Obituary: Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1921-2019)

+ HRH Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1921-2019)
Photograph (c) Grand Ducal Court/Vic Fischbach

The Grand Ducal Court has announced that Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg passed away at 12:25am this morning (Tuesday, 23 April) following a recent illness. He was surrounded by his family. Grand Duke Jean celebrated his ninety-eighth birthday on 5 January of this year. A state funeral will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, 5 May, at Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg.

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg surrounded by family on his 98th birthday
Photograph (c) Grand Ducal Court/C.Piscitelli

 

On Saturday, 13 April, the Grand Ducal Court stated that Grand Duke Jean had been hospitalised with a pulmonary infection. Three days later, on Tuesday, 16 April, the court released a positive update: "The condition of the state of health of His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean is favourable. His Royal Highness remains under observation at hospital." However, at 5:30pm on Easter Sunday, the court released a more somber statement: "The state of health of His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean has significantly deteriorated. The whole of the Grand Ducal Family is gathered at the bedside of Grand Duke Jean." At 6:00am this morning, Grand Duke Henri made the following announcement: "It is with great sadness that I inform you of the death of my beloved father, His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean, who has passed away in peace, surrounded by the affection of his family."

Communiqué from the Grand Ducal Court on Grand Duke Jean's health

Born on 5 January 1921 at Schloß Berg, Prince Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano was the eldest child of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg (1896-1985) and Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma (1893-1970), who had married in 1919. Jean's godfather was Pope Benedict XI. He was followed by five siblings, four sisters and one brother: Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg (1922-2011), who married Duke Franz Ferdinand of Hohenberg (1927-1977) in 1956; Princess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg (1924-2007), who wed Count Karl Josef Henckel von Donnersmarck (1928-2008); Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg (b.1925), who married Count Knud Johan Holstein til Ledreborg (1919-2001); Prince Charles of Luxembourg (1927-1977), who married Joan Douglas Dillon (b.1935) in 1967; and Princess Alix of Luxembourg (1929-2019), who married Antoine Prince of Ligne (1925-2005) in 1950.  

 

Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Félix of Luxembourg with their children

 

Most of Jean's childhood was spent at Schloß Berg. After receiving his primary and secondary education in Luxembourg, Jean studied at Ampleforth College, Yorkshire, from 1934-1938. Between 1938-1940, the hereditary grand duke was privately tutored at the Grand Ducal Palace.

 

When troops from Nazi Germany invaded the Grand Duchy on 10 May 1940, Grand Duchess Charlotte, her entire family, and her government left Luxembourg for France: they briefly stayed in Paris and then in the South of France. As the Third Reich's reach became more menacing, the Luxembourg family and government made their way to the United Kingdom by traveling through Spain and Portugal. Grand Duchess Charlotte and her government made their base in London; the rest of the Grand Ducal family, the children and Prince Félix, were sent to Canada. It was there that Hereditary Grand Duke Jean attended the Université Laval at Quebec, where he studied Law and Political Science. 

 

Exiled: Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Félix in London, 1941

 

On 29 November 1942, Prince Jean volunteered for service in the British Army. He initially trained with the Irish Guards at Coulsdon Common. Jean completed his officer's training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; by 1944, Prince Jean was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the Irish Guards. On 10 September 1944, Jean arrived in Luxembourg City, which his father had already reached with the American 5th Armoured Division earlier that morning. On that day, the balcony appearance at the Grand Ducal Palace of the Hereditary Grand Duke and Prince Félix was greeted with immense enthusiasm by their countryman. On 14 April 1945, Grand Duchess Charlotte returned to her country. Prince Jean was released from the Irish Guards on 26 June 1947. His service was recognised by receipt of the 1939-1945 War Medal, the 1939-1945 Star, and the French Croix de guerre.

 

Prince Jean in his uniform as a 1st Lieutenant in the Irish Guards

At the Cathedral of Luxembourg, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean married Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (b.11 October 1927) on 9 April 1953. Joséphine-Charlotte was the only daughter of King Léopold III of the Belgians (1901-1983) and his first wife Queen Astrid (1905-1935; née Sweden). The couple were second cousins once removed, both being descendants of King Miguel I of Portugal (1802-1866) and his wife Princess Adelheid of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1831-1909). The godmother of the Belgian princess was her mother-in-law, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg. Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte's union was not a love match at the start, but their marital bonds stood the test of time. Both of Joséphine-Charlotte's brothers, Baudouin (1930-1993) and Albert (b.1934), eventually reigned as King of the Belgians.

