Louis and Tessy: Details of the Divorce Hearings

More details of the divorce hearing about the division of assets of Prince Louis and Princess Tessy have become public and, well, it's getting heated... Princess Tessy's legal counsel told the court according to a lengthy article by the Daily Telegraph, "My client has no wish to litigate and she made a very reasonable and sensible proposal. Unfortunately that proposal was rejected and my client had no option but to pursue this in litigation." The Princess' lawyer also stated after the hearings that "[Princess Tessy] is not a gold digger. Far from it. She is simply seeking a fair and proper settlement." Princess Tessy's legal team accused Prince Louis and his team of having threatened to drag the case out "for years" if Princess Tessy did not settle. One of the disputed points in the agreement is the estranged couple's home in Kensington, London.

Another point of argument was a recent article in a Luxembourgish gossip rag, Privat. The article claimed that Princess Tessy only married into the Grand Ducal Family for her own financial gain portraying her as a gold digger. Her legal team described the article as a "disgusting character assassination". Prince Louis' lawyer denied any claims that the cour grand-ducale had briefed the Luxembourgish media against his estranged wife, "My client is appalled at this. He has no idea how it came about. We share their disgust and will do anything we can to stop this happening."

(My humble two cents on the matter: Does anyone really think the cour works together with one of the worst kinds of gossip rags that has made fun of Prince Louis' dyslexia, Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa's weight, and the Hereditary Grand Duchess not having given birth yet - and that all within the last few weeks? Yep, didn't think so either. And an additional note: The above article claims "the Princess’ name was quickly scrubbed from the website of the Luxembourg royal family" - nah, not really quickly, it happened after national day this year so about five months into the divorce proceedings.)

Note: All quotes are taken from the article by the Daily Telegraph linked above.

Grand Ducal Couple Meets Estonian President

Photo: Cour grand-ducale

Yesterday, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa welcomed the President of the Republic of Estonia at the palais grand-ducal. The president of the Baltic nation Kersti Kaljulaid was on a working visit to the Grand Duchy this week.

Louis and Tessy NOT Divorced Yet, Can't Reach Agreement About Money

Prince Louis and Princess Tessy are not divorced yet despite appearing in front of the High Court in London earlier today. The Belfast Telegraph reports that the former couple is struggling to reach an agreement about how assets should be split and asked the court for a decision on the matter. A preliminary hearing in the Family Division of the High Court took place today. The court made a ruling that the financial details of the private hearing could not be discussed in public. "Mr Justice MacDonald analysed a number of legal issues and is expected to oversee a further hearing in the near future. He urged the pair, who had lived in London, to negotiate and try to settle their differences", Belfast Telegraph writes. 

Henri and Maria Teresa Honor the European Court of Auditors

Photo: © Cour des comptes européenne / Cour grand-ducale

On the 12th, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa attended the 40th anniversary celebration for the European Court of Auditors (Cour des comptes européenne). The organization was founded in Luxembourg in 1975, per the Second Budgetary Treaty, as the fifth institution (of seven institutions) of the European Union. The purpose of the European Court of Auditors is to review spending and ensure that taxpayer money is being allotted correctly. The court possesses no judicial powers but is granted the power to comment on the legality of financial legislation. A new president of the Court is elected every three years.

Also present for the event were the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani; the President of the Republic of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid: and the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

Info from the Cour website with further photos as well.

Louis and Tessy: Divorce Finalised?

 Photos: A. Davidson/SHM/REX/Shutterstock

It looks like Prince Louis and Princess Tessy's divorce may have been finalised today. The former couple, who announced their separation at the beginning of this year, was seen entering the High Court in London today. Princess Tessy filed for divorce in February of this year. The picture captions state "Tessy Antony arrives outside the High Court for her divorce from Prince Louis of Luxembourg". We will keep you posted if there are any official announcements. A few more visuals at Rex Features.

* For further development of this news, please see here.

Third Day, Third Emirate: Guillaume and Stéphanie in the UAE

Photo: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen / SIP

To round off their economic and trade mission to the United Arab Emirates that has also led them to Abu Dhabi and Dubai this week, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie headed to Ras al-Khaimah today. Before visiting the northernmost of the seven emirates, the couple held also met with Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, the UAE's Minister of the Economy, presumably in Dubai. 

