Wedding Pictures

Tageblatt has published a 46 visual strong gallery of the wedding of Archduke Imre of Austria and his now wife née Kathleen Walker. In the pictures, taken by Jean-Claude Ernst, the couple and their guests can be seen in- and outside the church as well as at the reception, venture over and have a look here.

After studying all the pictures available extensively, I am certain that Archduchess Kathleen was wearing the same antique Habsbourg veil that the groom's sister Archduchess Marie-Christine wore three years ago at her wedding to Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum.

Guests at the Wedding of Archduke Imre

I went through the pictures of the wedding of Archduke Imre and new Archduchess Kathleen of Austria taken by Marlene A. Koenig from the Royal Musings blog (in case you've hadn't had a look you, I encourage you to do so: "Archduke Imre and Archduchess Kathleen of Austria" and "Washington's Imperial Wedding: Archduke Imre and Kathleen Walker") to see who attended the wedding.

The groom's parents Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria and Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria (née Princess of Luxembourg) and their children Archduchess Marie-Christine, Archduke Christoph, Archduke Alexander and Archduchess Gabriella. Archduchess Marie-Christine's husband Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum was also among the guests.

The groom's cousins, and children of Grand Duke Henri, Prince Félix, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra and Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg also attended the wedding.

The groom's aunt Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein (née Princess of Luxembourg) and her children Princess Marie-Astrid and Prince Josef of Liechtenstein were present as well.

While the twin brother of Princess Margaretha, Prince Jean, was not in Washington D.C., his children and thus cousins of the groom Princess Marie-Gabrielle, Prince Constantin, Prince Wenceslas of Nassau and Prince Carl of Nassau were.

The groom's uncle Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, his wife Princess Sibilla and their youngest son Prince Jean were also among the guests.

From the other side of his family tree, Archduchess Marie-Hélène of Austria (née de Villenfagne de Vogelsanck), wife of Archduke Rudolf, who is the older brother of the groom's father, and her children Archduchess Priscilla, Archduke Franz-Ludwig and Archduke Michael were pictured.

Archduke Carl-Christian's sister Archduchess Alexandra of Austria and her husband Héctor Riesle Contreras came with their son Felipe Riesle de Habsbourg-Lorraine.

Archduke Simeon of Austria, who is a cousin of Archduke Carl-Christian, was also among the guests.

As were Archduke Simeon's sister Archduchess Maria-Anna of Austria, a married Princess Galitzine, and her children Princess Tatiana and Prince Ioann Galitzine.

Archduke Simeon's and Archduchess Maria-Anna's younger half-sister Archduchess Catharina-Maria, married Countess Secco di Aragona, was also in attendance.

Archduchess Maria-Beatrice of Austria (married Countess of Arco-Zinneberg), another cousin of Archduke Carl-Christian, and her daughter Countess Margherita of Arco-Zinneberg made their way to Washington D.C. with another few members of the Arco-Zinneberg family.

Prince Alois-Konstantin of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, who is a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and his wife Princess Anastasia of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (née Princess of Prussia) were among the guests.

From Portugal there were the Duke of Branganza and the Duchess of Braganza.

Other guests I could indentify were Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon, Princess Maria-Luisa of Bulgaria, Duchess Marie-Thérèse of Croy and Prince Carl-Philipp of Croy.

Further guests included Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch, fiancée of Archduke Christoph, and Claire Lademacher, girlfriend of Prince Félix.


Source: The accumulated knowledge of me and my fellow Luxaholics, thanks to the photos of Marlene A. Koenig from  Royal Musings.

Archduke Marries American

Today, Archduke Imre of Austria and his new wife née Kathleen Elizabeth Walker were married in a tridentine mass at the St. Mary Mother of God church in Washington D.C. This will just be a short event round-up to let you know, who of the immediate maternal family of the groom attended. But watch this space in the days to come as we will be having a first hand report of a fellow Luxaholic, who was at the wedding.

