The Royals Go Cruising in Norway

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To cool off from last night - you know it must have been a right royal rave when a crown prince shaves off his beard in the process - King Harald and Queen Sonja took their royal guests for a luncheon cruise through the fjords of Oslo. The King and Queen of Norway are having a joined birthday party this week as both of them turn 80 this year. This evening also saw a visit to the opera but we will cover that one in a separate post later tonight.

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If you would like to rewatch the arrival of the royal guests, including Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, to the harbour and the ferry to the royal yacht, you can do so here. More pictures can be found at basically every (royal) photo agency out there.

Agenda For The Duchess of Cambridge's Visit to Luxembourg

On May 11, the Duchess of Cambridge will pay a visit to Luxembourg for the commemoration of the Treaty of London, which confirmed Luxembourg’s independence and neutrality in 1867, as we reported earlier. Today, the cour grand-ducal announced the schedule of activities the Duchess of Cambridge will undertake together with members of the Grand Ducal Family - and it turns out, it's more than we expected.

To kick off the day, Catherine and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie will visit the Tony Cragg & Darren Almond exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean. Stéphanie, of course, is the President of the MUDAM. Prime Minister Xavier Bettel will also be present.

Afterwards, the Duchess of Cambridge will be received at the palais grand-ducal by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie as well as Princess Alexandra. 

The next point on the agenda is a visit to the Lëtzebuerg City Museum the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess will accompany the Duchess of Cambridge for. They will also visit the Chemin de la Corniche, also known as "the most beautiful balcony of Europe", which gives a wonderful view of the Alzette valley.

Finally, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie and their guest from Great Britain will visit the Musée Dräi Eechelen, where they will assist at the opening of the exhibition "1867. Luxembourg – ville ouverte". Prime Minister Xaviel Bettel will also be present for the event.

Norwegian Birthday Celebrations, Part 1

Photo: Thomas Brun / NTB scanpix

Both King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway turn 80 years old this year - and decided to mark the milestone in style with a two-day birthday bash including foreign royals and tiaras! The royal guests including Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as well as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie arrived earlier today and were treated to a gala dinner at the Royal Palace in Oslo including a balcony appearance.

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To give you a quick rundown on the grand ducal ladies fashion- and jewellery-wise: Grand Duchess Maria Teresa may have been the royal recycling Queen of the night! Her pink coat comes from the 2001 Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture Spring Collection - and she previously wore it for another very important Norwegian royal event: The wedding of Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit in 2001. She topped her recycled coat with the Belgian Scroll Tiara and pearl earrings.

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Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, meanwhile, sported the Grand Duchess Adelaide Tiara along with a new-to-her diamond and sapphire necklace, that can also be worn as a tiara, and sapphire earrings that possibly date back to Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide. 

Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume Gives Out Diplomas

Photo: Fernande Jourdain / Studio Delta / Cour grand-ducale

On Sunday (the 7th), Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume was at the Grand Théâtre to hand out a number of diplomas, including those recognizing the honored Promotion du Travail, in addition to Diplômes de Maîtrise, and Certificats de Tuteur en Entreprise. The Hereditary Grand Duke gave a speech for the event as well.

Also present for the ceremony were Claude Meisch, the Minister of National Education, Children and Youth, in addition to Minister for Higher Education and Research; Nicolas Schmit, the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social and Solidarity Economy; and Roland Kuhn, the President of the Chambre des Métiers.

A few more photos available at the Cour website.

Luxarazzi 101: Grand Duchess Hilda's Diamond Tiara

Photo: Badisches Landesmuseum

Unfortunate news coming out of Germany today: A tiara that once belonged to Grand Duchess Hilda of Baden was stolen from a museum in Karlsruhe. The tiara, which has an estimated value of 1.2 million euros, has been missing since April 29. Police is asking for your help in case you have been around the Badisches Landesmuseum that day or the days prior and have seen anything suspicious. (More here.) 

