The only grand duchy remaining in the world has recently added two new members. From Grand Duke Henri to Prince Sebastian, we are looking at who’s who of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg.
Grand Duke Henri
Photo: Ieva Ābele, Saeima Izmantošanas noteikumi: saeima.lv/lv/autortiesibas
Grand Duke Henri was born on 16 April 1955 to Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte (who was born a Princess of Belgium). His mother was the sister of King Albert II of Belgium, making him first cousins with the reigning King Philippe of Belgium. Henri was educated in Luxembourg and France and undertook military training at Sandhurst in the UK. He married Cuban Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista in 1981. They have five children: Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Prince Felix, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra and Prince Sebastien. Henri became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg upon the abdication of his father, Jean, in October 2000. The Grand Duke is known to be a gentle soul beloved by his country.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa
Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue
Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista was born in Havana, Cuba, to Jose Mestre and Maria Teresa Batista on 22 March 1956. She and her family left Cuba during the Cuban Revolution after the new dictator and communist Fidel Castro confiscated their properties. Maria Teresa then lived in New York City and later Spain and Switzerland. In Geneva, she met her future husband while they were both studying political science at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. They married on Valentine’s Day in 1981 and have five children. Maria Teresa received heavy criticism following an investigation by the government of Luxembourg and the subsequent Waringo Report that revealed a “culture of fear” in the Grand Ducal Court. The Grand Duchess created the initiative Stand Speak Rise Up! to combat sexual violence.
Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume
© Maison du Grand-Duc / Kary Barthelmey / Sophie Margue
Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume is the eldest child of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. He was born on 11 November 1981 during the reign of his grandfather, Grand Duke Jean. Guillaume became the heir to the throne in 2000 when his grandfather abdicated in favour of Guillaume’s father, Henri. He was educated in Luxembourg, Switzerland and England. He attended Sandhurst for military training and is actively involved with the Scouts like his grandfather. The Hereditary Grand Duke married Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy in 2012. They have two sons, Princes Charles and Francois. Guillaume regularly attends royal engagements and travels internationally on behalf of the Crown.
Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie
Photo: ©Cour grand-ducale / Carole Bellaïche
Countess Stephanie de Lannoy was born on 18 February 1984 as the youngest of Count Philippe and Countess Alix’s eight children. Born into a noble family in Belgium, Stephanie studied in Belgium, France, Germany and Russia. She worked in finance before marrying Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume in 2012. They have two sons. Stephanie became a Luxembourg citizen and renounced her Belgian citizenship ahead of her marriage with the Princess saying her Belgian citizenship wasn’t “consistent” with her future role as consort.
Prince Charles
© Maison du Grand-Duc / Céline Maia
Born on 10 May 2020, Prince Charles is the first child of the Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple. Since his birth, he has regularly been taken on royal engagements with his parents. Charles is second in line to the throne.
Prince Francois
© Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue
Prince Francois is the second child of the Hereditary Grand Duke and Hereditary Grand Duchess. He was born on 27 March 2023, and like his older brother, he has been attending royal engagements from a very young age. He is third in the line of succession.
Prince Felix
Born on 3 June 1984, Prince Felix is the second child of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. Educated in Belgium, England, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland, Felix trained for a while at Sandhurst, but a knee injury forced him to quit his training before graduation. Felix married German Claire Lademacher in 2013, and they have three children: Princess Amalia, Prince Liam and Prince Balthasar. He resides in Germany with his family and is fourth in the line of succession.
Princess Claire
Claire Lademacher was born in West Germany on 21 March 1985 to Hartmut and Gabriele Lademacher. She was born into a wealthy family and spent part of her childhood in Atlanta, Georgia. Highly educated, Claire is interested in bioethics and studied for a doctorate in organ donation ethics in Rome. She met Prince Felix while studying in Switzerland and they married in 2013 and have three children. They live in Germany and run her family’s winery in France.
Princess Amalia
Princess Amalia is the first granddaughter of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. Born on 15 June 2014, she was a future Grand Duchess of Luxembourg until the birth of her cousin, Prince Charles. Amalia is fifth in the line of succession to succeed her grandfather.
Prince Liam
Prince Liam is the second child of Prince Felix and Princess Claire. He was born on 28 November 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Prince has appeared at a few royal events with his parents but for the most part, he is out of the media spotlight. He’s sixth in the line of succession.
Prince Balthasar
Prince Balthasar was born on 7 January 2024 at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg. He is the third child of Prince Felix and Princess Claire and is seventh in the line of succession.
Prince Louis
© Maison du Grand-Duc / K.Barthelmey / S.Margue
Prince Louis was born on 3 August 1986 to Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from schools in the UK. Louis married Tessy Antony in 2006. He had to renounce his succession rights for himself and his children ahead of his marriage. He and Tessy have two sons: Prince Gabriel and Prince Noah. They divorced in 2019. Louis now lives in Paris and works in the legal field.
Prince Gabriel
Photo: Natalia Wrona
Prince Gabriel is the first grandchild of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. Gabriel was born untitled on 12 March 2006, but his grandfather granted him the title of Prince of Nassau alongside his mother and younger brother on National Day in 2009. Gabriel plans to take a gap year and travel before deciding his future path. You can read our exclusive interview with the Prince for his 18th birthday here.
Prince Noah
Prince Noah was born to Prince Louis and the former Princess Tessy on 21 September 2007. He primarily remains out of the media spotlight and is currently in high school in the UK.
Princess Alexandra
© Maison du Grand-Duc / K.Barthelmey / S.Margue
Princess Alexandra, the only daughter of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, was born on 16 February 1991. She studied in Luxembourg and undertook her university education in the United States. She attends royal events and has event accompanied her father on a State Visit to Japan. The Princess married French Nicolas Bagory in 2023. They have a daughter, Victoire, who was born in Paris on 14 May 2024. Alexandra was not in the line of succession until a change in the laws in 2011 that allowed for absolute primogeniture for Grand Duke Henri’s descendants. She is now eighth in the line of succession.
Prince Sebastian
The youngest of the Grand Ducal Couple’s children, Prince Sebastien was born on 16 April 1992. He was educated in England, Luxembourg and Switzerland before obtaining his university education in the United States, where he was on the university’s rugby team. He trained at Sandhurst and currently serves as a platoon commander in the Irish Guards, like his grandfather before him. He is also part of the Luxembourg Army. Sebastien is tenth in the line of succession.
Be the first to comment on "Who’s who of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg"