On Monday, Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa began a state visit to Norway. The trip is to last for two days, and it is no different from any other state visit. Meaning, this one is meant to strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations.
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Their Royal Highnesses arrived in Oslo in the morning and were greeted by King Harald V and Queen Sonja at Palace Square. Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit were also present for the welcoming ceremony, which included national anthems and inspection of the honor guard. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa also took time to greet schoolchildren who were watching the event.
Next came the laying of the wreath at Akershus Fortress, which commemorates the fallen during World War II.
Afterward, Grand Duke Henri met with the Prime Minister and Parliament President Dag Terje Andersen.
During that time, Queen Sonja took the Grand Duchess to the newly restored cabin on Sæter Bygdøy at Oscarhall Palace. They were also given a tour of Seter cottage, and children from Dissimilis entertained the royal women.
In the evening came the state banquet. Princess Martha Louise and Princess Astrid were attendance.
The rest of the itinerary has the King and the Grand Duke meeting with business leaders while the Queen and the Grand Duchess will tour museums and art galleries. Also, the Luxembourg royals will go to Trondheim to see Statoil’s Research Centre.
But there is a question if Maria Teresa will continue with the state visit after today. Her brother, 58 year old Antonio Mestre, is in a coma at a Florida hospital after suffering a heart attack. Supposedly, the Grand Duchess will leave Norway early to go be at her brother’s side.
In one week, on February 14th, Luxembourg’s Grand Ducal couple will celebrate their third decade of marriage. Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa released new photos of themselves, taken obviously before the Grand Duke’s recent heart surgery.
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Luxembourgisch media is also reflecting on the wedding day. Wort published an article that quoted the then newlyweds from Télécran.
“This day I will always remember as the day in which a very great joy materialized into a dream,” the then Hereditary Grand Duke Henri said back in 1981.
“I will not conceal that I was a little excited about the enormous appeal, which had found our wedding in the media. At that moment, but in which my fiancee walked into the cathedral, any excitement was gone, and I knew that we would now be forever by two for the tasks that would put life and my function to us to overcome together. This moment is one of my best memories. ”
Maria Teresa also talked about her joyous day:
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“We had just put a multi-year study behind us, which brought natural as for each student at his exam with him that had to exist. The more time we spent together was more clear to us that we would spend our lives together. You can imagine how great my luck on the day of my wedding was. Then there was the warm welcome afforded by the Luxembourg population me and all the uncertainties [of being the next Grand Duchess], I could feel, disappear. ”
Their Royal Highnesses met while studying political science at the University of Geneva. They went on to become the parents of five children: Hereditary Grand Duke Henri, Prince Felix, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra and Prince Sebastien. The couple are also grandparents to Prince Louis’ two sons, Princes Gabriel and Noah of Nassau.
It is unknown if any celebration would take place as Henri is still recovering from an angioplasty at Castle Berg.
On Tuesday, Luxembourg’s royal mother and son team, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, were present to distribute the third European Microfinance Award. Funded by the Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the award was given out at the European Investment Bank. This year’s recipient was the Ethiopian company, Harbu.
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Maria Teresa gave a speech during the ceremony, where she talked about social credit, something she supports.
“We need to give the poor the opportunity to borrow. The only way to help them out of trouble and prove that they are a real asset to the global economy,” the Grand Duchess said.
Harbu cultivates and processes soybeans and employs scores of farmers, many of them women.
The European Microfinance Award has been given out every two years since 2006.
After the award ceremony, both Maria Teresa and Guillaume mingled with the 400 guests.
During the past few days, Luxembourg’s Grand Duchess Maria Teresa has been in Barcelona to chair the International Meeting for Peace. Accompanied by her son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Maria Teresa has been attending seminars and round tables going over how to obtain peace in the world.
The International Meeting for Peace brings together representatives of various religions and is organized by the San Egidio community under the slogan: “Living a time of crisis. Poor family, family of God.” San Egidio works closely with the Vatican.
Monday’s meeting, which began the three-day conference, held at the Palacio de la Música of Barcelona and focused on the Mideast Peace Process.
For Tuesday, Maria Teresa and Guillaume were at the round table “Secular and Religious Believers, Common Challenges” in which included hundreds of religious leaders.
Among the attendees of the conference were also the presidents of Cyprus and Montenegro, the chief rabbi of Israel, the president of Catalonia, Jose Montilla and the mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu.
Tuesday morning saw the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg arrive in Portugal for the start of a three day state visit. The point of this trip is to strengthen ties with the already close nations.
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Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were first greeted at a Lisbon military airport by Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Amado, who took them to Monastery of Jeronimos for their first engagement in Portugal. There, the Grand Duke laid a wreath on the tomb of Luís Vaz de Camões, the most famous poet of Portugal.
