Guillaume and Stephanie Go Postal

P&T Luxembourg

On September 25, 2012 stamps commemorating the marriage of The Hereditary Grand Duke and Countess Stephanie de Lannoy will be issued. The stamp block will feature two photographs of the happy couple from their engagement and their signatures. 

This will be the first of many postage stamps featuring the couple in years to come. 

In my experience, P&T is very helpful and quick to respond to requests for international orders. Don't wait to get yours! 

Sources: P&T Luxembourg, Wort

The Last Goodbye

Today the funeral of Countess Alix de Lannoy, mother of Countess Stéphanie, was held in Frasnes-lez-Anvaing, part of the Belgian province of Hainaut. Among the guests were Countess Stéphanie's fiancé The Hereditary Grand Duke, his parents The Grand Duke and The Grand Duchess his uncle Prince Guillaume, as well as Prince Félix, Prince Louis and Princess Tessy. Princess Marie-Astrid together with her husband Archduke Carl-Christian and his mother along with Princess Alix, sister of Grand Duke Jean, were among the Belgium based members the Grand Ducal Family to pay their respects to the late Countess. Queen Fabiola of Belgium and the Duchess of Brabant (also known as Princess Mathilde) were also among the mourners.

PPE has a gallery of pictures as do L'avenir, Wort, Tageblatt, Royal Press Europe, Royal portraits and Sudpresse. A videos of some of the guests arriving and departing are available here and here.

May she rest in peace.


Source: Wort

A Shrine for Blessed Emperor Karl

On next Sunday, Archduke Imre of Austria, oldest son of Luxembourg's Princess Marie-Astrid, will present a first class relic to the parish of the Saint Mary Mother of God church in Washington D.C. On the same day, the shrine of the church will be dedicated to Blessed Emperor Karl, Imre's great-grandfather and last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and Imre will take part in the dedication ceremony. It is the very same church where the Archduke will marry his American fiancée Kathleen Walker in just nine days.

Although the archduke in question is called "Emry", I'm pretty sure it is our Imre.


Source: Saint Mary Mother of God

Funeral of Alix de Lannoy

According to Jean-Luc Crucke, mayor of Anvaing, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Grand Duke Henri as well as Prince Félix, Prince Louis and Princess Tessy are expected to attend the funeral of Countess Alix de Lannoy, mother of Luxembourg's future Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie. Other guests include Queen Fabiola of Belgium and the crown princely couple the Duke und Duchess of Brabant.

This week's Paris Match reports that Countess Alix de Lannoy was stricken eight days before her death and in order to save her life, she had three operations in the following days, which were sadly unsuccessful. May she rest in peace.


Source: Wort , Paris Match

A Family Day Out

Right now the 672nd edition of the Schueberfouer is taking place in Grand Duchy. The annual fair taking place in Luxembourg City's Limpertsberg district goes back to the days of John the Blind, King of Bohemia and Count of Luxembourg, who founded the Schueberfouer on October 20th, 1340. Some 670 years later the tradition is still going strong and had quite a few royal visitors today.

Prince Louis and Princess Tessy and their two sons Princes Gabriel and Noah as well as Louis' uncle Prince Guillaume and his youngest son Prince Jean, who is only two years older than Gabriel, had a fun day out at the fair. For visuals of the sextette have a look at Wort.


Source: Wort

Wedding News

The wedding of Archduke Imre of Austria, oldest son of Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg and Archduke Carl-Christian of Austria, is only little more than a week away and it has become known that Imre and his American fiancée Katie Walke will get married in a Tridentine Mass. The two will get married at a St. Mary Mother of God church in Washington D.C.

A Tridentine Mass is the old form of mass in the Catholic church and was used before the second Vatican Council. The most obvious difference to a "normal" Catholic mass is that it is held in Latin.


Source: Canterbury Tales

Funeral Arrangements

The death announcement of Countess Alix de Lannoy, the mother of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume's fiancée Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy, who died last Sunday, was published in the Belgian newspaper L'avenir and on inmemoriam.be.

The death announcement reads:

"Alix Marie Isabelle Louise Ghislaine della Faille de Leverghem, Countess de Lannoy et du Saint-Empire, born in Louvain on September 20th, 1941, passed away peacefully in Brussels on August 26th, 2012 with the last rites. The requiem and funeral will take place within the family circle at the church Saint Amand on Friday, August 31st.
Pray for her.

