Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium

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Josephine Charlotte of Belgium

Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (actually Joséphine-Charlotte Stéphanie Ingeborg Elisabeth Marie-José Marguerite Astrid ; born October 11, 1927 in the Royal Palace in Brussels ; † January 10, 2005 at Fischbach Castle in Luxembourg ) was a princess of Belgium from the House of Saxony- Coburg and Gotha , by marriage Grand Duchess of Luxembourg , Duchess of Nassau , as well as the mother of Luxembourg's Grand Duke Henri . She was the sister of the two Belgian monarchs Baudouin and Albert II.

Early years

Joséphine Charlotte with her mother Astrid in the 1930s
Queen Astrid, mother of Joséphine Charlotte (bust in Court-Saint-Étienne )

Princess Joséphine Charlotte was the first child of Belgium's King Leopold III. and Princess Astrid of Sweden . She was baptized around a month after she was born, her godparents were her uncle Prince Charles, Count of Flanders and her future mother-in-law, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg . It was named after Joséphine de Beauharnais , an ancestor of her mother and after Princess Joséphine of Belgium , a sister of her grandfather King Albert I.

Princess Astrid was considered a devoted and caring mother and so Joséphine Charlotte, known as "little Jo" in the family circle, had a carefree childhood. She lived at Stuyvenberg Castle until her father's accession to the throne in 1934 . In the Royal Palace in Brussels was organized specifically for the princess a school class that until the outbreak of World War II attended.

On August 29, 1935, at the age of seven, she lost her mother, who was killed in a car accident in Switzerland. From this point on, Joséphine Charlotte tried to take on the role of mother for her two brothers as the eldest. After the death of her mother, the relationship with her father Leopold intensified, and she became his support. Her maternal grandparents, Prince Carl of Sweden and his wife Ingeborg , took over part of the upbringing of their grandchildren from this point on.

In 1941 Leopold III married. his second wife Mary Lilian Baels , the marriage resulted in Joséphine Charlotte's half-siblings Marie-Christine, Marie-Esmeralda and Alexandre, whose godmother she became. The relationship with her stepmother was considered close.

Youth and education

In 1940 she first attended a boarding school and received private lessons from 1942. On June 7, 1944, the day after the Allied landing in Normandy , Princess Joséphine Charlotte and her father, King Leopold, were deported to Germany and placed under house arrest. After the liberation on May 7, 1945, the royal family moved to Pregny , near Geneva , where the princess continued her studies at the École Supérieure de Jeunes Filles . She took courses in child psychology with Jean Piaget at the University of Geneva .

In 1949 she was allowed to return to Belgium, where she worked to restore her father's reputation and return to the throne. She was particularly dedicated to social problems and the arts, in addition to her official duties as a representative of the royal family. 1951 thanked Leopold III. in favor of Joséphine Charlotte's next younger brother Baudouin . After his death in 1993, he was followed by his younger brother Albert .

marriage

Joséphine Charlotte and Jean with their children Henri, Jean, Margaretha and Marie-Astrid (1963)

In October 1952, Princess Joséphine Charlotte became engaged to Hereditary Grand Duke Jean , the eldest son of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma . The connection was largely created by Grand Duchess Charlotte and Joséphine Charlotte's grandmother Elisabeth , but was considered very happy. The civil wedding took place on April 9, 1953 in the Grand Ducal Palace , the religious in the Cathedral of Luxembourg . After the wedding and an extensive trip through Africa, the couple settled at Betzdorf Castle, where their five children grew up:

Act as Grand Duchess

Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte and Grand Duke Jean on the Enthronement Day (1964)

Grand Duchess Charlotte abdicated on November 12, 1964, so that Jean and Joséphine Charlotte became Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. They settled on Castle Betzdorf after Schlossberg over, the traditional main residence of the Grand Dukes.

As a born Belgian princess, Joséphine Charlotte brought an abundance of elegance, taste and sophistication to her office. In addition to raising her five children, she showed particular interest in culture, childcare, family and health policy and was the patron of several charitable and philanthropic organizations. From 1969 until her death in 2005, she was chairman of the Luxembourg Red Cross and its youth department. She became Honorary President of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Luxembourg and oversaw the five-year restoration of the Grand Ducal Palace from 1991 to 1996. Her interests also included gardening and horticulture. In her free time, the Grand Duchess mainly enjoyed winter and water sports and nature activities such as hunting and fishing.

State visit of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (1967)

On October 7, 2000, Jean abdicated for his eldest son, Henri. He and Joséphine Charlotte moved into Fischbach Castle in the center of Luxembourg. 2003 it was reported that at Joséphine-Charlotte cancer had been diagnosed, the planned celebration of the 50th wedding anniversary of the couple were canceled. She died on January 10, 2005 at the age of 77 from cancer among her family at Fischbach Castle. The funeral took place with great sympathy from the European nobility. Her final resting place is, according to her wishes, in the crypt of the Cathedral of Luxembourg . Grand Duke Jean died in 2019 at the age of 98.

literature

Web links

Commons : Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Scott: Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. In: Unofficial Royalty. January 17, 2015, accessed April 25, 2020 (American English).
  2. ^ A b c d Scott: Wedding of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. In: Unofficial Royalty. June 19, 2017, Retrieved April 25, 2020 (American English).
  3. ^ A b Luxembourg's Royals, part 3: Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte (1964-2000). Accessed April 25, 2020 (English).
  4. ↑ May: The Cross of Laeken: Josephine-Charlotte, Princess of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. In: The Cross of Laeken. June 4, 2009, accessed April 25, 2020 .
  5. ^ A b Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg . January 11, 2005, ISSN  0307-1235 ( telegraph.co.uk [accessed April 25, 2020]).
  6. ↑ a b Cheryl Ciucevich: Princess Palace: Today's Princess Josephine Charlotte of Belgium. In: Princess Palace. January 9, 2015, accessed April 25, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Saad719: Wedding of Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Josephine Charlotte of Belgium. In: The Royal Watcher. April 9, 2017, accessed April 25, 2020 .
  8. ^ Grand Duchess of Luxembourg | Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte | Diademe de la Grande-Duchesse du Luxembourg. Retrieved April 25, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte died in: Spiegel Online from January 10, 2005 ( online , accessed April 16, 2011)
  10. ↑ Message de Son Altesse Royale le Grand-Duc - Cour Grand-Ducale de Luxembourg - Avril 2019. Retrieved on April 25, 2020 .
predecessor Office Successor
Felix of Bourbon-Parma Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
1964-2000 		Maria Teresa Mestre
personal data
SURNAME Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Joséphine-Charlotte Ingeborg Elisabeth Marie-José Marguerite Astrid
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian princess and by marriage Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
DATE OF BIRTH October 11, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Brussels
DATE OF DEATH January 10, 2005
Place of death Fischbach (Luxembourg)