RTL Today - Grand Ducal Court: A critical glance at Grand Duke Henri's 20 year reign

The much-awaited Waringo report is due to be released to members of the government on Friday. As publication looms, we look back at the Grand Duke's reign thus far.

Grand Duke Henri succeeded his father, Grand Duke Jean, as the head of the country 20 years ago. His accession to the throne heralded a new reign with a more modern style - a more accessible Grand Ducal couple, closer to the public than ever before.

Themes

Politics

Grand Duke Henri's refusal to sign the euthanasia law in 2006, said to be due to personal beliefs, led to a restriction to Grand Ducal powers. A 150 year old constitutional article was adapted as a result, which meant the Grand Duke no longer holds the right to sanction new laws, merely to promulgate them.

The Grand Duke's political interest became apparent as early as the 2001-2002 opening of the parliamentary session. As a general rule, the Grand Duke passes the duty of opening the Chamber to the Prime Minister. However, on this occasion, the head of state and his wife took on the task. This was considered an unusual step, as the head of state typically stayed away from the political sphere.

Personal

Another unusual step was the Grand Duchess Maria Teresa's decision to invite 15 editors-in-chief to the Colmar-Berg residence in the summer of 2002. She discussed the harassment she had endured from her mother-in-law, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, telling the press she was often referred to as the "little Cuban" in a dig at her non-aristocratic roots.

Financial

In 2006, the rumoured sale of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte's jewellery at Sotheby's caused much controversy, which resulted in the items being withdrawn from sale. Eight years later, an item of the Grand Duke's mother's furniture was sold at auction for around £153,000.

A similar situation arose a year later with the remainder of the Grünewald forest, which is privately owned by the royal family. Plans to sell it were later scrapped.

Staffing

In recent years, a number of staff departures have been announced at the Grand-Ducal Court, which prompted the Prime Minister to instruct Jeannot Waringo to produce a report on the functioning of the Court. Roles such as Marshal of the Court, First Counsellor, Secretary General, Head of the Communication Service and so on had been replaced at regular intervals. The reasons have never been made public, but rumours of disputes have been circulating for many years.

A former staff member Court had said she intended to express herself publicly in the form of a book. After working for 14 years as a maid, the term insubordination was used in her letter of dismissal. The woman claimed she was subjected to humiliation and harassment before going to the employment tribunal.
Diplomacy

The Grand Duchess Maria Teresa has been accused of committing certain faux pas when missing official events, such as June 2016, where she did not come to greet Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. In 2017, she did not travel to Japan due to her fear of flying. She also missed the funeral of the father of her daughter-in-law, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, as she travelled to Paris to present a prize to Stéphane Bern.

Chronology

2001-2002: Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa opened the new session of Parliament. Although the head of state is authorised to carry out the task, it is traditionally delegated to the Prime Minister.

2002: Grand Duchess Maria Teresa told the press of the abuse she has received from her mother-in-law. She allegedly cried as she recounted the instances of bullying during an hour and a half of discussions. The Grand Duke asked the press to support his wife.

2005: The Grand Duke's name surfaced in the SREL affair, after allegations were made that he and former Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker had been recorded discussing the "Bommeleeër" case.

2006: Grand Duke Henri sought to auction off jewels belonging to his mother, Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte, at Sotheby's. One of the articles in question was a diamond-set diadem the Grand Duchess received for her wedding. The sale was eventually called off. The items were said to have a value between €80,000 and €240,000. The Grand Duchess passed away the year before, on 10 January 2005.

2007: The Grand Ducal couple were accused of trying to sell the remainder of the Grünewald forest, after a parliamentary question arose from MP Camilla Gira. Eventually, the sale was withdrawn.

2008: The Grand Duke's powers in government were reduced after an amendment to the constitution meant the head of state no longer had the ability to sanction new laws. This occurred after Henri refused to sign a euthanasia law, which clashed with his Catholic beliefs.

January 2014: Furniture which belonged to Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte was sold for nearly £153,000 at Sotheby's. Some items of jewellery were also sold for around £20,000.

July 2014: A former maid at the Palace was made redundant after being in the role for 14 years. She had recently returned to work after being signed off sick for two months. Her redundancy letter accused her of insubordination. The woman took the case to the employment tribunal, where she claimed she had been subjected to humiliation, and threatened to reveal her experiences in a book, which has not yet transpired.

September 2015: Marshal of the Court Pierre Bley left the role he had held since 2013, sparking a flurry of personnel changes. Other key positions in the Court also changed regularly, said to be caused by differences in opinion.

October 2015: The Court decided to reorganise itself in an attempt to modernise. A Grand Ducal cabinet was created, led by Michel Heintz, with the purpose of informing the Grand Duke of current political events, as well as acting as spokesperson for the Court. The Grand Duchess also received more staff, led by Guy Schmit.

March 2016: Another former staff member accused the Court of bullying. In an interview with French news agency AFP, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa explained they would not be addressing the matter in court as she felt it was a misuse of taxpayer funds, and therefore unethical. When asked about her role, which is not covered by the constitution, Maria Teresa declared the monarchy was a partnership, pointing at similar cases in Spain, Belgium and Holland, where the monarch's consort contributes to the "radiance of the monarchy".

June 2016: A diplomatic incident arose when the Grand Duchess did not meet with Romanian head of state Klaus Ioannis. She was said to be angry that a staff member who worked closed with the Grand Duchess had been forced to leave the Court. The woman in question was Chantal Selva, author of the book „la programmation neuro-linguistique appliquée à la négociation". The issue was that Selva had failed to reveal she had a criminal record in France, which came to light when she was meant to receive a medal. In her anger, the Grand Duchess took a last minute trip to Switzerland, forcing the Romanian president and his wife to change their agenda.

November 2017: The Grand Duchess not only cancelled the trip to Romania, but also missed an official visit to Japan. The official reason was her fear of flying. She was replaced by her daughter, Princess Alexandra.

2018: Grand Duke Henri and his son, Prince Sébastian went on a kitesurfing trip off the coast of Dakhla, a disputed territory.

2019: The Grand Duchess missed the funeral of the father of her daughter-in-law, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, as she travelled to Paris to present a prize to aristocracy expert Stéphane Bern.

June 2019: The Feierkrop reported a meeting between the Grand Duke and the representatives from the government (Félix Braz, Etienne Schneider a Xavier Bettel) concerning the inner politics at the Court. The government requested more involvement with staff recruitment to reduce damage and prevent crisis.

July 2019: Astrid Lulling allegedly had an argument with the Grand Duchess at a meeting of the National Council of Women. Lulling said she took offence to comments made by the Grand Duchess. As a result, Lulling's federation was withdrawn from the national council.

August 2019: Jeannot Waringo began his government-approved report on the inner workings and funding of the Court.

October 2019: The Grand Duchess was unable to attend official events during the Belgian royal couple's state visit as she was undergoing an operation on her knee. Princess Alexandra took her place.

17 January 2020: Journalist Pol Schock published an article in LëtzebuergerLand, claiming to have explosive insights into the staff at the Palace. The edition of the paper sold out in a matter of hours.

24 January 2020: Xavier Bettel received Jeannot Waringo's completed report.

27 January 2020: The Grand Duke released a personal statement to the public, defending his wife from the allegations and sharply criticising the media circus.

29 January 2020: The media reported the Waringo dossier would be handed over to the government council on Friday 31 January, prior to being made public on the government website on Friday afternoon.

5 February 2020: The report will be debated by the Chamber commission. Prime Minister Xavier Bettel will join discussions with MPs.