Grand Duke Henri's Abdication and Guillaume's Inauguration: Information and Musings

[doro]

Someone can say when Maria Teresa received the Order of the Golden Lion of the House of Nassau?

 

[iceflower]

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa cancelled already planned interviews about the 25 years of reign and their future plans:

https://www.luxtimes.lu/luxembourg/grand-duke-henri-cancels-media-interviews-ahead-of-national-day/71018503.html

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa cancelled already planned interviews about the 25 years of reign and their future plans:

https://www.luxtimes.lu/luxembourg/grand-duke-henri-cancels-media-interviews-ahead-of-national-day/71018503.html

"The cancellation came via a phone call placed to Luxembourg Times publisher Mediahuis Luxembourg on Tuesday afternoon, with the reason given that the royal couple “aren’t feeling it.”

According to the head of the royal household, Sasha Baillie, the format of the interview - looking back at 25 years on the throne, did not appeal to the royal couple."​

"Aren't feeling it"? That seems like an unusual reason for a head of state to cancel a press conference where numerous national media outlets were to present interview questions (unless it's meant as an oblique reference to a sudden illness).

Was the format not told to the couple in advance?

The royal court says there are no plans for "alternative dates". If the reason is as (seemingly) minor as "not feeling it" and "did not appeal to them", then why not reschedule or adapt the press conference?

 

[Stefan]

One wonders why not a format was chosen in cooperation of the Grand Ducal Court and the Media.

 

[taogg]

It's interesting that the Grand Duke couple or the royal household gave such a blunt reason for the cancellation. They clearly do not care about public perception on themselves. Fine, but what about the royal household that their son is going to inherit?
If the interview format did not appeal to them, why agree to it in the first place instead of negotiating the content before confirming the date?


To me, those questions seem entirely reasonable. What did they expect to be asked—whether they’re planning a happy retirement in France?

"offer readers an insight into the wishes of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa for their successors, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Princess Stéphanie, how the Grand Duke now reflects on the crisis triggered by his decision not to sign a euthanasia law that had been passed by parliament and the subsequent constitutional reform that it triggered, and what future does he see for the Luxembourg monarchy in general.
The list of questions also included whether, after Henri's abdication, the royal couple will continue to hold honorary posts in their retirement and whether they will continue to have an active role in public life, such as being involved in charitable organisations."

 

[Silverpot]

It seems the Grand Dukal couple are making sure they wont be missed.

 

[maria-olivia]

Maria Teresa will of course always stay in the medias , will retire in Paris and .......

 

[tommy100]

How very, very odd. They really do seem completely checked out already to the extent I am surprised they seem to be having a very active last year of Henri's reign. From this sort of comment and reasoning to a perfectly reasonable media appearance I would expect them to have simply have flown off to Biarritz or Paris already and not bothered with all of the events they to have been attending recently.

I wonder if there was an insinuation that they might have been asked about the Waringo report? The more I think of it I can't think that they have done much media since then that has been truly open - hand chosen interviews with MTs chosen publications from Paris where the interviewers are favourable, tightly controlled public appearances at big events like the Pope visit etc but I can't think of a time they have sat down at a place they could be asked something difficult.

 

[Somebody]

So, did they withdraw after receiving the questions they were going to be asked?

While not completing the 25 years, they do want to be celebrated but again and again show they don't want to do their part.

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

"The cancellation came via a phone call placed to Luxembourg Times publisher Mediahuis Luxembourg on Tuesday afternoon, with the reason given that the royal couple “aren’t feeling it.”​

​

According to the head of the royal household, Sasha Baillie, the format of the interview - looking back at 25 years on the throne, did not appeal to the royal couple."​

"Aren't feeling it"? That seems like an unusual reason for a head of state to cancel a press conference where numerous national media outlets were to present interview questions (unless it's meant as an oblique reference to a sudden illness).

Was the format not told to the couple in advance?

The royal court says there are no plans for "alternative dates". If the reason is as (seemingly) minor as "not feeling it" and "did not appeal to them", then why not reschedule or adapt the press conference?

