Weekly Roundup: Audiences and More, Basically Everything That Happened But "Stand Speak Rise Up"

March 23 - March 29, 2019

This week in Luxembourg and Liechtenstein royal news was very much incluenced by "Stand Speak Rise Up!", the international conference committed to ending sexual violence in fragile environments initiated by the Grand Duchess. To learn all about it, please have a look at our article about because it deserves every own article it can get and much more. In our Weekly Roundup, we will cover everything else that happened.

Photo: Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

Already on March 20, Hereditary Prince Alois received the alumni association of the Liechtensteinisches Gymnasium at Schloss Vaduz - and no, the German word Gymnasium doesn't have anything to do with sports but instead is an academic high school. It is also the school the Hereditary Prince and his siblings attended. More information at Vaterland.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

On Monday, Grand Duke Henri received George Tsereteli, president of Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, also known as the OSCE, for an audience at the palais.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

Later that same day, the Grand Duke was on hand of an adademic session organised on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the European Centre for Geodynamics and Seismology. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the Walferdange Underground Laboratory for Geodynamics. More pictures at the cour.

Photo: IKR

On Wednesday, the 'package meeting' (whatever that means) of the EFTA Surveillance Authority took place in Liechtenstein. The delegates also paid a visit to Schloss Vaduz where they were received by Hereditary Prince Alois.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

Grand Duke Henri rounded off the week by receiving several new ambassadors to Luxembourg on Friday. The incoming ambassadors from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Tunisia and Barbados all looked dapper presenting their letters of credence to the Grand Duke.

Once again, make sure to also read: Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Family "Stand Speak Rise Up!".

Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Family "Stand Speak Rise Up!"

Photo: Stand Speak Rise Up

The much anticipated "Stand Speak Rise Up!" conference took place in Luxembourg this week. The international conference committed to ending sexual violence in fragile environments was initiated by the Grand Duchess together with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation and We are NOT Weapons of War (WWoW), supported by the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society and the Luxembourg Government.

Photo: Stand Speak Rise Up

The aim of the conference was to raise awareness of sexual violence in conflict zones, particularly rape as a weapon of war. Sadly both have experienced in upsurge in today's conflicts yet are rarely talked about. While sexual violence is a deep-rooted global phenomenon affecting every human being, women are oftentimes the most vulnerable. Fragile environments, such as war and guerilla zones, displaced communities, detention centres, isolated rural villages and areas ravaged by natural disasters, are fertile grounds for these heinous crimes that have become part of military strategy and a weapon of war.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

Already on Saturday, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa celebrated her birthday with a party together with 50 survivors of sexual violence in conflict zones who had already travelled to the Grand Duchy for the conference that took place on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

On Monday, the Grand Duke welcomed two of the conference's attendees, Atifete Jahjaga, former President of Kosovo, and Pramila Patten, United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, for audiences at the palais.

Photo: Stand Speak Rise Up

The actual conference took place on Tuesday and Wednesday with a concert at the Philharmonie rounding off the event. It was great to see so many family members coming out to support such an important cause. Among those who attended the various events related to the conference were, of course, Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duke Jean, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Prince Félix and Princess Claire, Princess Alexandra, as well as Archduchess Marie-Astrid and Princess Anunciata and Princess Charlotte (daughter of Guillaume and Sibilla).

Pictures of the conference are available on Flickr as well as at the cour here and here. RTL has several news reports about the events, here and here for example, as well as a lengthy interview with the Grand Duchess.

Weekly Roundup: An Audience, and Flash Mob, and Birthdays

March 16th-22nd, 2019

Another fairly slow week, with just a few events to note:

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

On March 19th, Grand Duke Henri received in audience a delegation from Fairtrade International and Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg. The Fairtrade Organizations focus on improving trade standards, particularly within developing countries.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

On the 20th, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa participated in a flash mob to raise awareness about sexual violence. This event comes in advance of the Stand Speak Rise Up forum, on March 26th and 27th, which the Grand Duchess will also attend. More photos of the flash mob here.

