Tessy of Luxembourg loses title

The question of whether or not Princess Tessy of Luxembourg would lose her title upon her divorce from His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Luxembourg, the third child of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, has been a topic of discussion since the announcement of the couple’s impending divorce last month.

Tessy Antony, who was born on 18 October 1985, first met Prince Louis of Luxembourg whilst stationed in the Luxembourgish Army, which the Prince was visiting in an official capacity. The couple soon began a relationship, unbeknownst to the press and residents of the Grand Duchy. In an unexpected turn of events, it was soon announced that the young couple were expecting a child. Tessy was delivered of a healthy baby boy, Gabriel Michael Louis Ronny de Nassau, on 12 March 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Following the birth of their son, the couple married in the parish church of Gilsdorf in Luxembourg on 29 September 2006. Due to the situation in which the couple found themselves when they married, Prince Louis gave up his rights to the Grand Ducal throne and thus the rights of his son and any other children the couple would go on to have. Tessy was not given a title, nor was her son, with both simply acquiring the surname “de Nassau”. The couple went on to have another child, a son, Noah Etienne Guillaume Gabriel Matthias Xavier de Nassau on 21 September 2007 in Luxembourg.

By decree of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke, Tessy was given the title of Princess of Luxembourg, Princess of Nassau and Princess of Bourbon-Parma with the style of Royal Highness on 23 June 2009, Luxembourg’s National Day. The same decree granted her children the title of Prince de Nassau with the style of Royal Highness. In 2012, Princess Tessy received the Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau.

Upon the announcement of their divorce earlier this year, many questions have been asked in regards to whether or not Tessy will lose her title once the divorce was finalised. Due to the fact that (unlike her sisters-in-law, who received their titles immediately upon their respective marriages) Tessy’s title was given to her in a decree directly from Grand Duke Henri, some people believed that the title was Tessy’s, and therefore that she would get to keep it, regardless of divorce, unlike the titles of her sisters-in-law whose titles fall under the Nassau Family Pact which states that the titles, styles and membership of the Grand Ducal Family held by a spouse (by marriage) is lost upon legal separation or divorce.

However, following research by the blog Luxarazzi, the Cour Grand-Ducale has confirmed that Tessy’s title does, in fact, fall under the Nassau Family Pact, meaning that Tessy’s title is not her “property” and thus upon legal separation or divorce, she will lose it. Due to the fact that the Decree Nisi, issued last week, is both a legal separation and a decree of divorce, Tessy ceased being a Princess of Luxembourg, Princess of Nassau and Princess of Bourbon-Parma on 17 February 2017. She may still being Prince Louis’ wife legally until the Decree Absolute is released; however, following the Decree Nisi, Tessy Antony is no longer a Princess of Luxembourg.