A Grand Audience and More Tunnel

On Friday, April 23rd, our radiant Grand Duchess hosted an audience with Father Michael Lapsley, human rights activist and founder of the Institute for the Healing of Memories. Along for the ride were Patrick Byrne (Honorary President of The International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture – say that 5 times fast), Victor Cervati (Father Lapsley’s assistant), Cecile Thill (President of ACAT’s Luxembourg branch), and Monique Ruppert (Vice President of ACAT – Luxembourg). Information on the visit, as well as links to information regarding the organizations involved can be found on the monarchy’s official website (I know, we were shocked, too). Oh, sweet official governmental website updaters of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg – you know I kid because I love!

But, not as much as I love new pictures of that fine…. um, new pictures of that beacon of eternal youthful suaveness, The Grand Duke himself. The official website has once again succeeded at making us feel all loved and junk by providing us humble devotees with visuals from April 22nd’s tunnel penetration (*snicker*), with quite a few lovely photos featuring His Royal Hotness getting his duty-doin’ groove on. However, I will take this time to go on record and state that I’m not totally convinced this was just another “day at the office,” so to speak – in the first picture it honest to goodness looks like he’s at a rave with a really strict dress code. But, I digress. A double-sided cheek kiss and emphatic “merci” to the official website for the double-dose of pictures and info, and to The Grand Duke Henri… just because. ;-)

Grand Ducal Family grace new series of stamps

The photographs that Lola Velasco took to mark the 9th anniversary of Henri's ascension as Grand Duke have been made into stamps. If you live in Luxembourg I'm sure you've already noticed this.

A stamp has been issued to mark the 10th anniversary of Henri's ascension. This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the death of The Grand Duchess Charlotte which has also been commemorated with a stamp.

Belgian Birthday Fun!

Our illustrious Grand Duke and Duchess were on hand to help The Grand Duke's first cousin, The Duc de Brabant, ring in the big 5-0 in a private party on Saturday, April 24th. Along with quite a few of the heir's fellow future heads-of-state and their spouses, The Grand Ducal couple was accompanied by The Grand Duke's brother Prince Guillaume, his wife Princess Sibilla, and two of The Prince and Princess' three adorable young sons. While no official or professional photos have been released of this event, Hln.be (thank you, Agnete!) has been kind enough to release footage of a number of arriving royal couples (you know, for those of us whose invites were apparently lost in the mail), including a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo of the lovely Lux's making their grand (but of course) entrance to the party grounds.

The Duc de Brabant is the son of King Albert of the Belgians, brother of The Grand Duke's late mother, The Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte (born a Princess of Belgium). The Duc's birthday is actually April 15th, but the party was likely postponed in lieu of the birthday celebrations held last week for Denmark's Queen Margrethe, who was celebrating her 70th birthday. Considering The Duc's birthday falls just a day before the April 16th collective birthday of Her Majesty, The Grand Duke, and The Grand Duke's youngest son Prince Sébastien, I think it's safe to say that April marks the high season for the royal set's official stork. Though it does lead me to wonder: What on earth is so romantic about July...? ;-)

Grand Ducal Couple attend anniversary of CASA

The Grand Ducal Couple were present at the 30th anniversary celebration of CASA (Center for Social Aid and Associations). The celebrations were on 23 April in Luxembourg City.

Manuel Dias has graciously provided a full gallery covering the event.

Grand Duke to attend World Expo 2010 - Shanghai

World Expo Shanghai begins 1 May and will wrap up on 31 October. Luxembourg has sent her most cherished lady to represent them during the Expo. No, it's not effervescent Maria-Teresa that will be showcased it is the shining Gëlla Fra.

During the "trial run" at the Expo more than 60,000 visitors lined up to see the Gëlla Fra. Removing this national treasure from her perch in the Place de la Constitution has not been without controversy. Many Luxembourgers (49%) were against removing this treasure (during during peak tourist season) for fear that she could be damaged in transit or while on display. These fears were realized when Gëlla Fra was severely damaged on purpose by workers at the foundry where she was to be restored prior to departure for China.