Jean of Luxembourg and Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium on the occasion of their wedding

 

 

On 28 April 1961, Grand Duchess Charlotte appointed her eldest son as her "Lieutenant-Representant." The Lieutenancy is an institution unique to Luxembourg, wherein the Grand Ducal powers are delegated to the Lieutenant. Hereditary Grand Duke Jean took his oath as Lieutenant-Representant on 4 May 1961. On 12 November 1964, Jean became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg when his mother Charlotte abdicated the throne after a reign of forty-five years. In their new roles as Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte visited the main towns of the districts of the Grand Duchy in 1965. 

 

 

After a reign of thirty-six years, Grand Duke Jean abdicated on 7 October 2000. He was succeeded by his eldest son and heir Henri as Grand Duke of Luxembourg. After the abdication, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte made their home at Schloß Fischbach. 

 

 

In their nearly fifty-two years of marriage, Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg became the parents of five children. First came Princess Marie Astrid (b.1954), who wed Archduke Carl Christian of Austria (1954) in 1982. Then arrived the current Grand Duke Henri (b.1955), who married María Teresa Mestre y Batista (b.1956) in 1981. Twins Prince Jean and Princess Margaretha (b.1957) were the next to arrive. Jean firstly married Hélène Vestur (b.1958) in 1987, and after their divorce he remarried Diane de Guerre (b.1962) in 2009. Princess Margaretha wed Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein (b.1947) in 1982. The benjamin of the family, Prince Guillaume, was born in 1963; he married Sibilla Weiller (b.1968) in 1994.

The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess with their children
Photograph (c) Granger.com

 

Having battled with lung cancer, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg passed away on 10 January 2005 at Fischbach. The grand duchess was seventy-seven years-old. Jean has been the centre of the Grand Ducal Family since then. The Grand Duke is now reunited with the Grand Duchess. 

 

Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg
Photograph (c) Grand Ducal Court

 

Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte attending King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden's 50th Birthday in 1996
Photograph (c) Raymond Reuter

Grand Duke Jean at the funeral of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte on 15 January 2005

Eurohistory sends its condolences to the Grand Ducal Family and the people of Luxembourg. The Grand Duke is survived by his five children, twenty-one grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, and his sister Marie Gabrielle. May His Royal Highness Rest In Peace.

Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte on the day of their son Prince Guillaume's wedding in 1994 to Sibilla Weiller

 

New Images of Prince Louis of Cambridge Before He Turns One

Ahead of his first birthday tomorrow, three images of Prince Louis of Cambridge have been released by the Royal Family. The pictures were taken by his mother the Duchess of Cambridge at the family home in Norfolk. Prince Louis was born on 23 April 2018 at St Mary's Hospital, London.

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg in Critical Condition

From the official communiqué released by the Grand Duchy... The state of health of Grand Duke Jean has declined since yesterday evening, the cour grand-ducale has announced. Luxembourg‘s former head of state was hospitalised about a week ago following a pulmonary infection. During the course of last week his health had initially improved. The whole Grand Ducal Family is at his bedside. 

Seventh Wedding Anniversary of Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım of Liechtenstein

[Note: The following announcement was made on 19 April 2012 by Arturo E. Beéche upon the eve of the marriage of Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein and Miss Tılsım Tanberk.]

Marriage in House Liechtenstein 

Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein will be married to Ms. Tilsin Tanberk on April 20, 2012.
Rudolf is the son of Prince Philipp Erasmus of Liechtenstein and of his wife Princess Isabelle (née de l'Arbre de Malander). 

Ms Tanberk is the daughter of Mr. Olgun Tanberk and of his wife Melek (née Kampulat). 

The wedding is scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Friday, 20 April 2012.