That is, imho, a slap in the face to the Luxembourgish people. As Grand Duke, GD Henri has an obligation to acknowledge his public service to his people - saying "can't be bothered" and looking back at his reign "does not appeal" is incredibly disrespectful. I'm glad he is abdicating if he cannot be bothered with the bare minimum

 

[llj]

I'm hoping that the phrase "aren't feeling it" is a mistranslation/mischaracterization of what the couple meant. In English, that is not a neutral phrase, but perhaps had the speaker been using Luxembourgish or French it would not sound so dismissive.

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

I'm hoping that the phrase "aren't feeling it" is a mistranslation/mischaracterization of what the couple meant. In English, that is not a neutral phrase, but perhaps had the speaker been using Luxembourgish or French it would not sound so dismissive.

True, but actions speak louder than words. Not only did they cancel, they haven't rescheduled either and the Royal Court has come out to say there are no plans to either. There must be some real bad blood between the Grand Ducal Couple and the government for this epic hissy fit!

 

[Tatiana Maria]

I'm hoping that the phrase "aren't feeling it" is a mistranslation/mischaracterization of what the couple meant. In English, that is not a neutral phrase, but perhaps had the speaker been using Luxembourgish or French it would not sound so dismissive.

Good point. For what it is worth, French- and German-language press reports quote the phrase as "Monsieur et Madame ne le sentent pas" and "Die Herrschaften fühlen es nicht", though there's no indication of what the language of communication was. Perhaps the fluent speakers of those languages could give their opinion.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

Sentir in French is a verb that means “to smell” or “to feel”- so “not feeling it” is pretty accurate in English . However, I’m using college French - not a native speaker - so this could be an idiom or something with a different meaning.

 

[hereditarytitles]

As Tatiana Maria has mentioned in her post the original German version of the article, published in the newspaper “Luxemburger Wort” “ Die Herrschaften fühlen es nicht” is the wording . This is indeed an unusual expression in that context, because ‘fühlen’ means “to feel.” "They don't feel like giving the interview" ?
Using the word "die Herrschaften" is a bit odd too , being old-fashioned and not used much anymore .
The court marshal should have said "the royal couple" instead and "the format of the interview did not appeal to them". I think that would have been a better choice of wording.
We do not know in which language the Court Marshal made this statement, Luxembourgish, German, or French, because all three languages are spoken there. There is no text in the Lux language available, at least I didn't find one.
As the article says GD Henri will speak about his reign on the national holiday on June 23.
He obviously does not want to give any further interviews, maybe not willing to talk about sensitive things.

Does anyone know whether it was customary for his predecessors to give a long interview to the press when they abdicated?

 

[Hans-Rickard]

It all sounds very weird to say the least…. But all this orchestration with the hastily abdication and then the even more hastily Silver Jubilée Celebration without it being a Silver Jubilée has been very weird from the beginning…..

The contact between the Grand Ducal Couple and the government seems to be below the freezing point…

 

[maria-olivia]

They will be some glittering events for his last National Day on June 23th.

 

[Stefan]

They will be some glittering events for his last National Day on June 23th.

But unfortunately no Gala anymore as this was replaced by the New Years Gala.

 

[hereditarytitles]

It is, of course, not surprising that the relationship between the government and the royal family is no longer the best. After all, it was then-Prime Minister Xavier Bettel who initiated the so-called “Waringo Report” in 2020. This exposed many abuses/grievances at court, most of which were attributable to the Grand Duchess. The Grand Duke had no choice but to stand behind his wife. He hardly could have criticized her publicly. I believe that good and trusting cooperation has not been possible since then, which could be a reason for Henri 's premature abdication and perhaps also caused the decision not to give detailed interviews.

 

[muriel]

It is, of course, not surprising that the relationship between the government and the royal family is no longer the best. After all, it was then-Prime Minister Xavier Bettel who initiated the so-called “Waringo Report” in 2020. This exposed many abuses/grievances at court, most of which were attributable to the Grand Duchess. The Grand Duke had no choice but to stand behind his wife. He hardly could have criticized her publicly. I believe that good and trusting cooperation has not been possible since then, which could be a reason for Henri 's premature abdication and perhaps also caused the decision not to give detailed interviews.

I could not disagree with you. But why did they agree to an interview in the first place?

 

[hereditarytitles]

I could not disagree with you. But why did they agree to an interview in the first place?

