Grand Duke Meets Prime Minister of Portugal

Photo: SIP / Charles Caratini

In what seems like one of the most cordial official visits - just look at the picture links - ever, the Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa paid a visit to Luxembourg today. Among other things on his agenda, he was received by Grand Duke Henri at the palais. It's probably no surprise that the Portuguese PM felt right at home in Luxembourg: And estimated 120,000 of the 550,000 people living in the Grand Duchy were either born in Portugal or are of Portuguese ancestry - and I guess the Grand Duke himself doesn't actually count into the statistic but he, of course, has two Portuguese great-grandmothers as well.

Pictures (though no more of the Grand Duke) at Wort and Le Quotidien, a video including a short glimpse of Grand Duke Henri at RTL.

Grand Ducal Family Receives Diplomatic Corps

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

On Thursday evening, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie received members of the Grand Duchy's diplomatic corps at Château de Berg. The diplomats were accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean Asselborn. 

Pictures at Tageblatt, and more from the Cour.

Grand Duke Henri Sends Letter of Condolence for Saint Petersburg

On the 4th, Grand Duke Henri sent a letter of condolence to President Vladimir Putin for the April 3rd attack in the city of Saint Petersburg. The text of the letter is below:

Monsieur le Président,

C’est avec beaucoup de tristesse que la Grande-Duchesse et moi-même avons appris la nouvelle de l’attentat perpétré dans le métro de Saint-Pétersbourg hier après-midi.

Il nous tient à cœur de vous exprimer notre profonde compassion et notre solidarité, particulièrement aux familles des victimes et au peuple russe tout entier.

Henri Grand-Duc de Luxembourg

And in translation:

Mister President,

It was with great sadness that the Grand Duchess and I learned the news of the attack on the Saint Petersburg subway yesterday afternoon.

It is important for us to express our deepest sympathy and our solidarity, especially to the families of the victims and to the entire Russian people.

Henri Grand-Duke of Luxembourg

Sophie Receives Donation for South Sudan

Photo: IKR

Liechtenstein's government and municipalities are supporting the joined appeal for donations for South Sudan by the Principality's Red Cross and the country's Caritas, the Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisation, with 100,000 Swiss francs each. Yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Aurelia Frick and the mayors of Vaduz and Gamprin visited Schloss Vaduz to symbolically hand over their donation to Hereditary Princess Sophie, as President of the Liechtenstein Red Cross, and Marina Kieber, President of Caritas Liechtenstein.

Guillaume and Stéphanie Visit Farm in the City

Photo: Chris Karaba / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

The Hereditary Grand Duke and the Hereditary Grand Duchess paid a visit to the Bauerenhaff an der Stad at the Place de la Constitution today. Literally "Farm in the City", the event was organised over the course of this weekend by the rural youth and young farmers association (a.k.a. Lëtzebuerger Landjugend a Jongbaueren). The idea of the event was to introduce people to livestock farming and the daily work of a modern farmer.

While Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie got up-close with a cow, Sunday's lineup of events also included a show cooking event, whose participants included various politicians including Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and the President of Parliament Mars di Bartolomeo. Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie were some of the first ones to get a taste of the hopefully delicious food.

More pictures of the event at Wort and L'essentiel.

Guillaume and Stéphanie Support Young Scientists

Photo: Steve Eastwood / Luxemburger Wort / Wort.lu

Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie were among the guests for the 46th Jonk Fuerscher national competition today. Literally "Young researchers", the competition exists in various European countries and actually is the biggest youth science and technology competition in Europe. The participants work on a self-chosen research project, hand in a written report about their work, and then present their results first at regional levels and later at a national contest to an expert jury, usually in the form of a poster session, often including a practical demonstration. The winners go on to represent their countries at Europe-wide competitions.

Wort has more pictures of the event, RTL a video.

Maria Teresa Supports "Relais pour la vie"

Photo: Chris Karaba / Luxemburger Wort / wort.lu

On the 1st, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa was present to support the runners of the "Relais pour la vie," which saw more than 10,000 participants on 375 teams. Proceeds from this event will go to Fondation Cancer and will also go to support the American Cancer Society.

Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Chambre des Députés President Mars di Bartolomeo were also in attendance at the event.

More photos at Wort and Tageblatt.

Hereditary Prince Alois is Interviewed by Handelsblatt

Photo: Daniel Ammann / Handelsblatt / gobal.handelsblatt.com

Hereditary Prince Alois recently sat down for an interview with Handelsblatt, in which he discussed Liechtenstein's evolving role in a world that is always changing. He commented on the new banking policies that have been implemented in the principality and how a larger information-sharing network is being incorporated. The network is intended to expand Liechtenstein's ongoing commitment to global transparency in banking standards.

The Hereditary Prince also commented on the principality's low rate of unemployment, while recognizing that Liechtenstein must continue to embrace the changes that are constantly occurring and remain an active part of the world economy.

More from the interview here.

Maria Teresa Supports Fondation Autisme Luxembourg

Photo: Alain Rischard  / Editpress / Tageblatt / tageblatt.lu

On the 1st, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa attended an event for Fondation Autisme Luxembourg, which has organized a weekend of activities to highlight autism in connection with World Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd. The event, held at the Place d'Armes, includes a range of exhibits for demonstrating social skills development in those with autism. The highlight of the day was the releasing of blue balloons (shown in the photos linked below).

More photos at Tageblatt.

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa Visits the KannerKlinik

Photo: CHL / chl.lu

Catching up on an event from a few days ago: on the 30th, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa paid a visit to the KannerKlinik, which specializes in pediatric medicine, including childhood cancers. The clinic is located within the larger Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL). The Grand Duchess toured the facility and spent time with the patients and their families.

A little more from CHL and RTL.