Grand Duke Henri & Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Current Events 3: Aug 2005 - Feb 2006

[Ditebaby]

i agree. however, this isn't guillaume's first godchild. see the hgd guillaume thread- i believe he's his brother sebastien's godfather and his cousin paul-louis' too.

I completely forgot about him being sebastien's godfather. I didn't know about paul-louis.

 

[rere]

Thanks for the photos which are new for me.

It's nice to see Henri doing a normal thing and not dressed in a suit.

 

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

I have a gut feeling that Henri and MT won't go to the baptism, but Guillaume will.

 

[Virnabrisa2000]

Have not the Dukes gone to the baptism?

 

[suturegeisha]

Have not the Dukes gone to the baptism?

Indeed they did. So did Princess Marie-Astrid, Prince Guillaume [the older one] and his wife Princess Sibilla.

 

[paul-louis1998]

http://www.picturedesk.com
henri and maria

http://www.picturedesk.com
henri and maria

 

[Virnabrisa2000]

One doesn't eat he/she puts on the link, it is of the page www.rtl.lu, of the day 16 of December and Place Royale will already come out you, I sit down it the I have attempted but it doesn't leave me

 

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

Great pics! But why are they visiting the army?

 

[msfroyste]

i think it's something they do every year. louis was in attendence one year, i think it was last year. felix was there the year before. unfortunately, there is usually one, maybe two- if we're lucky, pics of them( h and mt's kids) at that event. this time, i don't think any of them attended. one interesting thing to note was that neither tessy nor her family was there- and this was mentioned on the captions of the pics from the event. from what i could tell, it was just mt and h, and there isn't anything wrong with that.

 

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

Can we see problems with Tessy and her parents not being there?

 

[Genevieve]

Can we see problems with Tessy and her parents not being there?

Why would they be there? Even if Tessy is in the army that doesn't mean she was invited to this event or that her parents would be too.

Why look for trouble anyway?

It seems like even though the family has announced the out of wedlock baby they are also keeping Tessy and Louis out of the spotlight to minimalize the attention paid to the situation of the Catholic Grand Duke's son having pre-marital sex and knocking a girl up. The family seems modern for announcing the pregnancy rather than trying to hide it but they probably did it just to deflect the media who would've found out anyway (when they figured that it wasn't Guillaume or Felix who had gotten one of their girlfriends pregnant).

I don't believe that they are trying to protect Tessy and her privacy either.

 

[Virnabrisa2000]

In the baptism of the daughter of the Princes of Asturias, will the Dukes from Luxemburg go?

 

[carlota]

In the baptism of the daughter of the Princes of Asturias, will the Dukes from Luxemburg go?

i doubt so. don't think there's a close relationship between the two royal families. moreover, in spain the first godparents couples choose (as example cristina and iñaki and elena and jaime) are the king and queen, and as in the catholic rite they only accept a pair of godparents, then it's not as in the protestant baptisms where they invite royals from all over...

 

[paul-louis1998]

new pictures

http://www.picturedesk.com
christmas speak henri on 19-12-2005 in castle berg

 

[drimal]

Translation of Grand Duke Henri's christmas speech:

"Again a year has past, a year with nice and sad moments. The events are happening in a rythm that we don't have time to realize them and therefore Christmas Eve, when the family is celebrating, should be a a moment of contemplation.
Let's remember the victims of the tsunami in South Eastern Asia who have lost everything, their family, their property and their hope.
Let's have compassion for the people in Louisiana who have seen their cities disappering under the floods, such as the people in Pakistan who have lost everything due to the dreadful earth quake.
...
In the time of festveness and joy we should rememeber all the people living in regions of war or the many hostages. We hope that they will be found as soon as possible.
For my family and especially for my father, Grand Duke Jean, the past year brought sad moments to us with the death of my mother.
But my family and myself are not only suffering under the loss of my mother. The Grand Duchess and myself are deeply offended by bad rumours going round about our family and which are not true. If we have to communicate something as a family we are doing it, as we proved with our son Louis lately.

...
Luxembourg has more than 10000 redundants, an unusual situation for the country. Many housholds have debts, Young people are- whatever the reasons my be - desperate and disapponited in such way that the only solution they see is committing suicide.
...
Now that the commemorations for the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II are over we have to learn our lesson from the past. The generation, which had suffered so much and didn't know youth, showed a great wit to not only rebuild our country, but to give us a modern state where we can live in prosperity unknown before. We are owing this security and prosperity to the European integration process, which has realized something, that has been an utopia 60 years before: Nations, who fought against each another during centuries are shaking hands and creating together the European Union.
Luxembourg's European Presidence was a hint that we helped the European Union to advance another step. The great honour for Luxembourg by giving the Carl's price to Jean-Claude Juncker can be understand in this way.
...
Luxembourg sought new positions for economical relationships. Economical missions, lead by me or Prince Guillaume are the proof that our country has still great interests. In this context I want to underline the innovative spirit which is noticeable with the new University. The research, the cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), the new Lycee, new products in the financial places, especially in the sector of the microcredits where the Grand Duchess is very interested in, are only a few examples for the wind of change blowing in our country.
....
May Cultural year 2007 be able , with the competition of all the composing from Big Region, to revitalize this fertile and so emblematic coexistence for the whole Europe.

