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Luxembourg’s cathedral was filled with royals and roses this weekend when the former Grand-Duchess Josephine-Charlotte was laid to rest in the crypt there, five days after she succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 77.
Among the principal mourners were the Grand-Duchess’ husband of 51 years, former Grand Duke Jean; their son Henri, the current monarch; and her brother King Albert of the Belgians. The service was attended by seven queens and dozens of other royals from all over the world, including high-ranking representatives from Jordan, Morocco and Japan, as well as Europe’s princes and princesses.
The Roman Catholic ceremony was conducted amid the fragrance of white roses: the grand duchess’ favourite flower was the rose and her favourite colour, white. In the streets outside, mourners had scattered white rose petals as the funeral cortege followed its course from the palace to the cathedral and a 21-gun salute rang out.
Although very reserved, Brussels-born Josephine-Charlotte was popular in Luxembourg and gained widespread admiration for her charity work – among other commitments, she was president of the country’s Red Cross for 40 years. She and her husband travelled frequently within Luxembourg to meet their subjects, and made many official visits abroad. The grand duchess enjoyed the arts and water-sports, and also counted fishing and gardening among her hobbies.
As a child, Josephine-Charlotte was marked by the tragedy of losing her mother, Princess Astrid, when she was only seven. The beautiful Swedish princess, Astrid, had won the hearts of Belgians when she arrived in 1926, dressed in white, and broke with all the norms of royalty by running straight into the arms of her waiting bridegroom, Leopold.
More hardship for ‘Little Jo’, as she was known, followed when Belgium was invaded by Germany during World War II, and she had to leave her father and flee to France along with her two younger brothers – Baudouin and Albert, both of whom were later to become kings. After the Armistice between Belgium and Germany, King Leopold’s children were restored to him and the family lived under German guard for two years.
Princess Josephine-Charlotte studied child psychology before marrying Prince Jean of Luxembourg in 1953. Jean became grand duke in 1964 and abdicated in favour of their eldest son in 2000. The grand duchess is survived by her husband and five children. |
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