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Luxembourg

What’s in a name? The significance of the new Luxembourg royal baby’s name

Luxembourg has a new royal baby as Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie welcomed their second child, Prince Francois, on 27 March.

The Grand Ducal Court announced that the new royal was named Francois Henri Luis Marie Guillaume.

Where did the baby get his names from?

The Grand Ducal Family has not used Francois as a first name. It is the French version of Francis, which is the Papal name of the current Pope, and the Grand Ducal Family are staunch Catholics. It is, however, a middle name to Prince Robert – a paternal first cousin to Grand Duke Henri. The Grand Duke’s great-nephew, Count Leopold de Limburg-Stirum, also has Francois as a middle name.

His middle name Henri honours his paternal grandfather, the reigning monarch, Grand Duke Henri; Luis is one of his paternal uncles, while Marie and Guillaume are traditional names that every Luxembourg royal baby has in some form. Marie was also the middle name of his maternal grandfather, Count Philippe de Lannoy, and his mother, the Hereditary Grand Duchess, counts it as one of her middle names.

His full title is His Royal Highness Prince Francois of Luxembourg, and he is third in the Luxembourg line of succession.

Prince Francois was born at 10.04 am on 27 March in Luxembourg’s Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital.

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.