Qatar Continued...

The visit of our dear Guillaume Jean Joseph Marie and Minister Jeannot Krecké is continuing. The dynamic duo visited the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. They discussed the Qatar Foundation's projects and were given an idea of the projects that are in the works.

Guillaume, Jeannot, The Emir of Qatar, and The President of Brazil attended the Emir's Cup final at Khalifa Stadium (pictured). I'm sure our magnificent Guillaume Jean Joseph Marie (hey, they started it) is easily spotted in the picture...that's The President of Brazil in the khaki pants and The Emir is sandwiched between Guillaume and The President. Our poor Minister Krecké was relegated to the second row. I don't know what stadiums look like where you live but where I live deluxe armchairs are crystal glasses aren't standard...not even in luxurious Luxembourg.

On a totally unrelated note, while reading the Qatari news for blurbs about the visit of Team Guillaume. I noticed that it's a super busy week for The Emir. Just this week The King of Lesotho, The President of Brazil, GuiGui & Co. and at least a dozen other high ranking delegations from various nations were popping in and out of Qatar. I think that our hard working Hereditary Grand Duke and Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade both need a vacation but now I also think that The Emir could use one, as well.

Credentials and Human Rights....a bit of old news

On 29 April, The Grand Duke received the credentials of the new ambassador from The Philippines. After exchanging the customary greetings they discussed bilateral ties (if I had a Euro for every time I've read "bilateral ties" this week) and a planned micro-finance project.

On 3 May, The Grand Ducal Couple were in attendance when the European Commission swore their oath to respect the EU Charter and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Next Stop.... Qatar!

According to the Qatar News Agency, The Hereditary Grand Duke & Co. made it safely and soundly to Qatar yesterday, May 14th, after making the pleasantry rounds within the court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi on May 13th. His Royal Hotness is back in the Middle East after a previous mission promoting Luxembourg for Finance in January, this presumably being a follow-up visit, just in case anyone missed his point the last time (I love a man who reiterates). As with GuiGui's most recent globe-trotting adventures, Minister Jeannot Krecké has come along for the ride, and the two, along with their delegation, will spend three fun-filled days in the bustling business mecca before heading to Saudi Arabia on May 17th.

HGD in the UAE

The Hereditary Grand Duke and Minister Jeannot Krecké are making the rounds in the Middle East in the days leading up to their appearance in Saudi Arabia.

Yesterday, 13 May, they were received by the UAE-located Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi's court. They were apparently not personally greeted by The Crown Prince himself, but Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahya (Chief of the Crown Princely court). The Sheikh expressed hope that the visit would continue to enhance the ties between Luxembourg and his nation, while Guillaume indicated that Luxembourg views bilateral bonds as important and hopes for continued cooperation and progress with the UAE.

The Hereditary Grand Duke and Minister Krecké also met with the UAE's Minister of Foreign Trade, Sheikha Lubna Al-Qassimi. They discussed renewable energy, trade, healthcare and pharmaceuticals.

You may recall from recent international visits of Guillaume and Jeannot that Luxembourg is actively promoting their pharmaceutical industry.

I Love a Parade! **

As reported, the close of the annual Octave was celebrated today, May 9th, by numerous religiously-affiliated organizations, groups, and of course, our lovely Lux Family. No worries, those who were not able to watch the street procession live on RTL are not to be left out in the cold - readers can still take a gander at your favorite Grand Duke and Duchess and mine, the honorable Henri and marvelous Maria Teresa, along with their eldest and youngest sires The Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Prince Sébastien, in all their solemnly sweet glory thanks to a short video recap of the day's activities at RTL and the generous photo galleries courtesy of Wort, Tom Wagner, Manuel Dias, PPE-Agency (just type in "Octave" and the goodies should pop up easily), and Royal Press, along with Rex Features, the ever-trusty RTL, and of course, the Monarchy's official website. As always, the reigning couple can only best be described as radiant, Guillaume lives up to his oh-so-affectionate nickname (shocker, right?).

A super-sized, heartfelt, sugar-shock-inducing "merci beaucoup" to the lovely readers HGD, Liann, and Anniks for sending along these treasure troves of linkage kind, and to the epic photographers and websites kind enough to share their eye candy with us devoted oglers. Much obliged!

Octave Live Stream

RTL is currently broadcasting a live feed of the Octave on their website. 

The family has just arrived. The Grand Ducal Couple, The Hereditary Grand Duke and Prince Sebastien are present. 

The live stream has closed.....

In case you missed it only four members of the family were present. You'll be pleased to know that Guillaume and his beautiful beard are still together. :) Once pictures are placed online we'll be sure to guide you to them. 

The End is Near...

