Confirmed guests for Grand Duke Jean's funeral

Copyright : © Cour grand-ducale / Lola Velasco / Tous droits réservé

Confirmed royal guests for the funeral of the late Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg

A lovely thank you

A lovely thank you today from HM Margareta, Custodian of the Crown.

New honor for the Duchess of Cambridge

This is a personal gift to the Duchess of Cambridge.  Today is the 8th anniversary of the former Catherine Middleton's marriage to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.

The Order was established in 1896 by Queen Victoria.

The Princess Royal has been the Grand Master since 2007.  She received the Order in 1974.

The other members of the Royal Family who are Knights or Dames Grand Cross are:

Princess Alexandra, Duke of Kent, Duke of Gloucester, Duchess of Kent, Duchess of Gloucester, Prince Michael of Kent,  the Countess of Wessex, the Duke of York, Earl of Wessex, Duchess of Cornwall, Duke of Edinburgh, who received the Order in 2017.

The Duke of  Sussex is a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.  This is a lower rank in the Order.   Harry received the Order in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2015.

A Knight or a Dame Grand Cross is the highest rank in the Royal Victorian Order.

The service for the Royal Victorian Order will be held on May 3 at St. George's Chapel.  It is expected that the Duchess of Cambridge will be in attendance, wearing her new Order.

Women were not admitted to the Order until King Edward VIII changed the statutes in 1936.

The Duchess of Cambridge is the first granddaughter-in-law of the Sovereign to received the Order.

http://royalchapelsavoy.org/royal-victorian-order/

Is the Duchess of Sussex in labor??? NO

Harper wants you to know that his Mom will let her readers know when the Palace sends out the alert that the Duchess of Sussex is in labor.

Several things you need to know.

The baby will be a boy or a girl.

Just a little over half of the Baby's ancestry will be American.   Mommy Meghan is American.   Harry's maternal great-great grandmother, Frances Work (1857-1947), was an American heiress, the daughter of Franklin Work and Ellen Wood.   In 1880 Frances married  Hon. James Boothby Burke Roche, who succeeded his childless older brother as the 3rd Baron Fermoy.  Their eldest son Maurice, 4th Baron Fermoy, married Ruth Gill.  Their daughter, Frances, was the mother of Lady Diana Spencer.

Baby will be 7th in line to the throne.
Baby will be a fashion trend setter.
Baby will be adorable.
Baby will love and be loved by dogs.  (Cats, too, of course)

Baby will be the fourth grandchild for the Prince of Wales.
Baby will the grandchild of a king and the niece or nephew of a King.

If a boy,  Baby will inherit his father's peerages.

Harper would like a girl to be named Sienna in honor of his really pretty big sister and of course,  a boy should be named Harper.


Any day now, any day now!

Sienna

HRH the Dowager Duchess of Croy (1927-2019)

HRH Gabrielle Adelgunde Maria Theresia Antonia, Princess of Bavaria, Dowager Duchess of Croy,  died on Good Friday, April 19, 2019.  She was 91 years old.     Gabrielle was a first cousin of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, who died on April 23.

Princess Gabrielle was born at Berchtesgaden on May 10, 1927, the fifth child of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and his second wife, Princess Antonia of Luxembourg.    She married HSH Carl  Emanuel Ludwig Petrus Eleonore Alexander Rudolf Engelbert Benno, 14th Duke of Croy.   Duke Carl's mother was Nancy Leishman, the daughter of John Leishman, the American ambassador to Germany.

The religious wedding took place at Nymphenburg on June 16, 1953.  The couple lived at Schloss Merfeld in Dülmen.    Duke Carl died on June 14, 2011.

Gabrielle and her father, Crown Prince Rupprecht 1951

Beatrice (wife of Stephan)  Charlie (Carl), Gabrielle , Stephan and Marie Therese.  

Gabrielle and Carl with her brother Heinrich and his wife.

Heinrich, Editha Irmingard, Gabrielle & Sophie with their father

A look at the life of Grand Duke Jean

In the run-up to the funeral of the late Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, who died earlier today, I will be featuring postcards and photos from my collection.

This post focuses on the young Jean's life, as the Hereditary Grand Duke.

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1921-2019)

Cour grand-ducale / Jochen Herling

"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."

Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano of Luxembourg, eldest son of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma was born on January 5, 1921, at Colmar-Berg.  On April 9.1953, he married Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium.

They had five children:  Princess Marie Astrid (1954), Grand Duke Henri (1955), Prince Jean and Princess Margaretha (1957) and Prince Guillaume (1963).

Jean succeeded his mother, following her abdication on November 12, 1964, as Grad Duke Jean.  He abdicated in favor of his eldest son, Grand Duke Henri on October 7,2000.  Grand Duchess Josephine died in 2005.

Grand Duke Jean was 98 years old.  He is survived by five children, twenty-two grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren.

The late Grand Duke, as Hereditary Grand Duke, served in the Irish Guards during the second world war and took part in the liberation of German-occupied Luxembourg.

He received the Order of Garter in 1972.  His banner will be removed later today from St. George's Chapel.

The funeral will take place at Luxembourg's Cathedral on May 4.


https://www.wort.lu/de

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BREAKING NEWS Grand Duke Jean in Critical condition

Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg's condition has deteriorated, according to the latest bulletin from the Grand Ducal Court.
"The state of health of His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean has significantly deteriorated since last night.

The whole Grand Ducal family is gathered at the bedside of Grand Duke Jean."

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 Grand Duke Jean, 98, has been in the hospital with a pulmonary infection.  He is the father of the present Grand Duke Henri and reigned from 1964, when his mother Grand Duchess Charlotte abdicated, until 2000, when he abdicated in favor of his eldest son.

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Queen celebrates her birthday on Easter

Princess Royal and Sir Tim Laurence 

Duke of Sussex with Peter and Autumn Phillips

Zara & Mike Tindall and Duke of York and Princess Beatrice of York

The Countess of Wessex and Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor

The Duke of Sussex

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Thank you to my friend Katrina Warne for allowing me to publish the photos she took earlier today at Windsor. She is the copyright holder.