This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2008) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (given names: Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume; born at Betzdorf Castle in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, 16 April 1955) is the head of state of Luxembourg. He is the eldest son of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. His maternal grandparents were King Leopold III of Belgium and Astrid of Sweden.
Contents |
Childhood and education
Grand Duke Henri has four siblings: Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria (b. 1954), Prince Jean of Luxembourg (b. 1957), Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein (b. 1957) and Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (b. 1963).
Henri became Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg on 12 November 1964 and was educated in Luxembourg and in France, where he obtained his baccalaureate in 1974. He then studied political sciences at University of Geneva, graduating in 1980. The Grand Duke also undertook military officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, England.
Marriage and family
While studying in Geneva, Henri met María Teresa Mestre y Batista, who was also a political sciences student. They married in Luxembourg on 4 February/14 February 1981 with previous consent of the Grand Duke dated 7 November 1980.
The couple have five children:
- Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 11 November 1981)
- Prince Félix of Luxembourg (b. 3 June 1984)
- Prince Louis of Luxembourg (b. 3 August 1986)
- Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg (b. 16 February 1991)
- Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg (b. 16 April 1992)
and two grandsons :
- Gabriel (b. 12 March 2006) and Noah de Nassau (b. 21 September 2007), the sons of Prince Louis and his wife Tessy de Nassau.
Constitutional position
| Monarchical styles of Grand Duke Henri I of Luxembourg |
|
 |
|
| Reference style | His Royal Highness |
|---|---|
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Sir |
Prince Henri became heir apparent to the Luxembourg throne on the abdication of his paternal grandmother, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, on 12 November 1964. From 1980 to 1998, he was a member of the Council of State.
On 4 March 1998, Prince Henri was appointed as Lieutenant Representative by his father, Grand Duke Jean, meaning that he assumed most of his father's constitutional powers. On 7 October 2000, immediately following the abdication of his father, Henri acceded as Grand Duke of Luxembourg and took the constitutional oath before the Chamber of Deputies later that day.
Henri's full name, style and title is: His Royal Highness Henri, by the Grace of God, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Count of Sayn, Königstein, Katzenelnbogen and Diez, Burgrave of Hammerstein, Lord of Mahlberg, Wiesbaden, Idstein, Merenberg, Limburg and Eppstein.
However, on ascending the throne, Grand Duke Henri relinquished the styling "by the Grace of God", and in the laws, decrees, and official documents his name and title is: "Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau".
Role and interests
As the head of a constitutional monarchy, Grand Duke Henri's duties are primarily representative. However, he retains the constitutional power to appoint the Prime Minister and Government, to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, to promulgate laws and to accredit ambassadors.
Grand Duke Henri is Commander-in-Chief of the Luxembourg Army, in which he holds the rank of General. He is also an Honorary Major in the British Parachute Regiment.
One of the Grand Duke's main functions is to represent Luxembourg in the field of foreign affairs. In May 2001, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa undertook their first foreign state visit to Spain, at the invitation of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.
Grand Duke Henri is a member of the International Olympic Committee, a member of The Mentor Foundation (established by the World Health Organisation) and a Director of the Charles Darwin Trust for the Galapagos Islands.
The Grand Duke lives with his family at Berg Castle in Luxembourg. He also has a holiday home at Cabasson in the south of France.
Media and publicity
Since the accession of Henri to the Grand Ducal Throne in 2000, the Court's approach to media and publicity has varied markedly. In 2002 Grand Duke Henri expressly identified himself with a press conference called by Grand Duchess María Teresa with a view to discussing with journalists the shortcomings of her personal relations with her mother-in-law, the former Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium.
In contrast, when the Grand Ducal couple's first grandchild was born in 2006, the Court circular pointedly omitted to mention the event.
The Grand Ducal family's approach to media and publicity issues has itself given rise to media comment regarding the quality of communications advice which has been sought and followed.
Ancestors
Patrilineal descent
|
|
|
Henri's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son.
Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that if Duke Henri were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Robert, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house.
Henri is a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma, a sub-branch of the House of Spain, itself originally a branch of the House of France, and thus of the House of Capet and of the Robertians.
Henri's patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. It follows the Dukes of Parma as well as the Kings of Spain, France, and Navarre. The line can be traced back more than 1,400 years and is one of the oldest in Europe.
- Robert or Radon, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia in 613
- Robert, Referendary in 629 and Duke in 631
- Erlebert, Noble of Therouanne
- Robert, Mayor of the Palace of Neustria in 653, Referendary in 658 and Count in Alsace in 673
- Robert I of Worms and Rheingau, d. 764
- Thuringbert of Worms and Rheingau
- Robert II of Worms and Rheingau (Robert of Hesbaye), 770 - 807
- Robert III of Worms and Rheingau, 808 - 834
- Robert IV the Strong, 820 - 866
- Robert I of France, 866 - 923
- Hugh the Great, 895 - 956
- Hugh Capet, 941 - 996
- Robert II of France, 972 - 1031
- Henry I of France, 1008 - 1060
- Philip I of France, 1053 - 1108
- Louis VI of France, 1081 - 1137
- Louis VII of France, 1120 - 1180
- Philip II of France, 1165 - 1223
- Louis VIII of France, 1187 - 1226
- Louis IX of France, 1215 - 1270
- Robert, Count of Clermont, 1256 - 1317
- Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, 1279 - 1342
- James I, Count of La Marche, 1319 - 1362
- John I, Count of La Marche, 1344 - 1393
- Louis, Count of Vendôme, 1376 - 1446
- Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme, 1428 - 1478
- François, Count of Vendôme, 1470 - 1495
- Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, 1489 - 1537
- Antoine of Navarre, 1518 - 1562
- Henry IV of France, 1553 - 1610
- Louis XIII of France, 1601 - 1643
- Louis XIV of France, 1638 - 1715
- Louis, Dauphin of France (1661-1711), 1661 - 1711
- Philip V of Spain, 1683 - 1746
- Philip, Duke of Parma, 1720 - 1765
- Ferdinand, Duke of Parma, 1751 - 1802
- Louis of Etruria, 1773 - 1803
- Charles II, Duke of Parma, 1799 - 1883
- Charles III, Duke of Parma, 1823 - 1854
- Robert I, Duke of Parma, 1848 - 1907
- Felix of Bourbon-Parma, 1893 - 1970
- Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, 1921 -
- Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, 1955 -
The descent before Robert of Worms is taken from [1] and may be partially fabricated. If not, then Henri's patriline would be the longest of any currently ruling European ruler.
See also
External links
- Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg
- Ancestry of Maria Teresa Mestre (b. 1956), Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
- Geocities site on Henri of Luxembourg
- The Mentor Foundation charity website
- The Official Site of the Ducal Family
- Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg at Genealogics
|
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon-Parma
Born: 16 April 1955 |
||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jean I |
Grand Duke of Luxembourg 2000 – present |
Incumbent Designated heir: Guillaume |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Preceded by Jean I |
— TITULAR — Duke of Nassau 2000 – present Reason for succession failure: Duchy annexed by Prussia in 1866 |
Incumbent Designated heir: Guillaume |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 30 October 2008, at 04:10.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.