Fellow citizens,
I wish you in the name of the Grand Duchess, my children and my father a happy and peaceful christmas and all the best for the new year. Let's take with courage the challenges of the next months. In a world of tremendous changements Luxembourg has a chance as long as we want it."

 

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

"Luxembourg has more than 10000 redundants"

What does redundants mean?

 

[bct88]

Any place on the internet to watch the speech? I have found, after long searching, and using just my English (which was not easy on the non English sites) the speeches (in video format) of King Albert, Queen Beatrix, and Queen Elizabeth. I would like to watch it if possible. Thanks.

 

[drimal]

@gaggleofcrazypeople: redundants are unemployed people
It's a sad reality that Luxembourg's unemployment (once the lowest in Europe) has risen these past years and actually 10000 people are without a job. By the way the persons committing suicide in Luxembourg per 1000 inhabitants is the highest in whole Europe. (that's the reason Grand Duke Henri has mentionned it in his speech)

 

[msfroyste]

thanks for the info and the translation drimal. i find it interesting and a good thing that henri's addressing the rumor mill.

 

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

Him talking about rumors is very much out of character in my opinion.

 

[Ditebaby]

I agree with Gaggleofcrazypeople, which makes me think that there must be rumor floating around that really offended him or the family in general. THat's the only reason I can think of that he'd even acknowledge anything about rumors.

 

[agisele]

redundants in this case probably means unemployment.
To be made redundant is another way of being fired from your job.
I don't know, it could have a second meaning, but this is my guess and it makes sense in the context of the Grand Duke's speech.

 

[lisamaria]

Him talking about rumors is very much out of character in my opinion.

Yeah, I think he must have been really pissed about somethig to mention it in an official speech. Does anyone know what...?

-Lisa

 

[suturegeisha]

Yeah, I think he must have been really pissed about somethig to mention it in an official speech. Does anyone know what...?

-Lisa

Someone on the Benelux MB mentioned something about "marital infidelity".

 

[Ditebaby]

Someone on the Benelux MB mentioned something about "marital infidelity".

I had a feeling it was probably some sort of screwed up rumor about marriage problems between him and MT. If anyone ever told me they were having problems I'd probably think they were lying. They're just too close to even go that direction.

 

[gaggleofcrazypeople]

There were rumors about that a few years back. Some believed it was started by JC because she didn't like MT. But he was probably refering to how before the truth was know about Louis, there was a big rumor going around that Felix was fathering a child with a bartender. However, this isn't true.

 

[drimal]

Yeah, I think he must have been really pissed about somethig to mention it in an official speech. Does anyone know what...?

-Lisa

Where was some really scaring article in a newspaper called Luxemburger Land (not to confuse with Luxemburger Wort which is a decent newspaper). They mentionned Prince Jean of Nassau's name in an article published at the beginning of December about the biggest criminal affair in the history of Luxembourg called "De Bommeleer" or the bomber which is causing quite a stir this year because it's the "20 anniversary" of the scaring happenings.

The whole affair is called "De Bommeleer" (English: the Bomber) and occured in 1985 and 1986. 18 attentats were counted and caused severe damages, fortuantely nobody was killed (although one man was badly injured at the national airport Findel). At the beginning electric pylons were in the focus of the unknown criminal gang but soon bombs exploded everywhere, in underground gas pipes in Hollerich, on the fair, in the new olympic swimming pool, in front of the house of a former minister of Luxembourg, in front of the printing works of Luxembourg and the salient highlight was the bomb which exploded only 50 meters beside the conference session of several prime ministers in Luxembourg!

They never found them although there were many eye witnesses who saw suspected persons or cars. The witnesses who testified at the police headquarters were derided and ridiculed.

Rumours were going on that a very powerful person has to be behind that and that the government is covering up the whole embarrassing matter. Embarrassment is the appropriate notion here. 20 years nothing happened until the beginning of the year when RTL started a TV series to remember these attentats of the past and are causing quite a stir with this. An eye witness who prefers being unrecognized told that he saw a suspected car near a crime place and inside the car was a very famous person of the public in Luxembourg. He made a testimony at the police and they answered " You shall never say this name in public or there will be personal consequences!" The man was shadowed by a car the next months which followed him everywhere!

The week before the article was writen, the Prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker met the man to hear who this unknown person is! In an interview the director of justice in Luxembourg, this dubious Roby Biever said that the name had appeared in the (450000 pages ) documents as a "rumour" but its his function to prove the innonce of the person unless there is evidence to the contrary. He added that the guilty person won't be arrested or sentenced...

These are the dubios facts and a journalist from Luxemburger Land (who has been made redundant after the article) mentionned Prince Jean, which would be the name the eye witness told the Prime minister. The direction of the Luxemburger Land appologized and said that nothing was true...

Personally I think these rumours are coming from anarchists who want to involve the Grand Ducal family in a scandal but it's always scaring to hear such rumours. Not good at all for the Grand Ducal family. I can understand that the Grand Duke feels offended deeply...

 

[rere]

I clap for the grand duke's openness about his son and the rumors.

Thanks, Drimal for your inside information.

 

[drimal]

My father told me that some people even accused Prince Guillaume (21 at the time) of being the bomber 20 years ago!

I guess these are the same people who told that King Albert II of Belgium was involved in the Dutroux scandal.

 

[paul-louis1998]

you can tell me more I were at that time still small. But prince Guillaume (*1963) be at that time in the USA I does not believe it simply! It does not guarantee!