 

 

The celebration of the union of Prince Rudolf and Tılsım Tanberk lasted from 20-22 April 2012. On Saturday, 21 April 2012, Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım of Liechtenstein were married in a Roman Catholic ceremony at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Istanbul. The reception for the couple was held at Çırağan Palace, a former residence of the Ottoman Imperial Family and now a five star hotel. Among the 500 guests were Prince Philippe of Belgium, Duke of Brabant (now King Philippe I of the Belgians), Princess Michael of Kent, Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg (presumably with her husband Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg), Princess Camilla, Duchess of Castro (presumably with her husband Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro), Princess Margarita and Prince Radu of Romania, and Prince Michael of Yugoslavia as well as by the groom's first cousin Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. 

 

The marriage of Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım was described by another guest, Patricia della Giovampaola:

The wedding was fabulous. Not a detail was left unattended. A refined and exquisite menu. 

The bride and groom, lovely, young and deeply in love. The ceremony was touching, with a choir and an excellent soprano. The ladies were so elegant, all of them wearing hats (as it should be) and mainly nude shoes. However, I've seen an explosion of colors in their dresses: neon green, orange, fuchsia, pinks. 

It's Spring, so flowers seem proper in hats. 

After the ceremony, we run back to our hotel to change for the great Gala Dinner at the Ciragan Sirayi...

 

Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım of Liechtenstein

 

The couple have become the the parents of three children: Princess Alienor Faye (29 September 2014-13 December 2015), and twins Princess Laetitia and Prince Karl Ludwig (b.21 July 2016).

 

Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım of Liechtenstein

 

Prince Rudolf (b.7 Sep 1975) attended the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and works in global finance. Princess Tılsım (b.20 Jul 1974) was educated at both Columbia University and Brown University. 

 

 

 

Sources: 

Marriage in House Liechtenstein

The Ceremony

Beisetzung von Prinzessin Alienor Faye

Twins for Prince Rudolf and Princess Tılsım

Lady Pamela Hicks At 90: Her Life in Video

Lady Pamela Hicks (née Mountbatten)

On 19 April 1929, Lady Pamela Carmen Louise Mountbatten was at Barcelona as the second daughter and last child of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900-1979), and his wife Lady Mountbatten (1900-1960; née Hon. Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley). Lady Pamela joined an elder sister Patricia, eventual 2nd Countess of Burma (1924-2017). Pamela's godfathers were King Alfonso XIII of Spain, in whose country she was born, and Prince George, Duke of Kent; one of her godmothers was her aunt, Queen Louise of Sweden (1889-1965; née Mountbatten).

In 1947, Lady Pamela served as a bridesmaid to her third cousin HRH The Princess Elizabeth (now HM The Queen), eldest daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, at the princess' wedding to HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Pamela's first cousin. 

Lady Pamela Mountbatten married David Nightingale Hicks (1929-1998) on 13 January 1960 at Romsey Abbey. Pamela's bridesmaids were Princess Anne, Princess Clarissa of Hesse, Victoria Marten, Lady Amanda Knatchbull and the Hon. Joanna Knatchbull. David Hicks forged a terribly successfully career as an interior designer. 

Lady Pamela Hicks and her husband had three children, two daughters and a son: Edwina (b.1961), Ashley (b.1963), and India (b.1967). Edwina Hicks is an artist; Ashley Hicks followed in his father's footsteps as an interior designer; and India Hicks owns her fashion and accessories company. 

India Hicks, a bridesmaid at the 1981 wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer, occasionally shares candid and entertaining clips of her mother on India's Instagram account. Lady Pamela Hicks remains as sharp and witty as ever. 

View this post on Instagram

Quite a puzzle. See more on my Insta Story.

A post shared by India Hicks (@indiahicksstyle) on Nov 27, 2018 at 6:52am PST

Lady Pamela has published two volumes of memoirs: India Remembered: A Personal Account of the Mountbattens During the Transfer of Power (2007) and Daughter of Empire: Life as a Mountbatten (2012). She resides at The Grove near Brightwell Baldwin, Oxfordshire, England. 

Eurohistory wishes Lady Pamela a very Happy Birthday!

In Profile: Prince and Landgrave Alexis of Hesse

Prince Alexis of Hesse with his dog Paul Photograph (c) Werra Rundschau

At the link, feel free to view a delightful piece by DW News on Prince Alexis and Landgrave of Hesse (of the Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld line) and his family's home of Schloss Augustenau. Prince Alexis, who studied art history, has managed Schloss Augustenau and its estate for nearly a decade.

Alexis (b.5 March 1977) is the only son of Prince and Landgrave Hermann of Hesse (b.21 August 1935) and Countess Monika Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz (b.11 July 1939), who married on 9 May 1962. The couple's only daughter, Princess Verena (b.12 February 1972), is married since 2000 to Felix von Saucken (b.1970). Alexis is the nephew of Prince and Landgrave Wilhelm of Hesse (b.1933), the Head of the Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld family.

Princess and Landgravine Monika of Hesse (née Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz) Photograph (c) Osthessen News

The paternal grandparents of Prince Alexis are Prince Wilhelm and Landgrave of Hesse (1905-k.i.a. 1942) and Princess Marianne of Prussia (1913-1983). The maternal grandparents of Alexis are Count Manfred Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz (1899-1972) and his wife Toska von Baumbach (1915-1974). 

The 1933 wedding of Prince and Landgrave Wilhelm of Hesse and Princess Marianne of Prussia Photograph (c) Deutsches Historisches Museum

Count Manfred Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz

Visit this link to learn more about the Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld family and Schloss Augustenau: Schloss Augustenau

On This Day In History: The Birth of Prince Eugen of Anhalt, Erstwhile Head of House Anhalt

Duke Eduard of Anhalt (1861-1918)

Princess Luise of Saxe-Altenburg (1873-1953)

On 17 April 1903, Prince Eugen Friedrich Ernst August Heinrich Adolf Aribert of Anhalt, Duke of Saxony, Count zu Askanien, was born at Dessau, the capital of the Duchy of Anhalt. Eugen was the fifth child and third son of Duke Eduard of Anhalt (1861-1918) and Princess Luise of Saxe-Altenburg (1873-1953). Eduard and Luise had married in 1895 at Altenburg; the couple had six children, of whom four survived until adulthood: Princess Friederike (born and died in 1896), Prince Leopold (1897-1898), Princess Marie Auguste (1898-1983; married firstly to Prince Joachim of Prussia, then to Baron Johannes-Michael von Loën), Prince Joachim Ernst (1901-1947; Duke of Anhalt; married firstly to Elisabeth Strickrodt, then to Edda Marwitz), Prince Eugen (1903-1980), lastly, and Prince Wolfang (1912-1936). Duke Eduard and Duchess Luise of Anhalt were divorced in 1918, before Eduard's death. Their eldest surviving son, Joachim Ernst, was the last reigning Duke of Anhalt. He lost his throne in 1918 when his uncle and regent, Prince Aribert, abdicated on his behalf. Aribert was the ex-husband of Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, granddaughter of Queen Victoria; the couple's divorce in 1901 sparked rather a scandal. 

Princess Marie Auguste of Anhalt (1898-1983)

Duke Joachim Ernst of Anhalt (1901-1947)

Prince Eugen of Anhalt (1903-1980)

Prince Wolfgang of Anhalt (1912-1936)

In January 1928, Prince Eugen and his sister Princess Marie Auguste, Baroness von Loën, took their older brother Duke Joachim Ernst to court at Dessau. The siblings requested that Joachim Ernst, who was described as "an art connoisseur and a theatrical producer," should be placed under a trusteeship by the court. Joachim Ernst contested that his sister Marie Auguste was unjustly seeking damages against him, after he had agreed (but failed) to give her a monthly allowance of $500. The duke further stated that his brother Eugen was only seeking additional monetary gain, as Joachim Ernst alleged that Eugen had already received certain sums of money from the Anhalt estate. 

Duke Joachim Ernst of Anhalt and first wife Elisabeth Strickrodt 

At this time, Joachim Ernst was married to his first wife, Odile Elisabeth Strickrodt (1903-1971), a former actress. Elisabeth was granted the title Countess of Ascania upon her marriage. Joachim Ernst and Elisabeth divorced in 1929; later that same year, Joachim Ernst remarried to Editha "Edda" Charlotte Wilhelmine Marwitz (adopted daughter of Bertha von Stephani, whose surname Edda used afterwards). Five children were born during the course of the union of Joachim Ernst and Edda: Princess Marie Antoinette "Alexandra" (1930-1993), Princess Anna Luise (1933-2003), Prince Friedrich (1938-1963), Princess Edda (b.1940), and Prince Eduard (b.1941). Duke Joachim Ernst died on 18 February 1947 at Buchenwald as a Russian prisoner of war.