Of course Imre's parents Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg, oldest child of Grand Duke Jean, and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria were present for the wedding of their oldest son. Imre's two brothers Archdukes Christoph and Alexander were his groomsmen, with his cousin Prince Félix also in for the job. Félix' longtime girlfriend and probable fiancée Claire Lademacher was also in attendance, as were his sister Princess Alexandra and brothers Princes Louis and Sébastien. Imre's sister Archduchess Gabriella was one of the bridesmaids; naturally, his older sister Archduchess Marie-Christine and husband Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Strirum were also at the wedding. The groom's uncle Prince Guillaume, his wife Princess Sibilla and one of their sons were also in Washington D.C. for the occassion, as was his aunt Princess Margaretha with her children Princess Marie-Astrid and Prince Josef. Imre's cousins Princes Constantin, Wenceslas and Carl and Princess Marie-Gabrielle, children of Prince Jean, were also in attendance. Adélaïde Drapé-Frisch, fiancée of Archduke Christoph, was also among the guests.

Sadly, the bride did not wear a tiara as she opted for a long-sleeved beautiful whitish dress, a pearl headband and what appears to be the same long white lace veil worn by the groom's sister, Archduchess Marie-Christine, at her wedding. Kathleen, better known as Katie, wore her hair up. The bridesmaids wore royal blue dresses with flowers in their hair, the flower girls mirrored that look by wearing white dresses with a satin blue sash, while the ring bearers wore all white. The groom and his groomsmen wore morning dress.

Kathleen arrived with her parents in a black car and was led to the altar by her father. The couple shared a kiss after they left the church and reportedly looked very happy. Together with the bridal party, the newly weds left the church to go to the reception at the St. Regis Regency Hotel in a Stretch Hummer.

The couple gave fans with crosses out as their wedding favours.

Archduke Imre and Archduchess Kathleen will be moving to the Belgian capital Brussels soon.

Venture over to Marlene Eilers Koenig's Royal Musings blog to sneak a peak of some of the guests and the bridal party.

Thanks a lot to Ambrosia for the first quick notes! I'm sure everyone's looking forward to your report in the days to come. So dear readers, make sure to check back in the upcoming days!

Tomorrow's Wedding

Archduke Imre of Austria, oldest son of Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria, will marry his American fiancée, Kathleen Walker, in Washington D.C. tomorrow. It's the first Luxembourg related wedding this year. Imre's cousin Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume will marry in October, while his brother Archduke Christoph will tie the knot in December.

The couple first met in October 2010 at a Missa Cantata in honour of Blessed Karl of Austria, Imre's great-grandfather. The Missa was held in the same church where they will marry. The archduke and the former communications director of the Arlington Diocesan Catholic Charities and well known pro-life activist announced their engagement in December of last year.

Together with a friend of Imre's, his brothers Archdukes Christoph and Alexander will act as groomsmen. Their younger sister Archduchess Gabriella will be one of the bridesmaids alongside two sisters of the bride and two friends. Another friend of Kathleen will be her maid of honour, while another sister will be the flower girl. Two brothers of the Archduchess-to-be will round up the wedding party as ring bearers.

Kathleen, more commenly known as Katie, is the oldest of several children of Robert S. and Margaret M. Walker. At the time of Katie's birth, her mother was single and unwed.



Source: Hanni at All Things Royal, Other

91 and Still Going Strong

Together with culture secretary Octavie Modert, Grand Duke Jean visited the "Musée Dräi Eechelen" also known as "Musée de la Forteresse de la Ville de Luxembourg", simply translated as Fortress of Luxembourg Museum. The museum was opened back in July and shows both exhibitions about the history of Luxembourg City and the historical fortress as well as the Luxembourgish identity. So it doesn't come as a surprise that Grand Duke Henri, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and fiancée Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy also had a look at the museum a few weeks ago before it was officially opened.

For a picture of Grand Duke Jean in front of the new museum, have a look at either RTL or Wort.


