Luxembourg (AP) – A monarchy at the heart of Europe is preparing for generational change. Grand Duke Henry of Luxembourg will abandon his throne on Friday 25 years later as head of the provincial in favor of his eldest son, Guillaume. Henri played a large-scale role in the Grand Duke’s role, along with his Cuban-born wife, Archduke Maria Teresa, as the government piloted the country through issues such as troubles such as the 2008 financial crisis, the biggest shock to the Luxembourgian economy since the 1970s.
Tall, modest, 70-year-old Henri was educated in France in Switzerland and in Sandhurst at the British Military Academy. His 43-year-old son followed a similar path. Before working for companies in Belgium, Germany and Spain, I went to schools in London, Switzerland, France and Sandhurst. He is married to Belgian-born Countess Stephanie de Lanoy. They have two sons, ages 5 and 2.
After his father abdicated in a ceremony at the Grand Doucal Palace, built of yellow stone and decorated with spires and ironworks, Guillaume is crowned, and takes an oath to the Luxembourg constitution, before the Principality, the deputy chairman’s 60 representatives. After taking over from his father, Guillaume tours a small country the size of Rhode Island, ending with Archbishop Jean-Claude Horrellich at the Catholic Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Luxembourg at the Catholic Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Luxembourg at the Mass on Sunday.
In the heart of Europe
One of the smallest European Union countries and one of the richest per capita, Luxembourg is a financial powerhouse that hosts important EU institutions such as the European Court of Justice and the European Investment Bank. The Grand Duchy has many banks of eurozone, reinsurers, hedge funds and money market managers.
Its economy is strong and virtually no unemployment. This small country, which was now abandoned from France, Belgium and Germany in the 17th and 19th centuries, is a parliamentary democracy that established the Grand Duke as head of state similar to King Charles of the UK and King Philip of Belgium. Around 700,000 citizens speak Luxembourgian, Germanic, and a mix of French and German in public life. English and Portuguese are also widely spoken. During the dictatorship of Antonio Salazar in the 1960s, many people fled from Portugal to Luxembourg.
Guillaume will become Luxembourg’s seventh Grand Duke since 1890 when modern monarchy was founded. The complex royal politics, and the loss of important territory for centuries, meant that Luxembourg was not a kingdom. It is the last remaining Grand Duchy of the world.
Guillaume inherits the problems of the 21st century
In his final Christmas speech, Henri solved the challenges of Guillaume and Luxembourg.
“Climate change is perhaps the biggest challenge of the future, but geopolitical tensions, wars and economic upheavals also require the need to reflect,” he said. Luxembourg is a “cultural crossroads” with strong traditions of democracy, freedom and human rights, he said, defending multilateralism as threats pose increasing worldwide.
The Grand Duke “stands on political party politics,” Henri said. He said, “But this does not mean he cannot stand up to the basic interests of the country and its citizens.”
Christophe Brull, a historian and professor at the University of Luxembourg, said that the large Duke position is at the heart of protocols such as ambassador accreditation.
Guillaume needs the government to tackle the elderly population, raise housing costs, and support vast traffic congestion caused by immigrants and day workers commuting from neighboring countries.
“The country wouldn’t run without French, German and Belgian workers,” Brull said. He said tensions are rising between unions, businesses and the government.
Guillaume will symbolically lead an army of 1,000 in Luxembourg, which was a founding member of NATO in the wake of the devastation of World War II. Luxembourg hosts a key logistics hub for the military alliance.
They are a sharp supporter of NATO today as the Alliance violates Russian airspace on the eastern side of Europe and violates unstable relations with the US. Recently, Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden proposed expanding the satellite capabilities of principalities within NATO.
Luxembourg recently joined several other European countries and said it would recognize the Palestinian state.
Amid all this upheaval at home and abroad, Brill said Guillaume stepped into a very traditional role.
“The margin of his right to maneuver or act is zero. Therefore, the only power he has is the power of speech or words.
———
The Associated Press journalist Microphone Coder in The Hague, Netherlands contributed to this report.
