News Summary R O Y A L B L O G. N L

Belgian King and Queen in Liechtenstein

The heads of state of the German speaking countries in Europe met in Liechtenstein for an informal gathering by invitation of Hereditary Prince Alois and his wife Hereditary Princess Sophie. Apart from the Liechtenstein royal couple there were other royals present as well.

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and the King and the Queen of the Belgians, Philip and Mathilde, travelled to the tiny Principality, sandwiched between the river Rhine, Switzerland and Austria. The presidents of Liechtenstein's neighbors and Germany's President Joachim Gauck also attended.

Prince Alois welcomed his royal and presidential guest to Vaduz Castle, high above the tiny capital of his country. Alois has been overseeing the daily administration of Liechtenstein since 2004, when his father Prince (Fürst) Hans Adam went into semi-retirement, although he remained head of state.

The meeting had the European migration and refugee crises as one of its main topics, along with digitization and the labor market. Tthere was also an excursion to the Liechtenstein Art Museum, and a meeting with Liechtenstein politicians. Next year's meeting will be hosted by King Philip in Belgium. 

© RB; Photos by © Roland Korner / Close Up AG / tous droits réservés; via GDL & BM

King Philip & Grand Duke Henri celebrate abroad

* Grand Duke Henri with Crown Princess Mary

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg celebrated part of his 60th birthday Thursday abroad. He started the day in Denmark, where he took part in the festivities for the 75th anniversary of Queen Margrethe. Henri participated in the 'wake up' call, where friends and family joined in waking the Queen by singing under her bedroom window at Fredensborg Slot.

* King Philip, with Queens Letizia and Máxima

Grand Duke Henri, who came to Denmark without Grand Duchess Maria Teresa who suffered from the flu, also celebrated his cousin King Philip of the Belgians' 55th birthday on Wednesday. In his welcoming speech at the Gala Dinner at Christiansborg Slot Danish Crown Prince Frederik made special mention of it, and expressed his gratitude that the Belgian King had chosen to celebrate not only his own but also Queen Margrethe's birthday in Denmark.

* Crown Prince Frederik after his speech, with Kings Carl Gustaf and Harald, and Queens Margrethe and Silvia.

Both Grand Duke Henri and King Philip had children with a birthday as well. Henri's youngest son Prince Sébastien turned 23 Thursday, and Philip's youngest daughter Princess Eléonore was 7.

© RB; Photos by © Monarchy Press Europe, Patrick van Katwijk

Grand Duchess Charlotte fondly remembered

 

Grand Duke Jean, 94, made a rare public appearance Tuesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the return from exile of his mother Grand Duchess Charlotte on 14 April 1945. He was joined by his son Grand Duke Henri and daughter in law Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. In their name flowers were placed at the foot of a monument to the 'fearless Duchess', as Charlotte was known during the war years.

Charlotte and her family had fled for the occupying German troops on May 10, 1940. She spent the years in exile exhorting her country men to resist the nazi regime, expressing her strong belief that the Allied cause would win in the end. She travelled widely in Canada and the US, and sent her children to school in Montréal, Québec.

Her husband Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma, brother of Empress Zita of Austria, and son Prince Jean (to become Grand Duke Jean when he succeeded her in 1964) took part in the first liberation of Luxembourg in September 1944. The Germans however turned around and re-occupied large chunks of the Grand Duchy again that winter, only to be kicked out again in February 1945. That openened the way for the Grand Duchess to return to her home as well.

© Royalblog, Hans Jacobs, with Marius Cirtiu

European Royals get together in Copenhagen

Queen Margrethe's 75th birthday brings Europe's crowned heads to Copenhagen this Wednesday for a spectacular gala dinner at Christiansborg Palace. Only Queen Elizabeth, who will celebrate her 89th birthday next week, will skip the party as per custom, but all the other important reigning monarchs are present.

Margrethe's godson King Willem-Alexander and his wife Queen Máxima already announced last month that they were coming back to Denmark to honour Margrethe, Europe's second longest reigning monarch (after Queen Elizabeth). The king said so during his speech at the State banquet the Danish queen gave for him at Christiansborg during the Dutch State Visit to Denmark.

King Willem-Alexander is joined by the 'new generation' of kings: Felipe of Spain and Philip of Belgium, who are both accompanied by their queens, Letizia and Mathilde respectively. Also present at the dinner are King Harald of Norway, King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden and Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg.

