Luxembourg crowns new grand duke after abdication

Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Guillaume and Grand Duchess Stephanie hold their children Prince Charles and Prince Francois as they wave from the balcony of the Grand Ducal Palace (Omar Havana/AP)

Grand Duke Guillaume swore an oath to ascend to the throne of Luxembourg on Friday in a traditional ceremony attended by royals and European heads of state.

Flanked by his wife, the new Grand Duchess Stephanie, Grand Duke Guillaume, 43, swore the oath in Luxembourg’s parliament and took the throne.

“I will live the life of my people, from whom I do not want to be separated by any barrier. I will share their joys and sufferings,” he said, quoting a 1919 speech by one of his predecessors, the Grand Duchess Charlotte, in his first address to the nation.

Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Guillaume raises his hand during the swearing-in ceremony in the session hall of the Chamber of Deputies (Omar Havana/AP)

He drew a parallel between the carnage of the First World War and geopolitical tensions today.

“A symbol of the principles of freedom and unity enshrined in our constitution, the monarchy has remained – then as now – a constant point of reference and a steadfast support in times of crisis.

“In this sense, the oath I have just taken on the constitution marks a significant institutional milestone for our country.”

Grand Duke Guillaume takes over from his father Henri, 70, who had served for 25 years in the largely symbolic role.

Crowds gathered outside the yellow stone and ornate turrets of the palace. Some had their faces painted in the Luxembourg flag: red, white and light blue – the same colour of gown worn by the new Grand Duchess, Belgian-born Stephanie.

Grand Duke Guillaume and Grand Duchess Stephanie wave from the balcony of the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg (Omar Havana/AP)

The new grand duke greeted the public from a balcony of the Grand Ducal Palace with the royal family at his side, including his sons, Charles, five, and Francois, two.

Royals from the Netherlands and Belgium attended the ceremonies. Later on Friday, the new grand duke will host an evening gala for guests including French President Emmanuel Macron and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

He is Luxembourg’s seventh grand duke since 1890, when the modern monarchy was established. On Saturday and Sunday he will tour his new realm, a tiny duchy of 700,000 citizens in the heart of Europe.

Over the weekend, Guillaume will make a traditional tour of the nation that will end with a Sunday Mass with Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich at the Catholic Notre-Dame de Luxembourg cathedral.

Cleaved from part of what are now France, Belgium and Germany in the 17th and 19th centuries, the small nation is a parliamentary democracy with the grand duke as head of state, akin to King Charles III in the UK or King Philippe in Belgium.

Its citizens speak a mix of Luxembourgish, a Germanic language, and French and German in public life. It is the world’s last remaining grand duchy.

One of the European Union’s smallest nations and its richest per capita, Luxembourg is a financial powerhouse that hosts important EU institutions such as the European Court of Justice and the European Investment Bank. The grand duchy is home to many of the banks in the eurozone, reinsurance companies and managers of hedge funds and money markets.

Guillaume, like Henri, was educated in France, Switzerland and at the UK’s military academy Sandhurst. Guillaume then worked for Belgian, German and Spanish firms.

Christoph Brull, a historian and professor at the University of Luxembourg, said Guillaume will be stepping into a very traditional role.

“His margin of manoeuvre or right to action is zero. So the only power he has is then the power of speech or words. For the rest, the grand duke will remain a political symbol,” he said.