The Grand Duke is to attend the World Expo on 9-10 October. He will be present at the Luxembourg Official Reception on 9 October and the following day which has been deemed Luxembourg Day at the expo.

It is a courageous move for Luxembourg to send her national treasure to China. It is even more courageous and moving when you remember that the Gëlla Fra is a symbol of peace and freedom. I'm certain that the organizers of the Luxembourg pavilion are aware that China doesn't exactly have a history of respecting either of those 2 esteemed Luxembourg values. More than 70 million, mostly Chinese, visitors will attend the World Expo this year.

Grand Duke present at tunnel penetration

Henri was present at the penetration of the north-south area of the Stafelter tunnel. Wort has graced us with an article and a photo gallery of this engagement. Not to be outdone, the folks at RTL have video. Tom Wagner has several nice photographs displayed on his website.

The tunnel project began in 2009 and is not expected to be completed until 2014. This is an expensive project costing more than 100 million Euro after the inclusion of safety devices.

Is it just me or is the already attractive Grand Duke looking better than ever? Maybe I shouldn't blog on so little sleep. :)

Prime Minister meets with Grand Duke

Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker is meeting with The Grand Duke. The budgetary cuts planned by Finance Minister Luc Frieden have been deemed unacceptable by labor unions and employers in the Grand Duchy.

I am woefully unqualified to summarize the financial/budgetary crisis in Luxembourg (or anywhere else). I'm practically allergic to numbers.

Octave 2010

The traditional (and traditionally Grand Ducal Family-attended) Octave opens 24 April 2010 and closes 9 May 2010. The Octave features a full host of events. If you are one of those people who only notices the events that members of The Family participate in, I invite you to look over the Order of Service for the Octave 2010. The tourist office has also produced a flyer about the festivities. If you aren't up on the religious practices in Luxembourg or have been curious about the Octave, have a look at this article written by Fausto Gardini for the Luxembourg American Gazette.

Hopefully, Guillaume will manage to attend despite his exhausting schedule of international trips so far this year. Perhaps Felix will even make the journey from Rome (sans girlfriend *cough*), though I don't expect to see the busy Louis, and neither should you. Sébastien might appear just to remind us that he is now taller than poor Guillaume, while the lovely Alexandra usually makes it a priority, Rosary firmly in hand.

Grand Ducal Couple in Denmark

The final day of the Danish celebration has passed. The entire celebration was filled with all the glitz and glam one could expect from a royal event (or Grace Kelly movie).

The Grand Duchess wore a lovely dress; after discussing this creation with several royal watchers/fashionistas, we have decided that it is most likely a la Elie Saab (a known favorite of Maria-Teresa). The Grand Duchess complimented her dress with diamond jewelry from the family collection - this particular tiara is now among my favorites - while The Grand Duke, per his norm, looked elegant and oh-so-suave, accessorizing his tuxedo with a fur wrap. I'm not sure it's a good look for him, but he somehow managed to pull it off as only he could.

There are numerous professional websites that are full of images regailing us with coverage from each day of the majestic (heh, get it?) event. Zimbio has a few photos and others can be found by selecting topic related links listed below the pictures. PPE also has a gallery for each day of the event, where you can find photos from the 15 May gala, 16 May luncheon, and the 16 May gala, including a fantastic panorama of the guests at the theater which you can navigate around. Esktra Bladet has published some photos. BT has multiple galleries. Getty Images has photos of the event, and Belga has more than 400 photographs. Some of them are better than others. Searching "queen 70" will garner the most results. Countless other photo agencies also have pictures, such as Polofoto, et al.... There were also several videos, like Clip 1 and Clip 2, courtesy of TV2.

The attendance of The Grand Ducal Couple at the events is noted on the official website. I'd like to point out that it is Royal Press Europe not Monarchy Press Europe that should be credited for the photograph on their website.