The end of the year is fast approaching, marking the end of the second calendar the world spent flipping anxiously while worrying about health safety restrictions.
Despite the uncertainty, it was a year of mostly happy things for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
On February 14th, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa celebrated their ruby wedding anniversary. To mark the occasion, they released seven photographs of just the couple. In a sweet tribute, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is seen sporting ruby red lipstick, a homage to the colour of the stone used to symbolise a 40 year anniversary.
Only two days later, the couple’s only daughter, Princess Alexandra, celebrated her 30th birthday, and two days after her, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie turned 37. To mark the latter occasion, the Grand Ducal Court released four new portraits, two of which showed the Princess holding her baby son, Prince Charles.
In April, Princess Claire, wife of Prince Felix, turned 37. But the most significant announcement for the month was the engagement of Prince Louis with Miss Scarlett-Lauren Sirgue, a lawyer whom he met while working at her parents’ law firm as a mediator. Sirgue is also an employee of the legal firm.
The following month brought another sparkle of joy in the family as Prince Charles turned one. For the occasion, he received not only endless cuddles and a cake from his parents but also a playground named after him from Luxembourg’s second-largest city, Esch-sur-Alzette. The toddler accompanied his patrons at the official opening of the park, which was inaugurated on Luxembourg’s National Day in June.
It was the beginning of a few busy months for the little royal, as he accompanied his parents and political authorities on visits to several elderly care homes, a tour aimed at checking how the system was coping with the health safety restrictions and how residents were dealing with the isolation from their loved ones.
At every stop, Prince Charles captivated all the people present, receiving cuddles and hugs from residents and bringing big smiles to their faces while under the constant watch of his beaming parents.
In August, the entire family finally managed to reunite after being forced to spend roughly 16 months apart due to health safety restrictions. So immense was the joy that they decided to release several pictures of the event, all of them showing nothing but happiness at being all together.
Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, Prince Charles, Prince Félix, Princess Claire, Princess Amelia, Prince Liam, Prince Louis, Miss Sirgue, Prince Gabriel, Prince Noah, Princess Alexandra and Prince Sébastien all make appearances in the pictures, which were taken in the family’s French residence of Cabasson.
The Grand Ducal and Hereditary Grand Ducal couples have picked up their public agenda after the summer break, with numerous engagements directed especially at highlighting Luxembourg’s excellence in manufacturing and tourism.
All in all, a year filled with joy for the family, who undoubtedly will be looking forward to the Christmas holidays to be together once again.