Mourned by

her husband
The Count of Lannoy,

her children and in-laws
Count and Countess Jehan de Lannoy,
Count and Countess Christian de Lannoy,
Count Amaury de Lannoy,
Count and Countess Olivier de Lannoy,
Mr. and Mrs. John Hamilton
Countess Gaëlle de Lannoy, member of the Foyers de Charité,
Mr. and Mrs. Jean-Charles de le Court,
Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy and her fiancé HRH Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg,

her grandchildren
Counts Antoine and Maxime de Lannoy,
Countesses Caroline and Louise de Lannoy,
Countess Teresa de Lannoy,
Count Philippe de Lannoy,
Misses Antonia, Charlotte, Madeleine, Alix and Victoria Hamilton,
Mr Lancelot de le Court,
Misses Isaure, Aline et Héloïse de le Court,

her brothers, sisters, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, nieces and nephews
Mr. and Mrs. Ladislas della Faille de Leverghem and their children,
Mr. and Mrs. Dominique della Faille de Leverghem and their children,
Mr. and Mrs. Arnaud della Faille de Leverghem and their children,
Knight and Mrs. Dominique de Schaetzen and their children,
the children of the deceased Count and Countess Guillebert de Lannoy,
Countess Albert de Lannoy and her children,
Count and Countess Claude de Lannoy on their children,
Mr. Coppieters de Gibson and his children
Sister Isabelle de Lannoy, member of the Carmélite Apostolique de Saint-Joseph,

her aunts
Mrs. Raoul della Faille de Leverghem,
Mrs. André della Faille de Leverghem,

and
The Vicomte della Faille Waerloos."


Source: Inmemoriam.be, Cour grand-ducale

The Mother of Countess Stéphanie Passed Away

Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy's mother, Countess Alix, passed away on Sunday following a stroke.

The former Alix della Faille de Leverghem was born on September 20, 1941 in Louvain as the daughter of Baron Harold della Faille de Leverghem and Madeleine de Brouchoven de Bergeyck. She married Count Philippe de Lannoy on July 15, 1965. Together they had 8 children. Their eldest child was born in 1966 and their youngest, Countess Stéphanie, in 1984. Countess Alix was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and woman of faith.

In April of this year their youngest daughter announced her engagement to The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The couple will marry in October. The unfortunate loss of Countess Alix is not expected to alter plans for the royal wedding.

The Cour Grand-Ducale issued a statement this morning expressing their deepest sympathy to the de Lannoy family. Together with our readers, we join with the Cour in expressing our heartfelt sympathy to Count Philippe, Countess Stéphanie and their family.

Sources: Wort, RTL, CGD

A Few Weeks Ago In Azerbaijan

The content of today's post could most probably be best described with the words "better late than never" because the event in question took place one and a half months ago.

Between June June 28th and July 1st, the 23rd annual meeting of the Crans Montana Forum was held in Azerbaijan's capitel Baku, among the attendants was Luxembourg's Prince Jean, who has earned a high reputation for his work in the fields of environmental protection and amelioration of climate change. The prince handed out a few Prix de la Fondation to various people.

A bit of trivia on Prince Jean's working life: over the years he has worked in finance, real estate and international development all over the world. Six years ago, he took over WSSA (Water & Sanitation South Africa) which today employs over 2000 people and works in South Africa itself as well as Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Mozambique. Not long afterwards, he founded MEA AQUA specialising in water service and management solutions for Africa and the Middle East. In 2008 he added MEA ENERGIA, specialising in renewable energy, and MEA POWER, which deals with more traditional sorts of energy, to the list.

Pictures of Prince Jean can be found on the website of the Crans Montana Forum here and here as well as here on the website of the Namibian Ministry of Trade and Industry.


Source: CMF, Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations

Wedding Updates *

The wedding of The Hereditary Grand Duke and Countess Stephanie will be broadcast on France 2. Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld will commentate together with Stephane Bern and Marie Drucker. Still no word if the wedding will be available online for those of us who do not have access to France 2.

The Hereditary Grand Duke and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy have also established an account under the Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse. The special account "The Royal Wedding - Social Projects in Luxembourg" is in connection with their upcoming nuptials. Typically guests are asked to make a donation in lieu of wedding gifts. You may also visit the website of the foundation and make your own donation in honor of the royal wedding. The Countess joined her fiancé on the foundation's Board of Directors shortly after the engagement.

Meanwhile, it has become known that Luxembourgish Michelin star cook Léa Linster, who is the only woman to have ever won the Bocuse d'Or, will provide the food for the wedding. Linster, who owns a couple of restaurants in the Grand Duchy, was also the one who cooked the food for the second evening of the state visit of the Grand Ducal couple to Germany earlier this year.


Sources: RTL, Royalement, Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse, Wort, Ozaukee Press