A change of throne also suddenly seems very close in Luxembourg.
You can hardly have missed it: the birthday boy, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, is visiting Belgium today together with his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. There he made a number of remarkable statements about his impending retirement.
Step down
After the abdication of Queen Margrethe of Denmark, it is clearly a hot topic among the current Euroyals: will you stay on the throne until you fall off, or will you choose to enjoy your retirement?
The Luxembourg Grand Duke appears to be thinking about it too. For example, he revealed today that there are already plenty of discussions taking place behind the scenes about his abdication. Excuse me?
Aged Grand Duke
The now 69-year-old monarch shared in conversation with La Libre: “There are plans [voor een aftreden, red.]. There will come a day when it has to be done, and I plan to retire at some point. That much is clear.”
Henri himself has now been on the throne for about 24 years, and is heading for a silver throne jubilee next year. That may not be too bad compared to long-termers such as the late Queen Elizabeth (72 years old) and former Queen Margrethe (52 years old), but oh well. Of course, the Grand Duke is not getting any younger.
Family matters
Henri also revealed that plans are already in the works. And this is of course done in close consultation with his family, because when one Grand Duke resigns, the next must be ready for this important job. In this case it is Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, who, together with his great love, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, is fully committed to the Luxembourg court.
The Grand Duke also takes the next generation into account. Henri reveals: “To fulfill this task, you need children with a certain degree of independence. You have to be able to give them time before you fully concentrate on a future as head of state.” The hereditary grand ducal couple of course have two very young sons: three-year-old Charles and one-year-old toddler François. We therefore guess that it will take a number of years before Henri finally steps down.
Exact date
When La Libre asks the Grand Duke if he already has a precise date in mind for his resignation, Henri responds playfully: “Yes, but I’m not going to tell you!” Ha!
A few years ago, the Grand Duke said that he was not yet thinking about resigning. In the intervening time, something seems to have changed, given this turnaround. Who knows what happened there in the palace!
Source: Point de Vue, Royal Central, De Telegraaf | Image: NL Image
