Funeral of Josephine-Charlotte

[hillary_nugent]

Are there any other Luxembourg Royals that have been cremated?

[elenaris]

Originally Posted by suturegeisha

I'm not arguing with ya, hrhcp, but re:King Harald's absence-
it was my understanding that he was attending a remembrance service for the tsunami victims in Norway on Saturday, and for him to suddenly cancel would have caused a huge uproar. It was easier to have Queen Sonja go; she would not be as missed at the services as he would have.
I really don't think that's right of him at all- for goodness sakes, JC was his first cousin [her mother Astrid and his mother Martha were sisters, everyone :)]!!!! Plus, she was a [former] head of state!

Oh yes, and thank you for the video link, Reina! I finally got to hear Guillaume talk. What a lovely voice he has!
Lollies!
-Kara-

Yes, I do absolutely agree with you, he should have gone to the funeral as GD JC was his first cousin!!! or at least sent someone..

[drimal]

I want post here the prayers of the grandchildren and the translation:

-Princess Maria Anunciata (eldest daughter of Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein) speaking her prayer in English: Mother of God, look for all the victims of the terrible tsunami desaster which deeply moved our grandmother. Keep watch of the whose who are struggeling and suffering and of the whose who are suffering from their family they lost there. May you bring them all hope and peace!

-Princess Marie Gabrielle (eldest daughter of Prince Jean of Nassau) speaking her prayer in French: Ceci est spécialement pour amaman. Que la joie que tu nous donnes maintenant soit une consolation pour notre cher apapa et qu'elle régale surtout notre famille.

This is especially for our dear grandma. May the joy which you are giving us in this moment be a consolation for our dear grandpa and join our family.

-Princess Marie-Christine (eldest daughter of Princess Marie Astrid of Austria) speaking her prayer in German: Gott, seelige die Kirche, speziell die Kirche in Luxemburg, lass die Kirche ein lebendiges Zeichen deiner Liebe zu den Menschen sein.

God, bless the church, and especially the church in Luxembourg, let the church be a fervent symbol of your love for human beings.

-Prince Guillaume (eldest son of Grand Duke Henri and Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg) spoke in Luxembourgish: Papp am Himmel, du hues onser léiwer Groussmamm erlaabt, dem Lëtzebuerger Land ze déngen fir dat och mir no hirem Beispill fi déi do sinn, deenen mir op eisem Wee begéinen.

Our Lord, you have permitted our dear grandmother, to be in service of Luxembourg, so that we are looking for those which we meet on our way and follow her example.

[elenaris]

Originally Posted by elenaris

Yes, I do absolutely agree with you, he should have gone to the funeral as GD JC was his first cousin!!! or at least sent someone..

Sorry, I ve seen that queen sonja of norway was there

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

Did she wish to be cremated?

[hrhcp]

Originally Posted by gaggleofcrazypeople

Did she wish to be cremated?

these (following) comments of mine are in no way meant to be cynical
... with generations of GD Jean's forebears laid to rest in the royal crypt its evident to me that later generations have to contend with shortage of space.
... bearing the foregoing in mind, is there only room in the crypt for GD Jean's future coffin, and hence the only way Josephine can be together with her husband is in an urn in his coffin?

[hillary_nugent]

awww...that's beautiful...she wants to be beside her husband forever ^___^

[bad_barbarella]

that is so sweet...

[Iain]

Originally Posted by hrhcp

Perhaps Sean.~ can confirm this .... I imagine the illustrious past that England has, means that the Regent can't 'stoop' to attend the funeral of one of Europe's smallest countries.

I think there is a very convoluted order of precedence that QE2 has to follow for the correct amount of honour to have been perceived to be bestowed with her presence.

Naturally with Beatrix and Margrethe, more practicality enters the picture. That is, order of precedence is thrown away.


which brings me to my second point with QE2 ... it seems she only attends when a reigning monarch is struck down. With all due respect, Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte was in retirement, and consort to the Grand Duke.

I think King Juan Carlos's absence at this and a number of past events is an indication of the "power" that he holds, that he can pass those (shall we say slightly onerous) duties off on others in his household.

King Harald's absence is in a way similar to Juan Carlos ... hence an indication of power that he can set his own schedule, and perhaps also dictated in a way by a small pocketbook.

Well, I don't know about England's "illustrious" past. There are many coutries, Scotland, Ireland and Wales included who would say it was more of an infamous past but the size of a country should have nothing to do with showing respect for deceased member of it's royal family. You may be right about the order of precedence. The British, or more correctly the English, have this stupid belief that thier royal family are superior to other royals. I've heard an English person claim that only the windsors are "real" royalty and the others only have thier titles because the British monarch allows them to do so. I have been told that the reason Elizabeth never goes to any royal affairs is because the British government will not allow her to be "upstaged" by another monarch. Monarchs take thier order in these things according to how long they have reigned. This means that throughout her reign Elizabeth would have had to walk behind other monarchs and the British wouldn't stand for that. She did attend King Bodioun's funeral because the government thought that with him dead she was now longest reigning, but they forgot about Prince Rainier who had reigned longer than both Elizabeth and Bodioun and because of this is Europe's premier monarch. Beause of this, she still doesn't go to events. It can have nothing to do with being too busy. All monarchs are busy and many are more so tham Elizabeth. Remember this, she has a 4 week holiday at Christmas, another 4 weeks at Easter and 2 months in the summer. During this time she carries out no official duties. Added to that she has a 4 day weekend (Fri-Mon) that she spends at Windsor and again, on these days she carries out no official duties. That means she has a 3 day working week for official duties. That works out at just over 13 weeks a year. Plent of time to attend foreign royal functions.

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

Originally Posted by hrhcp

these (following) comments of mine are in no way meant to be cynical
... with generations of GD Jean's forebears laid to rest in the royal crypt its evident to me that later generations have to contend with shortage of space.
... bearing the foregoing in mind, is there only room in the crypt for GD Jean's future coffin, and hence the only way Josephine can be together with her husband is in an urn in his coffin?

No offense, but that is soooo gross!

[suturegeisha]

Originally Posted by gaggleofcrazypeople

No offense, but that is soooo gross!

Er....why is it gross?
My grandparents did something like that- my grandfather was buried but my grandmother was cremated, and her ashes were placed in an urn, then into a box, and then the box was buried right on top of my grandfather's casket.
That may be something like what the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess had arranged to do...who knows?
Lollies!
-Kara-

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

Well, it must just be me.

[KatieLouise]

It depends what you're used you probably. Some families just might not do that sort of thing!

[KatieLouise]

These are some pictures from the Commemorative Mass for Joséphine-Charlotte in Belgium yesterday (Sts Michel and Gudule Cathedral, Brussels) - I hope it is appropriate to post them in this thread.
1. The beginning of the service
2. Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz and Queen Fabiola
3. King Albert II, Princess Marie-Astrid, Archduke Carl-Christian, Prince Guillaume
4. Photo of Joséphine-Charlotte
5. Prince Lorenz, Princess Astrid, Prince Amadeo, Princess Luisa, Princess Laura
6. Prince Amadeo, Princess Luisa Maria, Princess Maria Laura, Prince Joachim
7. Princess Astrid

[KatieLouise]

8. Prince Nikolaus, Queen Fabiola
9. Crown Princess Mathilde, Crown Prince Philippe
10. Princess Claire, Prince Laurent
11. Prince Jean, Princess Sibilla, Princess Astrid, Prince Jean

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

Yay! Pics!

[bct88]

While watching the funeral, I noticed that a very nice song was sung. I believe it is called O Mamm, léif Mamm. Does anyone know the words of that song, and if possible, the English translation? I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could post the lyrics of the song. Thanks.

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

It was on in the US?