Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
Stéphanie | |
---|---|
Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg | |
Born | Countess Stéphanie Marie Claudine Christine de Lannoy 18 February 1984 Ronse, East Flanders, Belgium |
Spouse | |
Issue | Prince Charles |
House | Lannoy |
Father | Count Philippe de Lannoy |
Mother | Alix della Faille de Leverghem |
|
*Is a prince/ss of Nassau but not a prince/ss of Luxembourg |
Princess Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (born Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy on 18 February 1984), is the wife of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, heir apparent to the throne of Luxembourg. She became engaged to the Hereditary Grand Duke on 26 April 2012 and married him, in a civil ceremony, on 19 October 2012, followed by a religious service the next day. The couple have a son, Prince Charles.
Early life
Stéphanie de Lannoy was born on 18 February 1984 in Ronse, East Flanders.[1] She is the youngest child and fourth daughter of the eight children of Count Philippe de Lannoy (1922–2019) and Alix della Faille de Leverghem (1941–2012).[1][2][3]
The House of Lannoy has been traced back to the 13th-century nobility of Hainaut, its members distinguishing themselves in military command and affairs of state. Those descended from Charles de Lannoy, 1st Prince of Sulmona, the victor of Pavia, held the title of Imperial count/countess from 1526.[4] One branch of the family emigrated to the United States, changed their name to Delano and were ancestors of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Education and career
Stéphanie attended the Dutch-language Sancta Maria de Ronse school and continued her education in Collège Saint-Odile in France. She then returned to Brussels for studies at L'Institut de la Vierge Fidèle, before taking up Russian language and literature in Moscow for a year.[5] She majored in German philology at the University of Louvain (UCLouvain) in Louvain-la-Neuve and also earned a master's degree at Humboldt University of Berlin.[1] She is fluent in Dutch, French, English and German.[6][7] She is able to speak a fair amount of Luxembourgish and Russian.[8][9]
While in Berlin, Stéphanie worked as an intern at the Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency under the sponsorship of the Belgian Embassy. When she returned to Belgium, she worked for an investment fund company in Brussels.[10] Stéphanie study art history at the Sotheby's Institute during her time with her husband in London from 2018 until 2019.[5]
Marriage and motherhood
Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Stéphanie dated for about two years prior to their engagement. The betrothal was announced on 26 April 2012.[1] Distant cousins, they share multiple descents from the Austrian fieldmarshal Charles Marie Raymond, Duke of Arenberg.[11] Their families are connected in several other ways: Stephanie's father, Count Philippe de Lannoy was a first cousin of Antoine, 13th Prince de Ligne, who married Princess Alix of Luxembourg — Guillaume's grand-aunt — their son Prince Antoine Lamoral married Countess "Minthia" de Lannoy, Stephanie´s second cousin once removed. Count Philippe was also a first cousin of Princess Yolande de Ligne, who married Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria, and their child, Archduke Carl Christian of Austria (Stephanie's second cousin) married Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg, Guillaume's aunt.