Duke Joachim Ernst of Anhalt

Duchess Edda of Anhalt

The Ducal Children: Alexandra, Anna Luise, Friedrich, Edda, and Eduard of Anhalt

Prince Eugen married Anastasia Marie Therese Karoline Jungmeier (25 July 1901-19 February 1970) on 2 October 1935 at Munich. Anastasia was the daughter of industrialist Max Jungmeier and his wife Anastasia Steiner. Eugen and Anastasia of Anhalt had one child: Princess Anastasia Luise Alexandra Elisabeth Jutta Sybille Marie-Auguste Henriette, who was born at Regensburg on 22 December 1940. 

Prince Eugen of Anhalt and Anastasia Jungmeier on their wedding day

After it became known that his brother Joachim Ernst had died, Prince Eugen staked his claim as Head of the Ducal House of Anhalt. This occurred despite the fact that two sons were born during the marriage of Joachim Ernst and Edda Marwitz-von Stephani. However, some genealogists have raised doubts about the paternity of Friedrich, Edda, and Eduard of Anhalt, Eugen's nephews and youngest niece. Princess Alexandra, Eugen's niece and Eduard's sister, went on the record in 1990 and claimed that her "half-brother" was actually the son of Heinrich Himmler; Eduard dismissed his sister's words as being part of a smear campaign. The reasoning behind genealogists' doubts about the paternity of Eduard (and his late brother) hold their grounding in the fact that Joachim Ernst, their legal father, was in a concentration camp beginning in 1938 and until his death in 1947: thus, he would not have been in a position to sire children with his wife during that time. Prince Eugen maintained his claim to the Headship of House Anhalt until his death.

Prince Eugen of Anhalt

Prince Eugen and Princess Anastasia of Anhalt were both able to witness the marriage of their daughter in 1962. Anastasia Luise civilly married Prince Maria Emanuel of Saxony (1926-2012) on 22 June 1962 at La Tour de Peilz, Switzerland. The couple's religious wedding took place the following day. Maria Emanuel worked as a banker in Switzerland. He was also a painter of talent, and several exhibitions were held that displayed his work. In this vein, he shared a bond with his mother-in-law, Anastasia, who was also a noted painter. The princess signed most of her works as "Anastasia Young [Jung]."

Princess Anastasia Luise of Anhalt and Prince Maria Emanuel of Saxony after their civil wedding

Anastasia Luise and Maria Emanuel after their religious marriage

Upon the death of Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony in 1968, his son Maria Emanuel succeeded as the Head of the Royal House of Saxony and assumed took the title Margrave of Meißen. Anastasia Luise and Maria Emanuel were married for fifty years when the Margrave of Meißen died on 23 July 2012. The couple did not have children. Maria Emanuel was succeeded as Head of House Saxony by his nephew and adopted son Prince Alexander, Margrave of Meißen, who is married to Princess Gisela of Bavaria. Princess Anastasia Luise, Dowager Margravine of Meißen, is quite close to her nephew and adopted son Alexander, as well as his family, who all embody the future of the Royal House of Saxony.

Prince Maria Emanuel and Princess Anastasia Luise, Margrave and Margravine of Meißen

Maria Emanuel and Anastasia Luise of Saxony with King Simeon and Queen Margarita of Bulgaria Photograph (c) Presse-Foto-Seeger

Meanwhile, Princess Anastasia of Anhalt died at Vevey on 20 February 1970, aged sixty-eight. The princess was an artist of some note, and her passing was mentioned in several international papers. Prince Eugen survived his wife by ten years: he died at La Tour de Peilz on 2 September 1980. Eugen of Anhalt was seventy-seven. 

Obituary of Princess Anastasia of Anhalt

Princess Anastasia Luise of Saxony, Dowager Margravine of Meißen, lives today at the Villa Ascania in Switzerland.

Princess Anastasia Luise of Saxony with Prince Alexander and Princess Gisela of Saxony with their children