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Henri, Grand Duke Of Luxembourg





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.

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



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".

Euthanasia Controversy



On 2 December 2008 it was announced that Grand Duke Henri had stated he would refuse to sign into law the act on euthanasia that had been voted on earlier in the year by the Chamber of Deputies. A second and final vote has yet to take place, at which point signature of the Grand Duke would be necessary to approve and enact the law. Whilst the the long-term implications for the constitutional position of the Grand Duke are unclear, it was announced by Minister of State Jean-Claude Juncker that a Constitutional Amendment would be proposed, whereby the signature of the Monarch would no longer be necessary for a law to take effect. This would remove one of the legislative roles of the Grand Duke, namely approving new legislation. The Luxembourg royal house has tried to block a decision by parliament only once before, when the Grand Duchess Marie-Adelaide refused to sign an education bill in 1912

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, probaby as the father Prince Louis was not married at the time.

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. As well as the public airing of the difficulties between the Grand-Duchess and her mother-in-law, several other events have resulted in adverse publicity, most notably: in 2004 the opening of parliament by the Grand Duke in person, the first time in over 100 years the monarch had done so; in 2005 the Grand Duke announced he intended to vote in favour of the European Constitution in the impending referendum, only to be reminded by senior politicians that he had no such right; the proposed sale of large tracts of the Gruenewald in the summer of 2006 shortly followed by the proposed sale (cancelled shortly afterwards) at Sotheby's of recently deceased Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte's effects.

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 [http://fabpedigree.com/s024/f560650.htm] and may be partially fabricated. If not, then Henri's patriline would be the longest of any currently ruling European ruler.

Henri,_Grand_Duke_of_Luxembourg
Source: Wikipedia