⭐ 📢 Nécrologie : Grand-Duc Jean de Luxembourg (1921-2019)

+ SAR le Grand-Duc Jean de Luxembourg

Grand-Duc Jean de Luxembourg (1921-2019) Photographie (c) Cour grand-ducale/Vic Fischbach

La Cour grand-ducale annonce le décès du Grand-Duc Jean de Luxembourg, survenu ce mardi 23 avril à 00h25, des suites d'une maladie. Il était entouré de sa famille. Le Grand-Duc Jean a fêté son 98e anniversaire le 5 janvier dernier. Des obsèques nationales auront lieu le samedi 5 mai à 11h00 à la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg.

Le Grand-Duc Jean de Luxembourg entouré de sa famille à l'occasion de son 98e anniversaire Photo (c) Cour Grand-Ducale/C.Piscitelli

Le samedi 13 avril, la Cour grand-ducale a fait savoir que le Grand-Duc Jean avait été hospitalisé pour une infection pulmonaire. Trois jours plus tard, le mardi 16 avril, la Cour a fait part d’un avis positif : « L’état de santé de Son Altesse Royale le Grand-Duc Jean est favorable. Son Altesse Royale reste en observation à l’hôpital . » Mais à 17h30, le dimanche de Pâques, la Cour a fait part d’un avis plus sombre : « L’état de santé de Son Altesse Royale le Grand-Duc Jean s’est considérablement dégradé. Toute la Famille grand-ducale est réunie au chevet du Grand-Duc Jean. » Ce matin à 6h00, le Grand-Duc Henri a fait part de la nouvelle suivante : « C’est avec une grande tristesse que je vous informe du décès de mon père bien-aimé, Son Altesse Royale le Grand-Duc Jean, qui s’est éteint dans la paix, entouré de l’affection de sa famille. »

Communiqué de la Cour grand-ducale sur l'état de santé du Grand-Duc Jean

Born on 5 January 1921 at Schloß Berg, Prince Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d’Aviano was the eldest child of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg (1896-1985) and Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma (1893-1970), who had married in 1919. Jean’s godfather was Pope Benedict XI. He was followed by five siblings, four sisters and one brother: Princess Elisabeth of Luxembourg (1922-2011), who married Duke Franz Ferdinand of Hohenberg (1927-1977) in 1956; Princess Marie Adelaide of Luxembourg (1924-2007), who wed Count Karl Josef Henckel von Donnersmarck (1928-2008); Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg (b.1925), who married Count Knud Johan Holstein til Ledreborg (1919-2001); Prince Charles of Luxembourg (1927-1977), who married Joan Douglas Dillon (b.1935) in 1967; and Princess Alix of Luxembourg (1929-2019), who married Antoine Prince of Ligne (1925-2005) in 1950.

Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Félix of Luxembourg with their children

Most of Jean’s childhood was spent at Schloß Berg. After receiving his primary and secondary education in Luxembourg, Jean studied at Ampleforth College, Yorkshire, from 1934-1938. Between 1938-1940, the hereditary grand duke was privately tutored at the Grand Ducal Palace.

When troops from Nazi Germany invaded the Grand Duchy on 10 May 1940, Grand Duchess Charlotte, her entire family, and her government left Luxembourg for France: they briefly stayed in Paris and then in the South of France. As the Third Reich’s reach became more menacing, the Luxembourg family and government made their way to the United Kingdom by traveling through Spain and Portugal. Grand Duchess Charlotte and her government made their base in London; the rest of the Grand Ducal family, the children and Prince Félix, were sent to Canada. It was there that Hereditary Grand Duke Jean attended the Université Laval at Quebec, where he studied Law and Political Science.

Exiled: Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Félix in London, 1941

On 29 November 1942, Prince Jean volunteered for service in the British Army. He initially trained with the Irish Guards at Coulsdon Common. Jean completed his officer’s training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; by 1944, Prince Jean was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the Irish Guards. On 10 September 1944, Jean arrived in Luxembourg City, which his father had already reached with the American 5th Armoured Division earlier that morning. On that day, the balcony appearance at the Grand Ducal Palace of the Hereditary Grand Duke and Prince Félix was greeted with immense enthusiasm by their countryman. On 14 April 1945, Grand Duchess Charlotte returned to her country. Prince Jean was released from the Irish Guards on 26 June 1947. His service was recognised by receipt of the 1939-1945 War Medal, the 1939-1945 Star, and the French Croix de guerre.

Prince Jean in his uniform as a 1st Lieutenant in the Irish Guards

At the Cathedral of Luxembourg, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean married Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (b.11 October 1927) on 9 April 1953. Joséphine-Charlotte was the only daughter of King Léopold III of the Belgians (1901-1983) and his first wife Queen Astrid (1905-1935; née Sweden). The couple were second cousins once removed, both being descendants of King Miguel I of Portugal (1802-1866) and his wife Princess Adelheid of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg (1831-1909). The godmother of the Belgian princess was her mother-in-law, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg. Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte’s union was not a love match at the start, but their marital bonds stood the test of time. Both of Joséphine-Charlotte’s brothers, Baudouin (1930-1993) and Albert (b.1934), eventually reigned as King of the Belgians.

Jean of Luxembourg and Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium on the occasion of their wedding

On 28 April 1961, Grand Duchess Charlotte appointed her eldest son as her “Lieutenant-Representant.” The Lieutenancy is an institution unique to Luxembourg, wherein the Grand Ducal powers are delegated to the Lieutenant. Hereditary Grand Duke Jean took his oath as Lieutenant-Representant on 4 May 1961. On 12 November 1964, Jean became the Grand Duke of Luxembourg when his mother Charlotte abdicated the throne after a reign of forty-five years. In their new roles as Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte visited the main towns of the districts of the Grand Duchy in 1965.

After a reign of thirty-six years, Grand Duke Jean abdicated on 7 October 2000. He was succeeded by his eldest son and heir Henri as Grand Duke of Luxembourg. After the abdication, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte made their home at Schloß Fischbach.

In their nearly fifty-two years of marriage, Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg became the parents of five children. First came Princess Marie Astrid (b.1954), who wed Archduke Carl Christian of Austria (1954) in 1982. Then arrived the current Grand Duke Henri (b.1955), who married María Teresa Mestre y Batista (b.1956) in 1981. Twins Prince Jean and Princess Margaretha (b.1957) were the next to arrive. Jean firstly married Hélène Vestur (b.1958) in 1987, and after their divorce he remarried Diane de Guerre (b.1962) in 2009. Princess Margaretha wed Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein (b.1947) in 1982. The benjamin of the family, Prince Guillaume, was born in 1963; he married Sibilla Weiller (b.1968) in 1994.

The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess with their children Photograph (c) Granger.com

Atteinte d'un cancer du poumon, la Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte de Luxembourg est décédée le 10 janvier 2005 à Fischbach. La Grande-Duchesse avait 77 ans. Jean est depuis lors le centre de la famille grand-ducale. Le Grand-Duc retrouve la Grande-Duchesse.

Photographie de la Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte de Luxembourg (c) Cour Grand-Ducale

Jean et Joséphine-Charlotte présents au 50e anniversaire du roi Carl XVI Gustaf de Suède en 1996. Photographie (c) Raymond Reuter

Le Grand-Duc Jean aux obsèques de la Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte le 15 janvier 2005

Eurohistory présente ses condoléances à la famille grand-ducale et au peuple luxembourgeois. Le Grand-Duc laisse derrière lui cinq enfants, vingt et un petits-enfants, quinze arrière-petits-enfants et sa sœur Marie Gabrielle. Que Son Altesse Royale repose en paix.