Countess Stéphanie and the Hereditary Grand Duke married in a civil ceremony at the Town Hall, on 19 October 2012. Their religious wedding took place on 20 October 2012 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Luxembourg.[12] The bride wore a dress designed by Elie Saab and the Lannoy family tiara. The bridal attendants were the bridegroom's sister Alexandra and nephew Gabriel, and the bride's nieces and nephew: Antonia and Madeleine Hamilton, Caroline and Louise de Lannoy, and Isaure and Lancelot de le Court.[13]
Stéphanie and Guillaume have a son, Prince Charles, born on 10 May 2020. He is second in the line of succession to the throne of Luxembourg.[14][15]
Activities
As hereditary grand duchess, Stéphanie accompanies her husband on foreign visits, as well as many events within Luxembourg itself.[5] Since June 2012, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie has been a member of the board of directors of the Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse.[16] Since January 2016, she is The Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art’s chair of the board.[17][18]
The Hereditary Grand Duchess granted her patronage to the Les Amis des Musées d’art et d’histoire du Luxembourg association[19] and regularly took part in “Midis de l'Art” that was organized by the association.[5] She's also the patron to the Scienteens Lab,[19] a biomedical research laboratory for secondary school students founded by the Luxembourg Center for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB).[5][20] She is also the patron to Blëtz asbl, a Luxembourg association that aims to help those affected by stroke.[19] As a patron of Blëtz asbl, she support activities during World Stroke Day and learn about the conditions and possibilities of treatment through attending conferences, such as attending Conférence ergothérapie face à l’AVC in 2018.[5] Since May 2017, she holds the position of honorary president and administrator of the De Mains de Maîtres association,[19] an organization with mission of supporting artisans.[5] She became a patron of Lët'z Arles association which honors Luxembourg photographers at their annual exhibition.[5][21] The Hereditary Grand Duke couple organized an exhibition in 2016 which aims to revalorize Luxembourg crafts sector.[5] Princess Stéphanie regularly visits local organic agricultural producers and participates in academic sessions on the subject.[5]
Honours
National honours
- Luxembourg:
- Grand Cross of Order of Adolphe of Nassau[22]
Foreign honours
- Belgium:
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
- Netherlands:
- Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau[23]
- Recipient of the King Willem-Alexander Inauguration Medal
- Portugal:
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit[24]
References
- ^ a b c d "Crown Prince Guillaume is engaged". Wort. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ "Mother of Stéphanie de Lannoy passes away". Luxemburger Wort. 27 August 2012.
- ^ "A royal wedding for Luxembourg". Wort. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ Enache, Nicolas. La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg. ICC, Paris, 1996. page 681, note #89. French.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "S.A.R. la Grande-Duchesse héritière" [HRH The Hereditary Grand Duchess]. Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg (in French). Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ "Biography of Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy" (PDF). Press and Communications Service of the Grand Ducal Court. Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ Fairytale wedding in Luxembourg
- ^ "E ganz perséinlechen Abléck an hiren Nationalfeierdag". Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "An expert opinion on the Luxembourgish of Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg". Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ Barger, Brittani (6 July 2016). "Who is Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg?". royalcentral.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ Détails Archived 21 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine on "Noblesse & Royautés"
- ^ Nikkhah, Roya (20 October 2012). "Luxembourg's royal wedding draws regal guest list". telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "The maids of honour, bridesmaids and pageboys" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2014.
- ^ "BREAKING: Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg gives birth to her first child – a son". Royal Central. 10 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
- ^ "Luxembourg royal baby boy born on Sunday". luxtimes.lu.
- ^ "The Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg". Luxarazzi. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Luxembourg's Princess Stéphanie celebrates 33rd birthday". Luxembourg Times. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Luxarazzi
- ^ a b c d "La Grande-Duchesse Héritière" [The Hereditary Grand Duchess]. Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Inauguration officielle du Scienteens Lab" [Official inauguration of the Scienteens Lab]. Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg (in French). 23 November 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ "Vernissage de la double exposition « BAD NEWS » et « ON THE OTHER END » de Lët'z Arles" [Opening of the double exhibition "BAD NEWS" and "ON THE OTHER END" by Lët'z Arles]. Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg (in French). 7 June 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
- ^ Noblesse et Royautés, Inthronisation of Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Photo Archived 16 June 2013 at archive.today
- ^ Vanitatis
- ^ Cour grand-ducale / Claude Piscitelli, 2017 state visit of the president of Portugal to Luxembourg
External links
- Video: Guillaume and Stephanie announce engagement to press
- Stéphanie's family details on www.geneall.net
- Stéphanie's family details on www.planete-genealogie.fr (Michel Janssens).
- Use dmy dates from October 2012
- 1984 births
- Living people
- Lannoy family
- House of Nassau-Weilburg
- Université catholique de Louvain alumni
- Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
- Luxembourgian princesses
- Recipients of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit (Portugal)
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau