Click here to see the image from the Cour Grand-Ducale

Grand Duke Henri received in audience Dr Bertrand Piccard, a psychiatrist, balloonist, lecturer, UN Goodwill Ambassador and the President of the charity ‘Wings of Hope’, which fights against childhood disease noma, in the Grand-Ducal Palace yesterday.

Originally from Lausanne in Switzerland, Dr. Piccard is visiting Luxembourg to attend the conference ‘Innovation for Sustainable Performance’.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Luxembourg Royals Audience, Grand Duke Henri

Grand Duke Henri yesterday participated in the celebrations in Luxembourg of 150 of rail travel in the Grand Duchy, attending an academic session at the Grand Theatre of Luxembourg. The first line , from Luxembourg to Arlon and Thionville was opened on 4-5th October 1859.

The Grand Duke also accepted the credentials of Madam Elisabeth Simbrao, the Ambassador of Angola to Belgium and the Netherlands as the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to the Grand ‘Dukedom (sic)’ of Luxembourg.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Luxembourg Royals Grand Duke Henri

HRH Grand Duke Jean yesterday attended an annual concert held by the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra.

The 88-year-old Grand Duke was accompanied by his five children: HRH The Grand Duke of Luxembourg, HIRH Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria, HRH Prince Jean, HRH Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein and HRH Prince Guillaume.

The concert was held in homage to HRH the late Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duke Jean’s wife. The Grand Duchess died in January 2005 at the age of 77.

Click here to view the family’s current events thread.

JessRulz Austrian Royals, Liechtenstein Royals, Luxembourg Royals Archduchess Marie Astrid, Concert, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duke Jean, Prince Guillaume, Prince Jean of Luxembourg, Princess Margaretha

 Upon the invitation of HRH The Grand Duke, President Mary McAleese of the Republic of Ireland paid a state visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg this past Wednesday and Thursday.

View the image at Luxembourg Government website

The President was welcomed by Grand Duke Henri and HRH Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume as she and husband Doctor Martin McAleese arrived in Luxembourg, before the delegation headed to the city for the official welcoming ceremony and a viewing of the Luxembourg guard. The guests then laid a wreath at the Luxembourg National Monument, accompanied by Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker.

A lunch was hosted by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa at the Grand Ducal Palace, where the group participated in a brief photocall. President McAleese then visited the Luxembourg Town Hall with the Grand Duke and the Hereditary Grand Duke. The first day was concluded by a state banquet held at the Palace, which was not attended by the Grand Duchess, who is presumably still recovering from surgery. During her speech at the banquet, President McAleese addressed the long friendship Luxembourg and Ireland have, and spoke of the Grand Duke’s own state visit to Ireland back in 2002 – his first as Luxembourg’s sovereign.

View the image at the Luxembourg Government website

On the second and final day of the visit, President and Doctor McAleese travelled to Echternach, where they visited the St Willibrord Monastery, the Neumunster Abbey (where the President addressed a group with regards to Ireland and the European Union), and a stop at the Enterprise Ireland reception where they met with Irish ex-pats living in Luxembourg.

A reception hosted by the President in honour of the Grand Duke was held at the Grand Theatre of Luxembourg, attended by Grand Duke Henri and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume. President McAleese and her husband then returned to Dublin.

Click here to view the state visit thread.

JessRulz Luxembourg Royals Grand Duke Henri, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Ireland, President McAleese, State Visit

Click here to see the image from the Cour Grand-Ducale.

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and his eldest son Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume gave a reception yesterday at the Grand-Ducal Palace in Luxmebourg after the opening ceremony of the new term (2009/2010) of the Chamber of Deputies, Luxembourg’s parliament.

Grand Duchess María Teresa was not in attendance, presumably due to a recent operation.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Luxembourg Royals Grand Duke Henri, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Parliament

 The Court of the Luxembourg Grand Ducal Family today released a series of new family portraits to mark the ninth anniversary of HRH Grand Duke Henri’s accession to the throne.

Click to see the gallery at Cour-Grand Ducale

The set of fourteen photos features the entire Grand Ducal Family; and for the first time included Princess Tessy, the wife of Prince Louis, and the couple’s two sons, Gabriel and Noah, in an official photo with the whole family. There are also individual shots of each member of the family, as well as a portrait of the adults in cocktail attire.