In Ras al-Khaimah, the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess as well as their accompanying delegation were welcomed by Sheikh Khalid bin Said Al Qassimi, son of the emirate's ruler. Together they visited RAK Ceramics, one of the world's leading ceramics brands headquartered in the emirate and also having offices in the Grand Duchy. Afterwards the Luxembourgish delegation also met with Ras al-Khaimah's ruler Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al Qasimi. "During the meeting, they exchanged views on bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to enhance them, especially in the cultural, tourism and trade fields, reflecting the deep friendship and history between the UAE and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg" or so the official press release by the Emiratis said.

The day ended with an economic session organised by the local Chamber of Commerce.

More pictures are available thanks to the Lux government and Tageblatt. RTL offers a video.

Economic Mission Continued: Rocking Hard Hats in Dubai

Photo: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen / SIP

Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie are still on a mission. An economic mission to the Middle East that is. After Abu Dhabi yesterday, they and their accompanying delegation made their way to Dubai today. 

Photo: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen / SIP

In the UAE's biggest city, the couple participated in meetings with the local Chamber of Commerce and a business forum organised on the occasion of their visit. The Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess also rocked hard hats while visiting the trailing suction hopper dredger ‘Cristóbal Colón’. Owned by the Jan de Nul Group, the ship sails under Luxembourgish flag. The couple also saw the signing of a contract about the Grand Duchy's participation in the Expo 2020 to be held in Dubai and saw the fair grounds.

In addition to new pictures, both the cour and the government also updated their galleries of visuals with more pictures from yesterday of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie meeting with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as well as Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth, and Social Development. They also paid a visit to Masdar City, the model city that solely relies on solar energy and other renewable energy sources. Tageblatt has additional pictures of today. RTL also has pictures as well as a video.

Grand Duke Jean Visits European Court of Justice

Photo: Cour de Justice de l’Union européenne

On Monday, Grand Duke Jean paid a visit to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The highest court in the European Union in matters of European Union law is situated in Luxembourg. His Royal Highness was welcomed by members of both the Court of Justice and the General Court, from left above: Marc Jaeger, President of the General Court, Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice, François Biltgen, judge at the Court of Justice, and Dean Spielmann, judge at the General Court.

Maria Teresa and Louis Receive Founder of La Chaîne de l'Espoir

Photo: © Cour grand-ducale / tous droits réservés

On the 10th, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, with Prince Louis accompanying her, received in audience Dr. Alain Deloche, who is the founder of La Chaîne de l'Espoir (in 1994) and the co-founder of Médecins du Monde (along with 14 other physicians in 1980). Both organizations focus on medical outreach to vulnerable peoples and enable trained doctors to volunteer their skills to those who might not otherwise have access to necessary medical care.

The audience included a discussion with Dr. DeLoche about a new project in Bamako, Mali, which will see the development of the Center for Pediatric Surgery at the Mother-Child Hospital Le Luxembourg there. The hospital was first constructed in 1998 and continues to see the addition of new surgical centers to provide residents with specialized medical treatments.

Also present were Dr. Jerry Kieffer, who is the President of La Chaîne de l'Espoir Luxembourg as well as a pediatric surgeon at the Center Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), and Dr. Jacqueline Franjou,  who is the President of the Festival de Ramatuelle, which has raised funds through its theatre performances in support of La Chaîne de l'Espoir.

More information from the Cour website.

Grand Duke Henri Honors the Victims of World War II

Photo: © cathol.lu / Cour grand-ducale

Grand Duke Henri attended a service at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg to honor the victims of World War II for the National Day of Remembrance. Following the service, he was present at a ceremony held at the Monument National de la Solidarité Luxembourgeoise (MNSL), where he laid a wreath before the monument and acknowledged the flame of remembrance.

Photo: © SIP / Charles Caratini / Cour grand-ducale

Also in attendace were Prime Minister Xavier Bettel; Mars Di Bartolomeo, President of the Chambre des Députés; Lydie Polfer, the Mayor of Luxembourg City; and General Alain Duschène, Chief of Staff of the Army.

A little more from the Cour website.