....for the annual Octave, that is. The two-week-long religious celebration began April 24th, with proceedings set to take their glorious bow on Saturday, May 9th. For those not especially privy with the traditions surrounding the Octave, the closing ceremony is generally where the jackpot is for us humble Family fans, as quite a few of our beloved objects of obses - um, affection come together for a processional walk through the streets of the city before participating in a special Mass. While The Grand Duke and Duchess are pretty much a given, as per the (mildly strange and endlessly irritating) usual, not all members of The Grand Ducal Family will be able to make the event - Prince Louis is currently obligated to prior commitments. His wife, Princess Tessy, however, is a likely candidate for attendance, and my fingers are crossed just as tightly as anyone's that we'll also be blessed (I love convenient terminology) with a sight-or-two of The Hereditary Grand Duke, Prince Félix, Princess Alexandra......oh, and Prince Sébastien being.....uh..... Well, you get the point. Naturally, your favorite blog - ha, it's my favorite, too... we're twins! - will provide timely coverage of the event when that loverly time comes. Until then....

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Save the Date!

How to party like it's 1999? Invite the fun-lovin' Lux's, of course! Swedish paper Aftonbladet has confirmed that Their Royal Hotnesses The Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Prince Félix will accompany their parents (and one of the original royal/commoner love matches to make it down the aisle) The Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa at the wedding of Sweden's favorite new blushing bride, The Crown Princess Victoria. Mark your calendars, folks - the weekend of June 19th is uniform and tiara time!

Week of the Ex's: The Expo and the Exhibit

On Friday, 30 April, The Grand Ducal Couple attended the opening of the Spring Fair at the LuxExpo. The home, garden and food showcase was opened by Minister Jeannot Krecké in the presence of Henri and Maria-Teresa. His speech was broadcast live in the Luxembourg Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai. Manuel Dias has ever so graciously provided a gallery of visuals.

Madame, if you'll just leave that bag and those shoes outside the gate at The Berg I'll be around to collect them later.

Yesterday, 1 May, Queen Beatrix and The Grand Ducal Couple opened The Golden Age Reloaded exhibit at Villa Vauban. Since I wrote a long bit with the details of the exhibit in my previous post I'll spare you a repeat of them.

Manuel Dias and Tom Wagner were both on hand at the event so we have two galleries of visual goodness. There are also a couple photos over at Belga.

A Queen, an Audience, and a Solemn Farewell

A Queen.......

To the dear readers who get that warm and fuzzy feeling of inclusion we all know and love not just from taking in the glowing, happy faces of our dear Family, but from simply viewing those oh-so-classic works of art not-necessarily-made-for-yet-nonetheless-destined-for-the-ogling-of-royal-eyes-which-is-fitting-considering-they-are-in-fact-works-of-art-within-a-genre-sterotypically-favored-by-the-elite--slash-aristocratic-masses, well then gosh darn it, you're in luck, my friends!

Later today, May 1st, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands will join her geographical neighbors and incandescent counterparts, TRH The Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, at the newly revamped Villa Vauban Musée d'Art de la Ville de Luxembourg to open an exhibit entitled "The Golden Age Reloaded," featuring the art of Dutch masters.

The Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam has provided works by the artists Frans Hals, Paulus Poiter, Govaert Flinck, Jan van Goyen, and Jacob van Ruisdael. A collection of engravings from the German Von der Heydt-Museum Wuppertal will also be on display. Historical documents belonging to the Dutch Royal Archives will be displayed to illustrate the close relationship between the Netherlands and Luxembourg during the period.

Works of art by Jan Steen, Gérard Dau, and David Teniers the Younger were bequeathed to Luxembourg City by the noted philanthropist Jean-Pierre Pescatore in 1855. These magnificent creations are part of the exhibit. Jean-Pierre Pescatore was an interesting character who led a remarkable life. I highly recommend giving him a good Google.

An Audience..........
On 28 May The Grand Duke received Dani Neumann and Jean Petit. Ms. Neumann is the recipient of the 2009 Prix Grand-Duc Adolphe. The bi-annual prize is awarded by the Cercle artistique de Luxembourg of which Mr. Petit is president.

A Solemn Farewell.......

Sadly, for every fun-filled phantasmagoria of dapper Dutch artwork, every once in a while comes a humble, jarring reminder of the importance of stepping out of the whirlwind and taking stock of the fragile beauty of the world around us. Such a lesson was brought to the forefront for our dear Family this week - on Friday, April 30th, The Grand Duke and his eldest son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume were reportedly on hand to pay their respects at the memorial service for Hereditary Prince Carl Friedrich of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, who died from smoke inhalation after crashing his automobile during the German Endurance Championship.