The King and Queen of the Hellenes will be present, along with other royal guests. At a second dinner, held at Frederiksborg Palace on Thursday Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel will join in the festivities. Norwegian Queen Sonja will be absent however, as she is expected in New York to open an exhibition. © RB

Luxembourg becomes part of Kingdom of the Netherlands - at least on Dutch stamps issued to commemorate Kingdom's bicentenary

PostNL on Monday issued two new stamps to commemorate the bicentenary of the founding of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in 1815. The stamps, designed by Vanessa van Dam, show the evolution of the Kingdom’s territory in Europe.

In 1815 present day Belgium and Luxembourg were united under the crown of King Willem I, as shown on the first stamp which also bears the King’s signature. The second stamp shows present day the Netherlands, with the grand seal of King Willem-Alexander. 

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was technically not part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as it was given to Willem as personal fief, and although it was pretty much ruled from The Hague and treated as a Dutch province, it officially stood apart. In that way the stamp is incorrect to show Luxembourg as part of the Kingdom.

The stamps, issued in a stamp sheet, complete a series started in 2013, to commemorate the founding of the Kingdom. Earlier stamps depicted the arrival of the Prince of Orange in November 1813 in Scheveningen – he was to become Sovereign Prince, than King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands – and the bicentenary of the Constitution in 2014.

Stamps can be ordered on line through PostNL

• Royal celebration with Kings of Belgium & Netherlands and Grand-Duke of Luxembourg

Spanish royals visit Belgium & Luxembourg

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain continued their presentation visits to the other European monarchies in Brussels Wednesday, where they were welcomed by Belgium's new royal couple King Philip and Queen Mathilde.

One day earlier the Spanish royals were warmly welcomed in Luxembourg. Last month they already visited the new king and queen of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander and Máxima.

These visits are neither State Visits nor official visits - but they are best described as courtesy calls, in which the new King introduces or presents himself as such in neighbouring countries and the other monarchies.

The Dutch King set out on his tour one month after he succeeded his mother, starting in Luxembourg, the Belgian King first went to the Netherlands and than to Luxembourg, and King Felipe of Spain headed to the Vatican and Portugal first. 

The visits all follow a similar pattern, with only slight variations as protocol, agenda or tradition may dictate. King Felipe and Queen Letizia were welcomed with military honour in both Belgium and Luxembourg for instance, but there was no playing of national anthems and an inspection of the Guard of Honour in The Hague.

In Luxembourg on Tuesday Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, who celebrated his birthday that day, stood in for his mother Grand Duchess Maria Teresa at the welcoming ceremony in front of the palace. Maria Teresa is still recovering from knee surgery and awaited her guests inside, where a private lunch was held. 

In Brussels the elaborate welcoming ceremony was not immediately followed by the customary luncheon, but by courtesy calls to the Belgian Federal Parliament and Prime Minister Charles Michel. After making the rounds the Spanish couple returned to the Palace.

© Royalblog, Hans Jacobs; Photos by © RB, Royal Press Europe

 

 

Rijksmuseum hosts royal guests - Masako skips

Queen Beatrix on the last full day of her 33 year reign hosted a dinner at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, attended by members of her family, foreign and national dignitaries, and royalty from all corners of the world. Rembrandt's Nightwatch watched over the gathering in the recently reopened museum's Gallery of Honour, which was splendidly decked out.

Although the guests dressed up in royal style, the atmosphere was informal and the Crown Princes and Crown Princess did not get out of the bus in a particular order. They mingled and chatted, as friends and colleagues would.

Japan's Crown Princess Masako did not come to the dinner. Some suggested Queen Beatrix might have encouraged her to spend the evening with her parents, who live in the Netherlands. The queen is family oriented and knows how important a family get together is, especially when separated for so long and so far.

Masako was not the only one who went missing. Sheikha Moza of Qatar was not present at the dinner either. But that did not much to shorten the guest list, with Frederik and Mary of Denmark, Felipe and Letizia of Spain, Victoria and Daniel of Sweden, Naruhito, Philip and Mathilde of Belgium and Haakon and Mette-Marit of Norway, and Albert of Monaco. Princess Charlène could not make it. She is attending to charity work in South Africa.

Morocco was represented by Princess Lalla Salma, wife of King Mohammed VI. On the red carpet she was followed by Prince Hassan and Princess Sarvath of Jordan, Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and further distant Prince Albert, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and his wife Stéphanie.

The eldest and longest serving heir to (a) throne present was the Prince of Wales, who was accompanied by his wife Camilla. The Thai Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn however has also already clocked 41 years since becoming heir. 

© RoyalblogNL, Hans Jacobs

Luxembourg announces wedding date for Félix

The wedding of His Royal Highness Prince Felix de Luxembourg and Miss Claire Lademacher will be celebrated on Saturday 21 September 2013 at the Sainte Marie-Madeleine de Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume basilica in France. The civil wedding will take place on Tuesday 17 September 2013 at Königstein im Taunus in Germany, The Luxembourg Court announced Monday.

The wonderful ancient Church is in the Provence, in the south of France. The civil wedding is in Claire's hometown in Germany.

At the end of December Prince Félix presented his fiancee to the press at Château Berg, the grand ducal family residence in the Luxembourg country side. A date for the nuptials was not announced, although the Court hinted the wedding would be held on the bride's 'home territory' - as by tradition for all but the heirs to the throne. 

Claire Lademacher is born March 21, 1985 in Filderstadt, Germany. She is the second child of Hartmut and Gabriele Lademacher. Claire has an elder brother, whose name is by chance, also Félix. Claire spent her youth partly in the German town of Usingen and in the U.S.

Prince Félix is almost a year older (3 June 1984) than his fiancée. He is the third of the five children of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa to tie the knot. His brothers Louis and Guillaume cleared the path for him. 

© RoyalblogNL, Hans Jacobs; Photo's: © Royal Press Europe, Cour grand-ducale

New Year's wishes in Vaduz, Luxembourg

Prince Hans Adam of Liechtenstein and his wife Princess Marie, along with Hereditary Prince Alois and Hereditary Princess Sophie welcomed members of the government and other dignataries to Vaduz Castle for the annual New Year's reception, Thursday.

Members of parliament, respresentatives of the Liechtenstein towns and members of the diplomatic corps were invited too.

In Luxembourg too the royal family welcomed members of the government, headed by the long serving Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, to the Grand-Ducal Palace for the customary exchange of well wishes.

The newly minted Hereditary Grand-Duchess Stéphanie, who married Hereditary Grand-Duke Guillaume in October of last year, made her debut at the New Year's reception, at the side of her husband, and with Grand-Duke Henri and Grand-Duchess Maria Teresa. © RB

Royal guests at Luxembourg wedding

The Luxembourg Court on Thursday released the guest list for the marriage ceremony of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy in the Cathedral of Luxembourg on Saturday October 20th. Only the main royal guests are mentioned.

Simeon II, tsar of the Bulgarians, for instance already told Royalblog last week that Princess Miriam, wife of Crown Prince Kardam, who is in coma in a Madrid hospital after his 2008 car accident, is also invited. The UAE and Qatar will represented by a Minister and the Prime Minister respectively.

The list:

HRH Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco
Their Majesties the King and Queen of Belgians, Albert II & Paola
Their Majesties the King and Queen of Norway, Harald V & Sonja
TSH the Reigning Prince and Princess of Liechtenstein, Hans Adam & Marie
Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, Beatrix
Her Majesty the Queen of Sweden, Silvia
Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark and HRH the Prince Consort, Margrethe II & Henrik
TRH Crown Prince Frédérik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
TRH Crown Princess and Prince Daniel of Sweden, Victoria & Daniel
TRH the Prince and the Princess of Asturias, Felipe & Letizia
TRH the Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander & Máxima
HRH thr Crown Prince of Japan, Naruhito
TRH the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, Haakon & Mette-Marit
TRH the Duke and the Duchess of Brabant, Philip & Mathilde
HRH Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Mr. Ari Behn
HRH Prince Carl Philip of Sweden
TRH Prince Laurent and Princess Claire of Belgium
TRH Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz of Belgium
HRH Prince Rashid and Princess Zeina of Jordan
TRH Crown Princess and Prince Radu of Romania, Margarita & Radu
HRH the Princess of Hanover, Caroline
TRH Prince Hassan and Princess Sarvath of Jordan
TRH Prince Edward of Princess Sophie of Wessex
Their Majesties King Constantin and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
Their Majesties the King and Queen of Bulgaria, Simeon II & Margarita

Members of the Luxembourg royal family (including, surprisingly the bride and groom!):

TRH the Grand-Duke and the Grande-Duchess, Henri & Maria Teresa
HRH the Grand-Duke Jean
HRH the Crown Prince and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy
HRH Prince Félix
TRH Prince Louis and Princess Tessy
HRH Princess Alexandra
HRH Prince Sébastien

Grand Duke’s brothers and sisters:
TIRH Archduke Christian et l’Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria
HSH Prince Nicolas and HRH Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein
HRH Prince Jean de Luxembourg and Countess Diane de Nassau
TRH Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg

And also: Mme Hélène Vestur (former wife of Prince Jean)