Photo: © Anne du Chastel, Genève 2018

On March 21st, Princess Claire had her 34th birthday, with photos released for the occasion.

Photo: © CGD Samuel Kirszenbaum

And finally, on March 22nd, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa celebrated her 63rd birthday, with the photo above being one of those released for the occasion.

Weekly Roundup: Couture, Springbreak, and the Special Olympics

This week proved to be slightly slower, so there are only a few items to mention:

Photo: Domenico Dolce / Town & Country / townandcountrymag.com

Princess Astrid appeared in couture for Domenico Dolce's new book Queens: Alta Moda di Dolce & Gabbana, which features some of the women whose style he admires most. For more about the book (and it's $350 price tag), see here.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

On the 14th, Grand Duke Henri attended the 3rd annual opening of Springbreak Luxembourg, which runs from the 14th through the 17th and features new products, foods, artists, and upcoming trends. No photos just yet. Photo added, and link to more photos here.

Photo: Special Olympics Liechtenstein Facebook page

And finally, Princess Nora is in Abu Dhabi to support the Liechtenstein athletes at the Special Olympics. Check out the Facebook page for more photos. Paul-Louis is there as well, as is Tessy who wrote about the opening ceremony for RTL.

Weekly Roundup: Exhibitions, Openings, Memorials, and More

March 2 to 8, 2019

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

First, let's keep a promise from last week: On last Friday, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duke Henri attended an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Scouts and Guides of Luxembourg - and here are the visuals to prove it.

Photo: eadersnet.at / D. Mikkelsen

Already earlier last week, on Wednesday to be specific, Prince Philipp was in Vienna to hand out this year's LGT Media Award. The awards went to journalists Christian Höller, Jeannine Hierländer, Nicole Stern and Jakob Zirm. More information.

The brother of Fürst Hans-Adam II and Chairman of the Board of the LGT Group then headed to Thailand later in the week to cut a ribbon and thus officially open LGT's new Bangkok office. He was joined by another family, Prince Hubertus, who is also a member of the Board. More information.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

Meanwhile in Luxembourg, Grand Duke Henri attended a memorial mass for his aunt Princess Alix, the Dowager Princess of Ligne, who died last month. He was joined for the mass at the Église Saint-Michel on Tuesday by Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla as well as several of his cousins for the occasion. More pictures.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

On Wednesdey, Monseigneur le Grand-Duc received the Prime Minister of Russia Dimitri Medvedev for an audience at the palais. The Russian Prime Minister, who was on an official visit to the Grand Duchy, also got a small tour of the Grand Duke's official residence. See more photos.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

Thursday it was on Grand Duke Henri's agenda to visit an exhibition about the origins of Chinese civilisation at the Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art (MNHA). The cour offers a small selection of visuals of the event.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

Also on Grand Duke's agenda later that same day: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Publications Office of the European Union with an academic session. Based in Luxembourg, the Publications Office is an interinstitutional office whose task is to publish the publications of the institutions of the European Union. More pictures.

Photo: Paul Trummer / Liechtensteiner Volksblatt / Volksblatt.li

And last but certainly to least: Another event that actually already took part last week and was wholly missed by us mainly due to the fact that there is surprisingly little information available. The Landesmuseum in Liechtenstein is showing an exhibition about the Principality's 300th anniversary and Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie went to the opening. No more information at Volksblatt.

Weekly Roundup: Abu Dhabi and Beyond

February 22 to March 1, 2019

It has been a rather quiet week in Luxarazzi land but nonetheless it's time for our Weekly Roundup... 

Photo: Photo: Abu Dhabi Festival

On Monday, Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle attended the opening of the Abu Dhabi Festival Exhibition showing paintings of the Princely Family in, you guessed it, Abu Dhabi. The exhibition is entitled "Distant Prospects – European Landscape Paintings from Liechtenstein" and will run through to March 25 at the Gallery S at Manarat Al Saadiyat. It features works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Joos de Momper, Jan Brueghel the Younger and Peter Paul Rubens, among many others. While in  the United Arab Emirates, Prince Philipp and Princess Isabelle also paid a visit to the local Louvre.