Why we cover these news on Luxarazzi? The diamond tiara's owner Grand Duchess Hilda was the daughter of Grand Duke Adolph of Luxembourg and sister to Grand Duke Wilhelm IV. While definetely a Princess of Nassau, whether she was a Princess of Luxembourg herself, would be up for debate as she was already married at the time her father inherited the Grand Duchy's throne. (To read more about Hilda, please have a look at this previous edition of Luxarazzi 101.)

The tiara, which has been exhibited at the state museum of Baden in Karlsruhe for several decades until it was stolen late last month, features no less than 367 diamonds set à jour in gold and platinum. Made in the popular kokoshnik-shape, the tiara features three circles of varying designs at the bottom and one on the top, interspersed with two rows of diamond garlands inbetween. To give the tiara a more sparkling effect, there are eleven diamond drops set in the loops of the garland.

The diamond tiara was created around the year 1907 by Schmidt-Staub, a jewellery house based in Pforzheim, likely to mark the accession of Hilda's husband Friedrich to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Baden. She wore it many times to official functions both before and after the end of the monarchy in Germany following World War I.

Unfortunately, Hilda and Friedrich weren't to have children of their own. However, Grand Duchess Hilda had always been close to her Luxembourgish nieces, the daughters of her brother Wilhelm. Before her death, she decided to give her personal jewels to her nieces. While Grand Duchess Charlotte also received a tiara, this particular piece was given to Crown Princess Antonia of Bavaria, Charlotte's younger sister. Sadly, Antonia only survived her aunt by two years dying in 1954. Still, the tiara was seen once more in public when it was worn by Princess Editha of Bavaria, Antonia's daughter, for the wedding celebrations of her cousin Countess Helene of Toerring-Jettenbach.

While the tiara first came up for auction in 1973, it was in 1984 when the government of the German state of Baden-Württemberg purchased the tiara once belonging to Grand Duchess Hilda to exhibit it at the state museum. Let's hope that it will be found soon!

Hereditary Prince Meets German-Speaking Health Ministers

Photo: IKR

Hereditary Prince Alois received the health ministers of the German-speaking countries for an audience at Schloss Vaduz today. Lydia Mutsch of Luxembourg, Hermann Gröhe of Germany (who isn't in the picture), Alain Berset of Switzerland and Pamela Rendi-Wagner of Austria as well as their host Mauro Pedrazzini (Liechtenstein) meet annually in their functions of health ministers to discuss current challenges faced. 

Grand Duke Congratulates New French President

Last night, Emmanuel Macron was elected as the new President of France. Today, Grand Duke Henri sent a congratulatory message to the future head of state saying:

The Grand Duchess joins me in sending you are warmest congratulations on the occasion of your election to the Presidency of France. 

I express my hope that your action will fall under the sign of a united, courageous and radiant France.

In the eyes of my compatriots, the relations between our two countries are above all a story of the heart.

In a Europe that is being built step by step, I am pleased with the intensity of our links so that we can face our challenges together.

Henri,

Grand Duke of Luxembourg 

Guillaume and Stéphanie Give Tour of Art Exhibition

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File this under things we missed: Do you recall the De Mains de Maître exhibition late last year? In connection with the exhibition the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess gave an exclusive tour of the exhibit to RTL including an interview with the duo. The full video is available here, just skip ahead to the 4 minutes 40 mark. In the interview, Guillaume and Stéphanie talk about their involvement in the exhibition and Luxembourgish arts and craft in general. They gave a similar interview to RTL Radio, which you can find here.

Guillaume and Stéphanie Talk Art

Screenshot Place Royale

In connection with the Révélations exhibition they attended this week in Paris, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie gave a quick interview the Belgian TV show Place Royale. For more information on their Parisian adventures, have a look here and here.

Guillaume and Stéphanie at Evening Art Event in Paris

Photo: © Henri Tullio / tous droits réservés

On the evening of May 5th, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie attended an evening event to support the Luxembourg artists who are featured in the exhibition Révélations. As with the exhibition, this event was also held at the Grand-Palais; Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie delivered a speech.

Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Minister of Culture Guy Arendt, and the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Francine Closener, were in attendance at the evening event to meet with the featured artists.

More information and photos from RTL.