After that came the official welcoming ceremony at Belem Palace by President Anibal Cavaco Silva and his wife, Maria. Following the playing of the national anthems and reviewing the honor guard, the Silvas took the grand ducal couple inside for brief talks and a lunch.
During that, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, who was part of the delegation for this visit, had talks with Luis Amado. On the agenda of the discussion appeared mainly to be about current European and international policy, preparation of the informal meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, as well as bilateral relations.
At the same time, Luxembourg’s Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Jeannot Krecke, took the opportunity to meet with his counterpart Jose Vieira da Silva on themes of economic and financial news.
Later on, the Grand Duke and the President held a joint news conference where they told reporters about the close bond Luxembourg and Portugal have.
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“The element of closer association between the two countries is the Portuguese community in Luxembourg, a community of more than 80,000 citizens, representing a high percentage of active population of Luxembourg, which contributes significantly to the economic and social development of the country host,” said Silva.
President Silva mentioned that among the topics he discussed with Henri was bringing the Portuguese language into the Luxembourg education system.
“The two countries have been talking to strengthen this possibility be learned from the Portuguese in Luxembourg and the normal progress has been made in this direction,” he noted.
Silva also highlighted how this state visit will bring about economic discussions and regulations. “Luxembourg is a major investor in Portugal and hopefully in the future entrepreneurs Luxembourg continue to look and look further into the opportunities offered here in our country,” added the President, noting that during the Grand Duke’s visit will lead to a signing of a protocol on the double-taxation and combating tax evasion.
Grand Duke Henri took the time during the conference to talk about his Portuguese heritage and thanked the country for providing for his grandmother and his parents when World War II broke out.
Following the press conference, Grand Duke Henri had the opportunity to meet with the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Jaime Gama, and other members of Portugal’s political scene.
Tuesday evening saw a gala dinner in honor of the grand ducal couple.
Over the next two days, there will be tours of Lisbon and the Portuguese coast, talks with the Prime Minister, visits to child care services that treat young children with AIDS, discussions of technology and microfinance, and a visit to Portugal’s oldest university.
The Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg gathered to celebrate their tiny country’s national day on Wednesday. Even though festivities began the night before, June 23rd is the actual day of the holiday.
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Celebrations took place in the towns of Diekirch, Esch-sur-Alzette and the capital city, also called Luxembourg. The latter saw Grand Duke Henri lay wreath at the war memorial on Tuesday, with the rest of his family present. That was followed by a changing of the guard at the Palace.
Later that same day, Henri and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, went to Diekirch, which is celebrating its 750th anniversary this year. The couple were welcomed by Mayor Jacques Dahme, and went for a stroll through the village’s old district with Dahme. Henri and Maria Teresa stopped at one point to lay flowers at a memorial.
Meanewhile, in Esch-sur-Alzette, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and his sister, Princess Alexandra, were paying a visit. They were welcomed by Lydia Mutsch, the mayor of the town, and they also laid a wreath at a war memorial. The brother and sister then went to the balcony of the Hotel de Ville, where they waved to the people below. After that, Guillaume went to the Escher Volleksfest, where he lit the traditional campfire scouts.
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In the evening, the Grand Ducal family reunited back in Luxembourg City, where they attended more festivities which included an elaborate fireworks display.
The next day, the family attended the Te Deum Mass at Our Lady of Luxembourg. That was followed by a 101 gun salute from Fetschenhaff.
The family then gathered to watch a military parade, along with Prime Minister Claude Juncker.
The one royal family member missing from the celebrations was Prince Felix, who was believed to be busy with his job at a Swiss firm.
At the same time, Prince Sebastien displayed his Ordre du Lion d’Or de la Maison de Nassau in public for the first time. He received the knighthood on his 18th birthday back in April, and got a chance to wear his medal for National Day, even though it was small one.
It was a night of celebration as Sweden and royals from all over the world marked Saturday’s wedding between Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling. Just like her parents had 34 years ago, Victoria and her fiancè were a given a special concert at the Royal Concert Hall in Stockholm. Pop acts and classical artists played through the night as if it were a final hurrah before tomorrow’s big event.
First arriving at the Hall was the House of Bernadotte. When she got out of the car, Crown Princess Victoria wowed the crowd waiting for her. Beaming and radiating of joy, the Crown Princess waved as the people gave her and Daniel a four-fold cheer.
They walked up the red carpet behind her parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Bringing up the rear were her two younger siblings, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine.
After the Swedish royal family came the friends and relatives of the royal couple, and the Swedish government leaders. Then came the royals from all over Europe, plus Japan and Jordan. The royal guest list even included those who are from deposed monarchies, such as Romania and Serbia.
All in all, 1,600 guests.
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Once inside, everyone dined amongst each other before the big concert. Those who haven’t seen each other in a while were able to say hello, such as Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary and Spain’s Crown Princess Letizia.
