General News and Updates

Grand Duke Jean visited the MUDAM. This was also mentioned in Wort but I seem to have lost the link.

The birthday's of Archduke Carl-Christian, Archduke Christoph, Princess Marie-Astrid, and Princess Alexandra came without birthday wishes from me. Happy belated birthday! The 29th anniversary of the wedding of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa was 14 Feb. This is an impressive milestone! Congrats!

Just letting all my fellow Lux lovers know that Félix is in a serious relationship  with Claire and has been for some time. I've been about 95% sure of this for a while now. I've finally had it confirmed from an irrefutable source that the information I had was accurate. Our dear Felix is unavailable. :(

Family hosts working dinner

On Friday The Grand Ducal Family hosted a working dinner at Chateau de Berg.

They hosted Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and Mr. Hans Reitz who is the founder of the Grameen Creative Lab. The Grameen Creative Lab is currently working on a project with Professor Yunus which includes the World Economic Forum and private meetings with more than 20 heads of state. They are both distinguished men with admirable goals and achievements. I encourage you to read about their projects.

Some thoughts from the picture:

1. The Grand Duchess and Mr. Reitz - clearly shopping together when she purchased her dress and he aquired those leg warmers.

2. The Grand Duke - the picture of posh - as always.

3. Guillaume - just reminding us why I coined the term "Gui-Yum" for him.

4. Sebastien - when did you get taller than Guillaume???

5. Felix - I see you have finally taken my advice and spoken with Guillaume about proper beard techniques. It's a good look for you. Also, I mentioned some weeks ago on this blog's forum that Felix was sporting a beard, and now we have a public picture of it.....proof positive that I know what I'm talking about.

6. Professor Yunus - the picture of smiling professional dignity.

The Hereditary Grand Duke, Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla at MUDAM

Guillaume was at the Museum of Modern Art to aid in the presentation of the Edward Steichen Award. For some reason it is not mentioned on the official website that Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla were also in attendance.

Manuel Dias has a gallery of photographs of the event.

Guillaume was wearing his wonderful beautiful beard. He seems to have aged recently - for the better. I think that retailers in Luxembourg should start refusing to sell razors to Guillaume. ;)

The official website also has a mention of the forum that The Grand Duchess and Princess Margaretha attended with a few more photographs.

The Grand Duchess opens dyslexia forum and visits exhibition with Princess Margaretha

On Tuesday The Grand Duchess gave the opening address for the first World Dyslexia Forum at UNESCO. The forum is 3-5 February at UNESCO in Paris. There is actually a lot of information about the forum online. If you are interested in the topic it's worth a Google.

Google's ghetto English translation of the article.

The Grand Duchess has been an UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador since 1997.

The Grand Duchess and her sister-in-law Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein (nee Princess of Luxembourg) also visited the exhibition "Expression is More Than Just Words" as part of the program.

It is nice to see Princess Margaretha out on an engagement with The Grand Duchess. Princess Margaretha and her sister Archduchess Marie-Astrid (nee Princess of Luxembourg) are my two favorite royal ladies. Archduchess Marie-Astrid accompanied The Grand Duchess on an engagement in December. Both ladies frequently accompany their aunt Queen Fabiola to events in Belgium. I am in favor of seeing them at Luxembourg related events more often.

The Grand Duke and The Grand Duchess attend conference on gender equality

On Monday The Grand Duke and The Grand Duchess attended a conference on gender equality in politics. In January The Grand Duchy initiated a National Action Plan (NAP) on gender equality and equality in general. This program will last until 2014.

There were also a series of workshops that were designed to make sure the necessary agencies were aware of the policies of the NAP and to make them active participants in the program.

Manuel Dias has a gallery of the event.

The Grand Duke, of course, has a progressive and egalitarian view on gender equality. He has made it known that he wants the succession to the throne to be based on birth order alone. Luxembourg and Liechtenstein are currently the only European monarchies that limit succession to males only. Female succession in Luxembourg is only permitted after all available dynastic males have exhausted. So, technically Princess Alexandra and her aunts (both of whose marriages are certainly considered to have been with consent) have places in the succession but they would rank so far down that it's hardly worth bothering with. I find this unfortunate given that The Grand Duchess Charlotte was an exceptionally popular monarch.

The Grand Duke has also admitted Princess Alexandra to the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau. This is the highest honor in The Grand Duchy. Men who are brothers or sons of a Grand Duke (or reigning Grand Duchess) are members of The Order from birth and receive their insignia upon their majority. Prince Sebastien is, for example, a member of the order since his father became Grand Duke but he will not receive his insignia until after 16 April 2010. Personally, I feel that Princess Margaretha and Princess Marie-Astrid should also be included in The Order since we are speaking of gender equality. In terms of equality, Princess Elisabeth, Princess Alix and Princess Marie-Gabriele should also be included since they are the remaining daughters of The Grand Duchess Charlotte.

For more information on the orders of Luxembourg you can view the information provided by the government.

Fire at the Grand Ducal Palace

On Tuesday a washing machine or dryer in the basement of the Grand Ducal Palace caught fire. The responding firemen had to use oxygen masks due to the heavy smoke inside the palace. The fire was safely contained and it appears that there is only minor damage limited to the laundry area. The area of the palace had to be vented and evacuated due to the smoke.

