Photo: Historischer Verein für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein

In 1984, it was decided that Liechtenstein would establish official diplomatic relations with the Holy See. On January 27th, 1985, Prince Nikolaus presented his letter of credence to Pope John Paul II making him Liechtenstein's first (and thus far only) non-resident ambassador to the Holy See.

Photo: Historischer Verein für das Fürstentum Liechtenstein

During the 1983 visit to the Vatican, Prince Franz-Josef II had invited Pope John Paul II to come to the Principality and already two years later the Pope followed the invitation. On September 8th, 1985, he visited Liechtenstein for a day. The papal visit basically brought out the entire Principality including the Princely Family.

Photo: Seeger Press

Spot the royal! The beatification of Emperor Karl of Austria in 2004 brought out a whole array of familiar faces. Among the pilgrims I spotted on pictures were Prince Hans-Adam and Princess Marie, Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha with Princess Maria-Anunciata, Princess Marie-Astrid and Prince Josef, as well as Princess Isabelle with her sons Prince Wenzeslaus and Prince Rudolf. (And cause we are Luxarazzi: Archduchess Marie-Astrid and Archduke Carl-Christian with Archduchess Marie-Christine, Archduke Imre, Archduke Christoph, Archduke Alexander and Archduchess Gabriella, as well as Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla with baby Prince Jean where there, too.)

Photo: Seeger Press

A year later, Prince Hans-Adam II and Princess Marie as well as Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha visited the Vatican for the funeral of Pope John Paul II...

Photo: Seeger Press

...and a short while later, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie as well as Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha represented the Principality at the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI.

Photo: EinTracht

The next visit by Liechtensteins to the Vatican brought out 22 members of the Princely Family. In 2007, Prince Hans-Adam and Princess Marie, Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie with Prince Wenzel, Princess Marie-Caroline, Prince Georg and Prince Nikolaus, Prince Max and Princess Angela with Prince Alfons, Prince Constantin and Princess Marie with Prince Moritz and Princess Georgina, Princess Tatjana and Philipp von Lattorff with Lukas, Elisabeth, Marie and Camilla von Lattorff, as well as Prince Nikolaus were received by Pope Benedict XVI in a private audience.

Photo: Zimbio

In 2011, Prince Hans-Adam and Princess Marie as well as Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha, who were accompanied by their two daughters Princess Maria-Anunciata and Princess Marie-Astrid, attended the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

Photo: Dutch Photo Press

And as they either flip a coin or simply take turns at visiting the Vatican, it was Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Prince Sophie who attended the inauguration of Pope Francis last year. As always, they were accompanied by Prince Nikolaus, the Principality's non-resident ambassador to the Holy See, and Princess Margaretha.

Photo: Centro Televisivo Vaticano

It is Prince Nikolaus' diplomatic role as ambassador that lets him and his wife, Princess Margaretha, to also regularly attend audiences for the diplomatic corps. The picture above if from the first one of Pope Francis in March 2013 but they also did so in January 2012 and January this year, for example.

Photo: Centro Televisivo Vaticano

And last but certainly not least, last month Prince Hans-Adam and Princess Marie as well as Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha with their children Princess Maria-Anunciata and Prince Josef attended the canonisation of the previous Popes John XXIII and John Paul II.

Are you aware of any other princely visits to the Vatican? Let us know!