Speaking to journalists during his State visit to Latvia, the Grand Duke said that things did not go the way they were being portrayed by the weekly newspaper Lëtzebuerg Land, but stopped short of giving his own account.
The weekly published a report on staff mistreatment, highlighting disagreements in the management of the House. Particularly Grand Duchess Maria Teresa came under public scrutiny in late 2022.
According to the paper, the situation “got out of hand” during the weekend of 29 and 30 October, when the Grand Duchess wanted to try on clothes before a photo shoot for the wedding of her daughter, Princess Alexandra, in April 2023. Additional staff had to be called in as the maids and wardrobe staff reported being overwhelmed.
On the following Monday, Maria Teresa summoned the Court Marshal and her personal assistants to lecture them about “poor organisation.” The Land reports that the concerned staff members were not defended against these accusations.
“I see the prime minister regularly and we talk about everything. I think there is really no major problem. What was written in the Land is not 100% correct. There have also been a lot of speculations. I would say that the relationship with the government, between the House and the Ministry of State is normal. And that’s excellent.”
The House was set up after the release of the Waringo report, which highlighted earlier staff mismanagement at the Grand Ducal Court. The Prime Minister revealed that the Grand Ducal Court would be subject to ‘far-reaching reforms’, and that the government would implement all of Waringo’s recommendations in the domains of budgets, structure, and personnel management.
Read also: Waringo report - “The monarchy’s functioning must be reformed”