King Carl XVI Gustaf gave a small speech during the dinner, thanking the Prime Minister for allowing the wedding to take place – after all, the wedding of an heir to the throne needs government approval.
“We can all see how happy and engaged the engaged couple looks,” the King went on to say. “They really… You can feel the joy and youth and optimism in their eyes. We can all feel the warmth and happiness also in this hall and during this day.”
At about a quarter to nine local time, all those in attendance were in the Hall. Everyone stood and sang when the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra played the Swedish national anthem. Even Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, who’s mother was a Swedish Princess, sang along.
Right after that, the orchestra began to play “Party Song” and right in the middle of the stage, lights went on, illuminating two
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figures holding hands. Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling had made their appearance. They received a standing ovation as they made their way to two seats in the front row especially made for them. With that, the concert began.
It was clearly a joyous occasion for everyone in the Hall. Ballet was performed, the opera classic “Nessun Dorma” was sung – even pop and jazz acts played. The host of the event also poked playful fun at the royals in attendance. At one point, the group Jazz Divas of Scandinavia were about the perform and the host gave a nod to the Scandinavian Crown Princesses – Victoria, Mette-Marit and Mary. The women had a good laugh about it.
But the biggest act to perform that night was probably the 80s Swedish pop duo, Roxette, said to be one of Victoria’s favorite bands. As the band played “The Look,” everyone in the hall clapped along and a few – such as Norway’s Princess Martha Louise – moved their heads to the song. Once done, there was a standing ovation for Roxette.
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The concert came to a close when all the singers returned to the stage and together sang Elvis Presley’s classic, “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” As they did with the Roxette song, many of the royals sang along.
Overall, it was an emotional event for everyone. Queen Silvia was seen wiping away some tears and it looked as if King Carl Gustaf was getting teary-eyed. Even Princess Madeleine looked red in the eyes – as did Queen Margrethe and Dutch Queen Beatrix.
With that, the pre-wedding events were over. Tomorrow comes the wedding of the year as Crown Princess Victoria marries her love – and a former gym owner from a small village in central Sweden becomes Prince Daniel.
This past Saturday, the regent couple of Luxembourg inaugurated the exhibition “The Golden Age Reloaded” following renovations at Villa Vaubanon, a museum in the Grand Duchy’s capital city.
Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa were joined by Dutch Queen Beatrix, who was there because this exhibit celebrates the golden age of Dutch art.
The museum has 80 paintings being showcased. “The Golden Age Reloaded” is a collaboration between the Villa Vauban and the internationally renowned Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
The latter sent works by Frans Hals, Paulus Potter, Govaert Flinck, Jan van Goyen and Jacob van Ruisdael to the Villa Vauban for an exhibition which will run until October 31st 2010.
Imagine being in Stockholm Thursday and Friday. One would’ve seen a sight often seen at royal weddings, funerals and coronations! It was the gathering of nine royal women, plus two royal men to-be, coming together for the 20th anniversary of the United Nation’s Child Convention.
Billed Bladet/Martin Hoien
Queen Silvia of Sweden brought together the Queens of Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, as well as the Crown Princesses of Norway and Denmark, and finally the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg to mark this event. All of them have to some degree worked for the rights of children, particularly Silvia, with her World Childhood Foundation.
The royal women first met at the royal palace to discuss children’s rights. The Convention, signed by every country in the world besides Somalia and the United States, is to ensure children’s safety and welfare – both civil, political, economic, cultural and social rights.
After that, they went to the children’s center in Stockholm as part of the Convention’s anniversary.
Later on, the ladies held a conference, which also featured Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Madeleine.
In the evening, there was a gala at Berwaldhallen. This time, Victoria and Madeleine’s fiancees, Daniel Westling and Jonas Bergstrom attended. This was the first time either man officially attended a royal event.
Tuesday began Ireland’s President Mary McAleese’s state visit to Luxembourg. The grand duchy’s family played host to Mrs. McAleese, who is the first Irish leader to make such a visit to the micro-state.
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Grand Duke Henri and his son and heir, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, welcomed the Irish President in the morning. The national anthems of both countries during the official ceremony, and Henri and McAleese reviewed the troops. The two also laid a floral wreath at the Monument of Luxembourg.
Afterward came the President’s meeting with Luxembourg’s politicians, including Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.
In the evening, there was a state banquet in McAleese’s honor.
Tomorrow, Mrs. McAleese will visit a monastery, discuss Ireland’s relationship with the European Union at an abbey, and then have lunch with Juncker. A meeting with Irish nationals living in this tiny country will tale place, and then the President would head back to the Emerald Isle.
This event also marks Grand Duchess Maria Teresa’s first engagement since her surgery last month. She was not expected to make many appearances, and it is uncertain if she was at the state banquet.
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