Over €150,000 For Good Causes

Last September's wedding of the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple has raised 157.810 euros to fund social projects by the Fondation du Grand Duc et le Grand Duchesse. The majority of the money will be used to support projects helping elderly people in Luxembourg as well as social entrepreneurship. Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie thanked for all the donations.


Sources: Wort, Fondation de Grand Duc et la Grand Duchesse

Luxarazzi 101: Wedding of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa

It's Valentine's Day! And thus time for the second edition of our mini look back series, today it is the wedding of the Grand Ducal Couple we are looking at.

Engagement day: the couple with their parents as well as Prince Henri's sisters

It took Luxembourg by surprise when on 8th November 1980 then minister of state Pierre Werner announced the engagement of Hereditary Grand Duke Henri to Maria-Teresa Mestre, daughter of José Antonio Mestre y Álvarez and Maria Teresa Batista y Falla.

Nothing was known about the relationship between the heir to the throne and the Cuban-born Swiss citizen who had met four years earlier. The couple had met while attending the University of Geneva where both had earned degrees in political science earlier that year.

Hereditary Grand Duke Henri had given his future wife made of gold with a cabochon ruby, similar in the looks department to the ring his father had given his mother on the occassion of their engagement.

The wedding portrait

The couple chose February 14th as the date for their big day. As they told reporters later on, they did not know that this day was actually Valentine's Day. This might sound strange to some ears but in fact Valentine's Day still isn't as big as it is in other parts of the world and it certainly wasn't very well known in the early 1980's. A more important factor was actually an upcoming state visit and the couple was given the choice whether they wanted to marry before or a few weeks after; they decided that they did not want to wait any longer and so February 14th it was.

On so on an icy, sun clear Saturday morning, the wedding bells rang as the wedding of the heir to the throne went underway. Before the religious wedding at the Cathédrale Notre Dame, Hereditary Grand Duke Henri and Maria Teresa Mestre tied the knot civilly at the palais grand ducal. The wedding were officiated respectively by Camille Polfer, former mayor of the city, and by Jean Hengen, then archbishop of Luxembourg. Four officiating kings and queens and no less than 700 official guests had been invited to the wedding.

On the occassion of her wedding Mlle Mestre became a Princess of Luxembourg, a royal highness and was to be styled as the Hereditary Grand Duchess.

With the choice of her wedding dress designer, the new Hereditary Grand Duchess sparked a trend within the family as both her new sister-in-laws would also opted for Balmain for their dresses about a year later. The fur-trimmed gown featured intricate patterns all over the dress.

For the occassion she borrowed the Congo Diamond Necklace Tiara from mother-in-law, it was the same tiara that Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte hat worn for her wedding. She wore diamond earrings that she lend to her own daughter-in-law Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie for her wedding last year.

Photo: Cour grand ducale / Guy Wolff

Parts of the wedding dress were recut into a new outfit for Our Lady of Luxembourg, Comforter of the Afflicted and given to the statue on the occassion of the wedding of the couple's oldest child Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume in September last year.

Stephanie and Guillaume Coined

Literally. Today Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie welcomed the president of the Luxembourg Central Bank (BCL) Gaston Reinesch and Serge Kolb, its director, at the palais to officially unveil the commemorative coin for their wedding. The design of the coin has been known for months.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale

As for the most asked question at the time, why the heck is the Grand Duke photo bombing the coin? He has to, it's the law in Luxembourg that the reigning Grand Duke must appear on all coins.

The coin can be purchased starting tomorrow at the BCL main offices in Luxembourg. Other retailers will probably sell it online afterwards. A corner card presentation pack is available for 10 euros, the coin in a novelty wooden presentation box costs 45 euros.

Wort covered today's event.


Source: Wort

A Visit to the Air Rescue

Last Thursday on February 7th, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie visited both the aviation as well as the emergency medical care facilities of the Luxembourg Air Rescue (LAR). They are a private, humanitarian organisation with the aim to save human lives in Luxembourg, the Greater Region around Luxembourg and worldwide through the operation of its helicopters and air ambulances. They also participate in humanitarian missions and are exclusively responsible for the transportation of organ transplants in France.

More information about the LAR can be found on their website, a picture of the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple on the website of the cour. Wort also has an article about the visit.


Source: CGD, LAR

More Asian Adventures

We recently already reported that Prince Robert, the Grand Duke's cousin, had visited Bangalore to promote his wines. He stayed on the Indian subcontinent for a little while longer and also visited New Delhi and Mumbai. In addition, Prince Robert stopped in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur for a brief visit.

Ss a side note, no matter what the The Star tries to tell you, Prince Robert is in fact not the Crown Prince of Luxembourg; shocking, I know. He is the second child and only son of Prince Charles of Luxembourg, Grand Duke Jean's younger brother, and Joan Douglas Dillon, who was the first commoner to marry into the Grand Ducal Family. His maternal family are the owners of the world-famous Domaine Clarence Dillon.


Sources: The Star Online, Indian Wine Academy

Grand Duke Visits Exhibition *

Yesterday evening, Grand Duke Henri attended the opening of an exhibition about the winners of the Prix Grand Duc Adolphe since 1946. As the name suggests, the price was created by Grand Duke Adolphe in 1905 on the initiative of his wife, Grand Duchess Adélaïde. Every year the art award is given to one or more artists exhibiting at the Salon Artistique of the Cercle artistique de Luxembourg. The Grand Duke was accompanied by the culture secretary Octavie Modert. A video can be found at Wort, pictures on the website of the cour and on the website of the fabulous Mr. Dias.


Source: Cour grand-ducale

Grand Ducal Couple to Visit Austria

A Luxembourg trade delegation will be visiting Austria from 15th to 17th April 2013, the visit will be headed by no other than the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess. For more information about the state visit and the background have a look at Wort and Luxembourg for Business.


Source: Wort

Luxarazzi 101: Wedding of Princess Marie-Astrid and Archduke Carl-Christian

During the early 1980's there was a little royal wedding boom going on in the Grand Duchy; within about 13 months three out of the five children of Grand Duke Jean and the late Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte got married. Over the next few weeks we will take advantage of their wedding anniversaries to selflessly indulge ourselves in memories of their weddings.

Our little mini series of Grand Ducal weddings starts with the couple that is celebrating their 31st wedding anniversary today: Princess Marie-Astrid and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria.

Engagement day: the couple and their parents

In November 1981, the oldest child of Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte and the second son of Archduke Carl-Ludwig and Archduchess Yolande, née Princess de Ligne, announced their engagement. Both being descendants of Robert I, Duke of Parma and Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal, they are second cousins.

Princess Marie-Astrid was given a a sapphire and diamond engagement ring by her future husband. The couple's sons Archduke Imre and Archduke Christoph also gave their wives similar rings on the occassions of their engagements. (Though there is some confusion on Archduchess Adélaïde's part as she was actually wearing a ruby ring on her wedding day while a sapphire ring at their engagement party.)

Wedding portrait

Princess Marie-Astrid and Archduke Carl-Christian married civilly at the palais grand-ducal and religiously at the Cathédrale Notre Dame on 6th February 1982. They were civilly married by the former mayor of Luxembourg City Lydie Polfer, the religious ceremony was conducted by Jean Hengen, the late former archbishop of Luxembourg.

While the event at the palais was a rather private affair within the closest family circle, the religious wedding was a full blown state occassion. In attendance were an empress, three queens, a king, a few future head of states and countless royal, imperial and other highnesses. Their wedding party included the groom's cousin Archduchess Catharina, daughter of Archduke Rudolf and his second wife née Princess Anna Gabriele of Wrede, as well as Duchess Helene and Duchess Elizabeth in Bavaria, daughters of Duke Max in Bavaria and his wife née Countess Elizabeth Douglas.

The bride wore a dress designed by Parisian couture house Balmain. The dress is said to have been inspired by a painting of Marie-Antoinette by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. Having examined a few of those paintings, it seems the the flower embroidery on the dress might have been the inspired part.

Princess Marie-Astrid anchored her veil with the Congo Diamond Necklace Tiara that had also been worn by her mother, the then Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, on the occassion of her wedding as well as by Maria-Teresa Mestre at her wedding to then Hereditary Grand Duke Henri a year earlier.

The bride also wore pearl earrings belonging to her mother. Twenty-six years forward, Princess Marie-Astrid's oldest daughter Archduchess Marie-Christine wore the same earrings at her wedding to Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum.

Prince Robert in India

News from one of the lesser known members of the family: Prince Robert, the Grand Duke's cousin, recently visited Bangalore, India, to promote his wines. The prince says that India is one of the most important markets for wine nowadays and also reveals that he backpacked through India and Nepal when he was younger.

Prince Robert, who is the son of the late Prince Charles of Luxembourg, and his family are the owners of the Domaine Clarence Dillon that includes the famous wine estates Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion.


Source:  Livemint

Blessing of the Bell *

Photo: Francois Guillot / AFP

Yesterday afternoon, nine new bells were blessed by the Archbishop of Paris at the Cathédrale Notre Dame in the French capital. Eight of them during a ceremony at 11am, another bell called Marie, the centre-piece of the new bell installations, was consecrated during a religious service at 5pm and Luxembourg's very own Grand Duchess was the patroness of the Bourdon Marie. For the occassion Grand Duchess Maria Teresa was accompanied by the Grand Duke and their only daughter Princess Alexandra.

All the bells that are now being restored on the occassion of the 850th anniversary of the cathedral were taken down, broken and melted in 1791 and 1792 during the French revolution. The great bell Marie, named in honour of the Virgin Mary, weighs six tons and was made in the Netherlands.

More pictures can be found at AFP, a video at Wort.


Source: Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, Wort