Sources: RTL, Wort

Summer Break Is Over

Seems like the Grand Ducal family is planning to end their summer vacation and take on their duties again:

On September 9th, Grand Duke Henri along with London-based Prince Louis and Princess Tessy will attend the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games in the British capital. Two days later the Grand Duke will revive a yearly tradition by receiving Luxembourg's best students at the palais. On the same day, he will attend an event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Josy Barthel's gold medal run at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. His win in the 1500m race is to this date the only official Olympic gold medal for Luxemborg. (Another one was won by Michel Théato in the 1900 marathon race though it is officially credited to the French at it only became known a few years ago that Théato was in fact a Luxembourger.)


Source: Agenda of the Cour

Business Award 2012

An event sure to be lost in October's wedding fever is the 2012 Luxembourg American Chamber of Commerce Business Award. As you can imagine, The Hereditary Grand Duke will be on his honeymoon with the new Hereditary Grand Duchess and will not present the award this year. Prince Felix will lend his polished personality to the event in lieu of the crown princely couple. The biennial gala award will be held at the exquisite University Club in New York on Tuesday, October 30.

The recipient of the 2012 award is Airtech Advance Materials Group. Airtech is a family owned company that opened facilities in Luxembourg in 1991. The Luxembourg based branch of the company (Airtech Europe) has grown from 6 initial employees to 112. The company is a world leader in their field and remains committed to their growth in Luxembourg.

The establishment and growth of the Luxembourg based branch of Airtech could be used as a success story for the involvement of the Ministry of Economics in helping to establish, retain and grow business in the Grand Duchy.

Where to Watch the Wedding Live

So, the bad news that France 2 will not be broadcasting the wedding (which has been confirmed by now), brought us some good news...

The Luxembourgish TV station RTL will film the wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy with 18 cameras and will broadcast live from 10am to 1pm. Usually, they have a live stream to their broadcast on their website.

For everyone in Belgium... RTL-TV1 will show the wedding live. Belgian RTBF is thinking about showing it. Experience tells me that live streams by RTL-TV1 are geo-blocked and thus not viewable outside of Belgium.

For everyone in Germany... ZDF has confirmed that they will broadcast the wedding live. They will decide in which form and for how long next week. If my memory serves me correctly, they also streamed the wedding of Prince Albert of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock on their website, though I am not sure whether it will be available outside of Germany.

Additionally, RTL is currently negotiating with some 12 international channels about the broadcasting rights.

Luxembourgish newspaper L'essentiel will also be offering a live stream on their website.


Sources: Wort, L'essentiel, PaperJam

France 2 Will Not Broadcast the Wedding * Updated With Good News

RTL reports that France 2 had decided not to broadcast the wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy. Budget cutbacks are given as the reason for the decision.

*Update*

Maybe, just maybe the wedding will be broadcasted on France 2 after all. Apparently, there hasn't been anything communicated about a cancellation yet. Us Luxaholics are currently looking for confirmation or denial by Stéphane Bern, the go to guy for all things royal at France 2 and would have been reporter of the wedding.

But there came other good news our way: the wedding will in any case by shown online by Luxembourgish newspaper L'essentiel. Though I have never read a definite confirmation, I am  certain that Luxembourgish RTL will show the wedding. In Belgium the wedding will be broadcast on RTL-TV1 with Christian Cannuyer acting as commentator. At this point, a broadcast in Germany seems unlikely though not totally out of question. (In case you are German and want to see the wedding, sending a nice e-mail to the channels in question will definetely help the cause.)

Source: RTL, L'essentiel

Stéphanie Becomes Luxembourger

Not surprisingly, Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy will take Luxembourgish citizenship the day she marries the Hereditary Grand Duke thanks to a new law. Justice minister François Biltgen filed the bill in the Chamber of Deputies today. It simply reads, "naturalisation will be granted to Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy" and will come in effect the day she marries. Thus, she will not need to take the usual path to gaining citizenship like a test about her Luxembourgish knowledge or living in the country for seven years.

Prince Félix de Bourbon de Parme, Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium and Maria Teresa Mestre also received Luxembourg citizenship by decree due to their marriages.

Source: Tageblatt, Wort