That's a good question. Perhaps the Grand Duke had agreed and his wife subsequently advised him against it, or some other person close to him thought it better to not consent to the interview. We will probably never know.

 

[iceflower]

Whatever the reasons were, they haven't done themselves a favour, handling the situation the way they did..

 

[Stefan]

It is, of course, not surprising that the relationship between the government and the royal family is no longer the best. After all, it was then-Prime Minister Xavier Bettel who initiated the so-called “Waringo Report” in 2020. This exposed many abuses/grievances at court, most of which were attributable to the Grand Duchess. The Grand Duke had no choice but to stand behind his wife. He hardly could have criticized her publicly. I believe that good and trusting cooperation has not been possible since then, which could be a reason for Henri 's premature abdication and perhaps also caused the decision not to give detailed interviews.

But in the meantime there is a new Government and a new Prime Minister.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Weren't the media outlets that were scheduled to interview the Grand-Ducal Couple at the press conference privately owned, not government-owned? The Luxembourg Times article lists numerous outlets owned by Mediahuis Luxembourg that were scheduled to attend.

 

[hereditarytitles]

Weren't the media outlets that were scheduled to interview the Grand-Ducal Couple at the press conference privately owned, not government-owned? The Luxembourg Times article lists numerous outlets owned by Mediahuis Luxembourg that were scheduled to attend.

The Luxembourg government plays an active role in supporting the print media, but doesn't own a paper. Newspapers and magazines receive subsidies to ensure diversity of opinion and the sector's continued existence. This support reflects a strong commitment to maintaining a free press that is accessible to all.
The “Luxemburger Wort” is the largest daily newspaper in Luxembourg with more than 137,000 readers, representing 25.7% of the population. It has been published since 1848 by Groupe Saint-Paul, a Luxembourg publishing company, and was recently acquired by the Belgian media group Mediahuis.

For more information about the press in Luxembourg, which has an amazing diversity of newspapers, considering the smallness of the country, there is this link:

Medien in Luxemburg: Zeitungen, TV, Radio, Webseiten

Aufgrund der vielen Nationalitäten, die in Luxemburg leben, gibt es zahlreiche Medien, die jeder Gemeinschaft eigen sind. Hier finden Sie die wichtigsten.

www.justarrived.lu

 

[maria-olivia]

The Grand Duke should not agree his wife being unrecpectful to his own Mother the then Grand Duchess and at this to the Press. The former Prime Minister Me Juncker, closed his eyes.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I think it's typically selfish and short sighted behavior on the part of GD Henri and GDS Maria Teresa.

Instead of turning over the Crown to their Heir on a high note of goodwill and optimism, they are leaving poor Gui and Stephanie rebuild things almost from the ground up.

Beatrix, Margrethe and even Juan Carlos all managed graceful transfers...what the heck has happened to the couple I once thought was one of the most admirable in Royal Europe??

 

[tommy100]

100% agree, I always thought Henri and MT were one of the best sovereign couples in Europe and they were one of the first reasons I became interested in European royals as it all seemed so quaint and interesting.
Now the veil is lifted we have a seemingly weak Grand Duke and a bossy, diva Grand Duchess. Both of whom seem happy to leave on a sour note.

 

[maria-olivia]

The Weak Grand Duke sold his Mother's jewels at an Auction , he had to cancel !
I don't know if Grand Duke Jean knew about Maria Teresa attitude towards his wife and the Auction of her jewels, some were Blgian Presents

 

[Tatiana Maria]

How very, very odd. They really do seem completely checked out already to the extent I am surprised they seem to be having a very active last year of Henri's reign.

I can see your point. The withdrawal and blasé notification are an interesting contrast to the grand-ducal couple seeming to maintain as high a profile as before regardless of the Hereditary Grand Duke’s current office as Lieutenant-Representative (that is, the regent who carries out the monarch’s constitutional functions as their substitute) under Article 58 of the Constitution.

I welcome being corrected by posters who follow the family more closely, but unlike in Liechtenstein, I am not sure an outside observer would even be able to discern that Guillaume and not Henri is currently the official acting regent of Luxembourg.

That said, I am not familiar with the previous pre-abdication regencies in Luxembourg, so perhaps that is the norm.