Photo: Claude Piscitelli / Cour grand-ducale

On Thursday, Grand Duke Henri welcomed several new ambassadors to Luxembourg. The incoming ambassadors from the Seychelles, Myanmar, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), San Marino and Mozambique all presented their letters of credence to the Grand Duke at the palais. More photos.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

To mark International Women's Day, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa received members of the National Counsel of Women at Château de Berg on Friday. The counsel represents twelve different organisations in the Grand Duchy. More photos.

Also on Friday, Grand Duke Henri received the the first responders to the horrific accident at the munition depot that happened in Luxembourg last month and killed several soldiers. Already last week, he and Prince Sébastien paid their final respects to the deceased soldiers during a military ceremony.

Photo: IKR

Also on Friday, Hereditary Prince Alois met with the General Secretary of EFTA Henri Gétaz, his deputy Pascal Schafhauser as well as Ambassador Peter Matt at Schloss Vaduz. EFTA is the European Free Trade Association the Principality is a member of.

This evening, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duke Henri attended an event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Scouts and Guides of Luxembourg. No pictures as of yet so we will add that to next week's post.

Photo: Photo News via Getty Images

Last but not least, an addition to last week's post: On February 19, Princess Margaretha attended the traditional mass for the deceased members of the Belgian royal family at the Église Notre-Dame de Laeken.

Weekly Roundup: A Largely Somber Week (with Amalia and Liam to Cheer You Up)

February 16 to 22, 2019

Photo: Sébastien Grebille

Before we head into a new week full of events for the Grand Ducal and Princely families, let's make a quick addition to last week's post as we somehow omitted the cutest event of the week: Prince Amalia and Prince Liam joined their dad, Prince Félix, and grandparents, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa for the EME Family Day at the Philharmonie. The aim of the EME Foundation is to entertain elder, ill, disabled or marginalised people by music. Archduchess Marie-Christine, niece of the Grand Duke, and her sons Léopold, Constantin and Gabriel also joined the fun.

Photo: Screenshot 1 FL TV

On February 10, Prince Nikolaus attended the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Liechtenstein Press Club. The prince is the patron of the organisation. His older brother, Fürst Hans-Adam, also hosted a reception for the members of the Press Club at Schloss Vaduz that day. A news report at 1 FL TV. Meanwhile his oldest daughter Princess Anunciata was among the guests of an event for Frieze in Los Angeles this week as Vogue notes.

Photos: Valentin Dupont

The funeral of Princess Alix, Dowager Princess of Ligne, took place on Saturday. The youngest daughter of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix passed away earlier this month. Grand Duke Jean, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Archduchess Marie-Astrid and Archduke Carl-Christian as well as their children Archduke Alexander and Archduchess Gabriella, with Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma, Princess Margaretha and Prince Jean's daughter Princess Marie-Gabrielle were all on hand to pay their last respects. Valentin has a great report over on the Royalement Blog. Naturally, many of Grand Duke Jean's nieces and nephews were also in attendance at the funeral, including Princess Charlotte of Luxembourg, daughter of Prince Charles, (right picture) with husband Mark Cunningham.

Photo: Daniel Schwendener / Liechtensteiner Vaterland / Vaterland.li

On Monday, a birthday reception took place for Fürst Hans-Adam II. Liechtenstein's head of state after Liechtenstein's head of state celebrated his 74th birthday on February 14. The Prince was joined by his wife Princess Marie and oldest son, Hereditary Prince Alois, to greet the country's high dignitaries at Schloss Vaduz. More pictures at Vaterland.

Photo: EMA

On Thursday of this week, Grand Duke Henri and Prince Sébastien paid homage to the Luxembourgish soldiers killed during the explosion of an ammunition depot earlier this month. The military ceremony took place at the Caserne Grand-Duc Jean. Already last week, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess visited other soldiers wounded during the tragic accident at the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg.

Weekly Roundup: Birthday Photos, Interviews, Diplomas, and More

February 2nd to February 15th

Or in this case, biweekly roundup, as we're combining this week with last week.

