This Sunday, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg concluded their celebration of the throne’s recent succession with a mass in the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Luxembourg. Grand Duke Guillaume V and Grand Duchess Stéphanie were the protagonists of this last official ceremony, starring alongside Henri and Maria Theresa, the grand duke and duchess until last Friday.
After Henri’s abdication in favor of his son Guillaume, the small European country carried out three days of observance. First, the new grand duke and his wife opened the royal palace to host their first gala banquet (with a display of tiaras included). On Saturday, Guillaume made a short tour of four cities located in the four cardinal areas of the country, joined for one by his wife and his two sons, Charles, 5, and Francis, 2. It was the first public act of the new parliamentary monarchs and and their sons. In fact, Charles is now the youngest heir to a throne in the entire world, dethroning Crown Prince Jigme of Bhutan, who held that title until yesterday. In the evening, the grand duke and duchess were joined by their extended family at a concert in Charles’s honor.
On Sunday, three days of celebrations drew to a close with a special mass including the Te Deum hymn sung in praise of the new grand duke. The gestures of mutual understanding, support and affection between the grand dukes—the old and the new—followed one after another on a rainy Sunday morning where the red carpet of the succession was rolled out.
Original story in Vanity Fair Spain.
