The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg have had many reasons to celebrate this year: the birth of a new prince, a royal wedding for a beloved daughter, and two grandchildren due in 2024.
In one of our first posts of the year, we looked ahead to the royal weddings of 2023, which included that of Princess Alexandra and Nicolas Bagory, who were married on 29 April.
In February, Princess Marie-Gabrielle died at the age of 97. She was the last surviving child of Grand Duchess Charlotte, and the aunt of Grand Duke Henri.
Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Theresa celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary on 14 February with new photographs.
The scandal surrounding the Grand Duchess’s mistreatment of staff followed her into the new year… In March, Grand Duke Henri spoke of his interest in space exploration with a Belgian astronaut and undertook a state visit to Latvia.
The biggest news for the Luxembourg royals in March though? The birth of Prince François, the second son of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie!
The young royal was born on 27 March and named François Henri Luis Marie Guillaume (we explain his name here). Guillaume spoke of the family’s “great joy” at a press conference at the hospital, and in the final days of the month, we were treated to the first official photos of the newborn prince, including one special snap with his proud older brother, Prince Charles. In June, a new set of photos of the family of four were released.
In April, we waited with bated breath for Princess Alexandra’s wedding. Hers and Nicolas’s civil wedding ceremony took place on 22 April (there were only two rows of guests). On 29 April, they were married in splendour in the South of France.
And the week before Christmas, a special announcement from the Grand Ducal Court: Princess Alexandra and Nicolas are expecting their first child, due in the spring.
Prince Charles turned three in May, and we were treated to new photos; the family gathered for the closing of the Octave; and at the end of the month, Grand Duchess Maria Theresa fell ill and missed the State Visit from Cape Verde.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Grand Duke and Grand Duchess attended the coronation of King Charles III on 6 May, and we covered how Grand Duke Henri is related to King Charles.
Prince François was christened in early June… in mid-July, Prince Felix and Princess Claire announced that they were expecting their third child! The couple are already parents to Princess Amalia and Prince Liam; there was no due date attached to the pregnancy announcement.
In a bid to make their monarchy more accessible to young people, and to educate them on the role they play, the Grand Ducal Court launched a youth-based website in the fall.
And Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie helped kickstart the Grand Ducal Family’s Christmas celebrations to close out the year.
PS. In case you’ve read this far and you’re wondering what the proper title is for Guillaume and Stéphanie, here’s your primer!