Archduke Carl Christian gave an interview discussing World War I and his grandparents Emperor Charles (Karl) I and Empress Zita. 

Photo: Stadt Feldkirch / feldkirch.at

Hereditary Prince Alois honored the 300-year anniversary of the Principality of Liechtenstein with an audience at Schloss Vaduz. In attendance were administrators from Feldkirch, Austria, including the Mayor Wilfried Berchtold and Feldkirch city councillors. The Hereditary Prince Mayor Berchtold highlighted the close historical ties between Feldkirch and the Principality.

Photo: llv.li

On February 7th, Hereditary Prince Alois received ambassadors for the presentation of credentials. These included: Luis María Kreckler of the Argentine Republic (pictured above), Erik Førner of the Kingdom of Norway, Klaus Schweinsberg of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Andrea Bekić of the Republic of Croatia, and Elena Rafti of the Republic of Cyprus.

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

On February 10th, Prince Félix attended the presentation of diplomas: Diplômes de Maîtrise and Diplômes de la Promotion du Travail for 2018. This event saw the awarding of 103 Diplômes de Maîtrise and 133 Diplômes de la Promotion du Travail.

Photo: Nills Volmar / Volksblatt / volksblatt.li

On February 11th, Hereditary Prince Alois received at Schloss Vaduz the former Minister of Justice of the Republic of Austria, Wolfgang Brandstetter, who was awarded the Grand Cross of the Princely Order of Liechtenstein.

On the 14th, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa released a statement offering their condolences for the deaths of two Luxembourg Army officers.

Photo: Andreas Tischler / Vaterland / vaterland.li

On the 15th, members of the Princely family were in Vienna to attend the opening of the exhibit "Rubens to Makart" at the Albertina. The exhibit also marks another event to honor the 300-year anniversary of the Principality with the artworks deriving from the Princely collection.

Photo: ©Cour grand-ducale / Lola Velasco

Photo: ©Cour grand-ducale / Carole Bellaïche

To honor the birthdays of Princess Alexandra (the 16th) and Hereditary Grand Duchess (the 18th), the Cour has released new photos.

Photo: Daniel Schwendener / Vaterland / vaterland.li

And to wrap things up the birthdays, Prince Hans-Adam has given an interview on the occasion of his 74th birthday. He talks aging, politics, and stepping back from controversial issues, among other things.

Princess Alix of Luxembourg Passed Away

Princess Alix of Luxembourg, Dowager Princess of Ligne, passed away earlier today, Monday, February 11, 2019. The younger sister of Grand Duke Jean and aunt of the current Grand Duke was born on August 24, 1929, at Château de Berg. She was the sixth and last child of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Consort Felix. Princess Alix married Prince Antoine de Ligne on August 17, 1950. The couple had seven children. The learn more about Princess Alix's life and family, please have a look at our Luxarazzi 101 about her.

The funeral of Princess Alix will take place at Château de Beloeil in Belgium. A memorial mass will also be celebrated in Luxembourg at the Église Saint Michel at a later point in time. Details for both will be released at a later point in time.

Weekly Roundup: Concerts, Credentials and More

January 26 to February 1, 2019

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

On Tuesday of this week, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were among the guests for the Rotary Partners Night organised by the Rotary Clubs of Luxembourg. The Grand Duchess used the occasion to speak about "Stand Speak Rise Up!", her initiative to end sexual violence in fragile environments. More pictures at the cour.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale

On Wednesday, the Grand Duke was back to dapper uniform business as he welcomed five new ambassadors to the Grand Duchy in audiences at the palais. The new ambassadors of Turkey, Slovakia, Gambia (pictured), Hungary and Uzbekistan all presented their letters of credence to Monseigneur. See all pictures at the cour.

Photo: Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli

Later in the day, Grand Duke Henri was on hand for a charity concert by the harmonic orchestra of the Musique Militaire Grand-Ducale together with young musicians from the Grand Duchy under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Claude Braun. The benefits of the concert went to the Fondation Follereau Luxembourg. More at the cour.