The Grand Duke took the throne on October 7th, 2000, after his father, Grand Duke Jean, abdicated in favour of his son. The process began officially at 10:00 that morning, when Jean signed the Grand Ducal Abdication Decree at the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg. At 11:00, Grand Duke Henri took the oath of the Luxembourg Constitution: “I swear to observe the Constitution and the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, to maintain the national independence and integrity of the territory, as well as public and individual liberties.” Later that afternoon, the Grand Ducal Family attended a mass of thanksgiving at the Notre-Dame Cathedral. The enthronement services were attended by TM the King and Queen of the Belgians, and HM the Queen of the Netherlands.

Click here to view the thread relating to the portraits, and here for the thread relating to the Grand Duke’s accession.

JessRulz Luxembourg Royals Accession, Anniversary, Grand Duke Henri, Portraits

Click here to see the images from the LuxAm Cultural Society

Grand Duke Henri and sons Prince Felix, Prince Louis and Prince Sebastien were in the United States early in August on a private visit to witness the dedication of the Luxembourg-America cultural centre with Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle and wife Jessica Doyle, along with various government officials from both Luxembourg and the USA.

Following the ceremony, the Grand-Ducal family and Governor were given a private tour of the centre and then attended a reception for board members and major donors.

The opening was timed to coincide with Luxembourg Heritage Weekend 2009.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Luxembourg Royals Grand Duke Henri, Prince Felix of Luxembourg, Prince Louis, Prince Sebastien, United States of America, Working Visit

Click here to see the images from RTL.lu

Grand Duke Henri yesterday swore in the new Luxembourg government at the Château de Berg.

The Grand Duke spent the morning in audience with outgoing members of the government, thanking them for their “good and loyal service.” He also awarded the members of the government who had already served a first term the Order of Civil Merit of Adolphe.

In the afternoon, at 2:30, the Grand Duke, as Head of State, swore in the new government. The ceremony is fairly simple; beginning with the Prime Minister (in this case Jean-Claude Jucker), the members swear ”…loyalty to the Grand Duke, obedience to the Constitution and laws of the State.” and “…promise to fulfill my duties with integrity, accuracy and impartiality.” They then shake hands and move on to the next politician.

The Grand Duke’s next act was to sign five Grand-Ducal Decrees to allow the government to take office, specifying the government departments, those with the title of Minister, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, those who have been ministers before and those for whom it will be their first term and the allocation of ministerial responsabilities amongst the fifteen members of the cabinet.

The final engagement of the day was a reception at the château in honour of the new ministers.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Luxembourg Royals Government, Grand Duke Henri

Click here to see the gallery from the Cour Grand-Ducale

The final half of the celebrations for Luxembourg’s national day began with the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, Prince Sébastien, Prince Louis and Princess Tessy, Prince Félix and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume attending the Te Deum laudamus with military and public officials and the heads of the various diplomatic missions to the Grand Duchy.

The service was followed by a salute of 101 cannon shots at Fetschenhaff.

As is normal, the afternoon was set aside for a military parade, which the Grand-Ducal family watched from a stand on the Avenue de la Liberté, with with Prince Louis’ wife joining the family for the first time as a princess of Luxembourg, instead of “the spouse of Prince Louis”, as she was previously always referred to by the Grand-Ducal Court.

In the evening, again following tradition, the Grand Duke held a gala dinner in the Grand-Ducal Palace for members of the government, the Chamber of Deputies, the Council of State, diplomatic missions to Luxembourg and senior judicial figures. This year the dinner was attended by the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Prince Félix.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Luxembourg Royals Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Grand Duke Henri, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Military, National Day, Prince Felix of Luxembourg, Prince Louis, Prince Sebastien, Princess Tessy

Click here to see the gallery from the Cour Grand-Ducale

The entire Grand Ducal family, minus Princess Alexandra who is busily studying for her exams, turned out in Luxembourg City after the day celebrations by the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess in Ell to see the traditional torchlit procession and firework display.

This is also an occassion for the entire family to be ’seen’ by the public, as they walk from their city residence the Grand Ducal Palace to the Place Guillaume, or Guillaume Square, where they sit and watch the celebrations.

For more information, please see this thread.

alex001 Luxembourg Royals Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Grand Duke Henri, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, National Day, Prince Felix of Luxembourg, Prince Louis, Prince Sebastien, Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, Princess Tessy