I am glad that the fire/smoke alarm went of so quickly and that further damage to the historic structure was prevented. I am also exceptionally glad that no one was injured. Although, I really hope the smoke damage to the historic paintings, furnishings and walls is minimal.

RTL also has a similar article with different pictures. You can clearly see The Grand Duke chatting happily (and safely!) with the firemen who responded.

The Station made light of the situation by saying that The Grand Duke shouldn't try to cram all his laundry in one load and that if you spot a burn mark on His uniform you know where it came from. ;)

There is also a mention in Tageblatt. I suspect this will make all the Luxembourg news sources because even a small fire in the the Palace (or any other building associated with The Grand Duke) is a big deal.

audiences of The Grand Duke and The Grand Duchess

Yesterday The Grand Duke and The Grand Duchess each hosted an audience.

Maria-Teresa, continuing her interest in Burundi, received Marguerite Barankitse and Aline Ndenzako. Ms. Barankitse is the founder of Masion Shalom which aids women and children. Ms. Ndenzako is the Vice-President of the organization.

The Grand Duke received Herman van Rampuy. Mr. van Rampuy is the President of the European Counsil. Mr. van Rampuy met with The Grand Duke as part of his working visit to Luxembourg.

"only" a Grand Duke

There is another article covering the costs of Europe's monarchs. I suspect this is the original source of the brief mention on Radio Netherlands.

While the dear Professor may be correct about the seemingly excessive cost of some monarchs (which is still less than a republic of equal caliber would cost) and their households he certainly appears to have some elitism where Luxembourg is concerned. His remark that, "Luxembourg pays 8.7 million euros, but this buys the small country only a grand duke, not a true king or queen" makes it appear that Luxembourg is somehow being shafted for their 8.7 million euro. I have to disagree (see previous post) and so would any self respecting Luxembourger. Why on earth would we ever want a "real king or queen?" I suppose it is possible that the professor maybe unaware that Luxembourg is the world's only Grand Duchy. The Grand Duchy is possibly the grandest of all nations in the eyes of this blogger.

But I digress....

We have the distinction and privilege of being the only Grand Duchy despite our small size. It is only appropriate that Luxembourg be led not by a "real" king or queen but by a real Grand Duke. There was, of course, a time when the Grand Duke of Luxembourg was also a King but so far as Luxembourg was concerned he was still only The Grand Duke. There are also former Grand Duchies a plenty but only Luxembourg remains.

Luxembourg is The Grand Duchy of the world. This is a unique position and we are proud of our small nation.   I think that the good professor is unaware that the motto of The Grand Duchy is "Mir welle bleiwe wat mir sinn." Allow me to translate this into terms that could be understood from his point of view....We don't have a king or queen and we don't want one no matter how "real" they are! We are happy being a small nation that is served by a Grand Duke.

The statistics are also misleading in the way they are displayed. Sure, Luxembourgers only pay 8.7 million but there are only 493,500 privileged individuals who call The Grand Duchy home. This is roughly 17.63 per resident per year. When compared to the average cost per resident of other nations it really doesn't seem so cheap as the professor wants the world to think. However, it is still a good deal for our nation. We enjoy a standard of living that is relatively unmatched throughout the world and we could realistically afford something more along the lines of some other overdone monarchies. We are fortunate to have a representative family that is just posh enough to display the affluence of Luxembourg and knows where to draw the line. I could list a long line of superlatives describing the Grand Ducal Court and each member of the family but I won't because it isn't necessary. They aren't perfect but they certainly are unmatched.

Luxembourg Monarchy best bargain

Radio Netherlands Worldwide mentioned that the Luxembourg monarchy is the cheapest.

In my opinion, Luxembourgers not only pay the least but get the best bargain for their Euro. The Grand Ducal Family is, by far, one of the most discreet and respectable royal families in the world. I acknowledge that they aren't perfect. Our princes do have a history of not always getting their brides to the alter before pregnancy occurs (Charles, Jean and Louis), there was that distasteful press conference blackening the good name of Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte, and that little snafu with the euthanasia bill.....

However, the way that our Family dealt with these issues and the fact that they are a real family who enjoy a close relationship with each other speaks volumes about who they really are. You'll never hear that a Luxembourg prince has a child he isn't caring for nor will you ever see one of our princes wearing a nazi emblems as if were humorous. You won't see Guillaume stopping traffic in Paris, London or New York as he makes his way to lunch with a deep security detail. You won't see Alexandra topless at the beach or leaving the keys in a needlessly expensive car while she attends class. There will never be a wee Luxembourg princess wearing an 800 Euro vest. You may see Guillaume and Felix wearing the same clothes repeatedly (worn jeans are common) and you will see the lovely Luxembourg ladies sharing their clothes and jewelry. Those smiles you see on the faces of Luxembourgers when they greet Guillaume, Jean or Henri are genuine. The entire family is positively posh but not overly so. Perhaps the family could give lessons on how to remain royal while also being modest.

Grand Duke Jean honored

It was announced earlier that Grand Duke Jean would be honored for his conservation efforts.

Yesterday, Grand Duke Jean received the Hëllef fir d'Natur 2009 prize at the Museum of Natural History. Bopa Jean is well known for His love of nature and his conservation efforts.

I would also like to wish Grand Duke Jean a belated happy birthday! I didn't forget his birthday...my classes started back on the day after his birthday and it's hard work to laze about and maintain my 4.0 GPA. ;)