Closing of the Octave *

Today was the day for one of if not the biggest religious celebration in the Grand Duchy - the Closing of the Octave of Our Lady of Luxembourg, Comforter of the Afflicted. Starting on the third Sunday after Easter, the Octave closes two weeks later with a grand procession through the city. Almost 100.000 people took part in the various celebrations during the last fourteen days. Like every year the procession brought out quite a big turnout of Luxembourgish royals as well as the political elite (which we will sweep under the table).

In the morning, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa attended a pontifical mass at the beautiful Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg, which almost certainly will also be the stage for the grand wedding later this year.

For the closing procession which led from the cathedral to the Rue de la Reine and back to the cathedral, the grand ducal couple was joined by Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Prince Félix, Prince Louis and wife Princess Tessy, as well as Princess Alexandra all dressed up and with their rosaries firmly in hand.

Afterwards like every year after returning to the palais, the whole family stepped out on the balcony to great the people. Louis' and Tessy's boys also made an appearance, Prince Gabriel in daddy's arm and Prince Noah in uncle Guillaume's.

Pictures of the morning mass are available at Wort, while both Wort and Tageblatt has pictures of the afternoon's procession. Both the RTL's French as well as the Luxembourgish news covered today's event. Another massive gallery with more than 1000 pictures can be found over at RTL. The cour now offers a gallery of visuals as well as does Manuel Dias.


Source: Wort

Seville Fair

During the Seville Fair, Prince Jean and his wife Diane de Guerre * and Prince Robert and his wife Princess Julie attended a party organised by the champagne brand Veuve Clicquot. Pictures of the party can be found in the current edition of Point de Vue, which sadly isn't available online.

* No, even if some people insist that she must have the title of a Countess of Nassau, she does not. At least that is what the cour says.


Source: PdV

Princess Sibilla Out and About

Looking stunning as always, Princess Sibilla awarded the Luigi Micheletti Award to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. The Micheletti Award is a prize for innovation in museums and took place at the State Textile and Industry Museum in Augsburg, Germany, last year's winner. The winner is chosen in collaboration with the European Museum Academy, of which the Princess, an art historian herself, is a member of the pool of experts.

Pictures are available over on the website of the Micheletti Award and on the website of the Augsburgian museum.


Source: Micheletti Award

Another Day at the Office

Once again, Grand Duke Henri received a delegation of permanent representatives to the United Nations, who participated in a seminar titled "Diplomacy, development and defense: the importance of a holistic approach for peacekeeping and international security" in Luxembourg, at the palais. For a picture have a look on the website of the cour. Yeah, I wish my office was as beautiful as the Grand Duke's...


Source: CGD

A Microfinance Conference

Still trying to catch up on all the latest events of the grand ducal family cause even for this blogger life sometimes simply takes over. Next up: Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa at a responsible investing conference.

As you may know, the Grand Duchess has a keen interest in all things microfinance, thus she held the opening speech at the conference titled "Luxembourg’s role in responsible investing". Often accompanied by the Hereditary Grand Duke, this time it was Grand Duke Henri's turn to be his wife's partner in crime. For more information and pictures have a look on the website of ALFI or on the website of the cour.



Source: ALFI

An Annual Tradition

Like every year, the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess attended the opening of the Luxembourg International Fair at LuxExpo. This year's was the 100th edition of the fair with over 400 exhibitors. Visuals can be found over on the website of the fabulous Manuel Dias, the cour and Tageblatt also have pictures. A video with a few glimpses of the grand ducal couple is available over at RTL.


Source: Tageblatt

Welcoming the Kazakh Prime Minister

Nine days ago on May 3rd, Grand Duke Henri received Kazakhstan's prime minister Karim Massimov at the palais. Mr Massimov has been serving in this position since January 2007 and was on an official visit to the Grand Duchy.



Source: CGD

Another Wedding Date Set

As not only bad things come in three, the third wedding date has been made public: Archduke Christoph of Austria and his fiancée Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch will tie the knot on December 29th this year.

The middle son of Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria got officially engaged last December after having been engaged privately for quite some time. It will be the third Luxembourg-related wedding this year. Christoph's older brother Archduke Imre will marry his American fiancée in September and his cousin Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume his Belgian fiancée in October.


Source: MilleMercisMariage

Stéphanie's Life In Pictures

The future Hereditary Grand Duchess has opened her photo album to let us have a peek into her life. Over at Wort and RTL, you can find pictures of Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy through the years starting with her christening up until a family photograph of her mother's 70th birthay last year.

Wedding Date Set!

The Cour Grand-Ducale has announced that The Hereditary Grand Duke and Countess Stephanie de Lannoy will marry on Saturday, October 20, 2012.

Additional details are expected to be provided later today.

LE MARECHALAT DE LA COUR COMMUNIQUE :
La date du mariage de Son Altesse Royale le Grand-Duc Héritier avec la Comtesse Stéphanie de Lannoy a été fixée à samedi, le 20 octobre 2012.
Palais, le 3 mai 2012


Translation:
The date of the marriage of HRH The Hereditary Grand Duke with the Countess Stephanie de Lannoy was set at Saturday, October 20, 2012.
Palace, May 3, 2012

Sources: Wort, RTL