Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg on first public engagement since birth of son

Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie returned to royal engagements on Wednesday, nearly two months after giving birth to her first child, Prince Charles.

Stéphanie was joined by her husband, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, for a visit to the Caritas Fairness Centre in Diekrich to learn how the facility and charity has been working through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Caritas Luxembourg is an association that works to “promote the wellbeing of men and women, particularly those who are excluded, helpless or deprived, regardless of their origin age, nationality, or their philosophical or religious views,” according to its website.

To help fight against poverty in the country, Caritas Luxembourg supports people living in poverty through “emergency services and accommodation, supportive housing, integration through work, psycho-social assistance, social grocery shops” and through other ventures.

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Leurs Altesses Royales le Grand-Duc héritier et la Grande-Duchesse héritière se sont rendus aujourd’hui au « Caritas Fairness Center » à Diekirch pour s’informer sur les difficultés rencontrées par l’association pendant la pandémie de COVID-19. Depuis quelques années, le Luxembourg observe une augmentation du nombre de personnes touchées par la pauvreté. Une situation qui s’est aggravée avec la crise sanitaire. Pour assurer une continuité de leurs services, les épiceries sociales ont mis en place des mesures d’hygiène pour protéger le personnel ainsi que les bénéficiaires. En parallèle, leurs fonctionnements ont été adaptés pour mieux répondre à une demande en forte croissance tout en ouvrant leur accès au plus grand nombre, un effort et un travail remarquable du personnel salué par le Couple héritier. Après avoir échangé avec le personnel, le Prince et la Princesse ont pu se rendre compte des problèmes auxquels les personnes en difficulté font face au quotidien. Le Luxembourg compte au total douze épiceries sociales de la Caritas et de la Croix-Rouge réparties sur le territoire, dont huit gérées par la Croix-Rouge et quatre par Caritas. La collaboration entre les deux associations pour ces boutiques solidaires dure depuis plus de dix ans au Luxembourg. © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue #PrinceGuillaume #MonarchieLU #luxembourg

A post shared by Cour grand-ducale Luxembourg (@courgrandducale) on Jul 1, 2020 at 10:58am PDT

The Grand Ducal Court posted about the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple’s visit on Instagram and wrote: “Luxembourg has a total of twelve Caritas and Red Cross social grocers spread over the territory, eight of which are managed by the Red Cross and four by Caritas. The collaboration between the two associations for these solidarity shops has lasted for more than ten years in Luxembourg.”

During their visit, Guillaume and Stéphanie discussed with the staff on how they have been helping people during the pandemic and how they help people in poverty.

The Grand Ducal Court wrote: “Social grocery stores have put in place hygiene measures to protect staff and the recipient. At the same time, their operations have been adapted to better meet a growing demand while opening their access to the greatest number, effort and outstanding work of the staff welcomed by the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple.”

Caritas Luxembourg wrote on its Facebook page, “A big thank you to Their Royal Highnesses the [Hereditary] Grand Duke and the [Hereditary] Grand Duchess for their interest in Caritas Luxembourg’s work in favour of people living in poverty.”

Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie gave birth to her first child, a son named Prince Charles, on 10 May. He is second in line to the throne of Luxembourg after his father, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume.