The report in the article lists several concrete examples:
During the floods of 2021 in Vianden, where Minister of the Interior Taina Bofferding and the Grand Duke visited the site and spoke to residents, the report suggests the head of state did not account for the 30-kilometre journey from his Berg castle. Instead, he had chartered a flight from his summer residence in Cabasson, Provence, with a total cost of €8,400.
Expenditures for travel and accommodation abroad totalled over €133,000 in 2021 and reached €540,000 the following year.
A visit to Abu Dhabi for the president’s funeral in 2022 incurred a cost of €117,000, covering a return flight on a charter jet and one night in a hotel. Typically, state expenses exceeding €60,000 would undergo a public tender with at least three offers, but this case was deemed an exception by the court marshal.
In response to inquiries, the court stated that private charges would only be resorted to in exceptional cases.
Another noteworthy journey was the attendance at British monarch Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022. The Grand Duke and his entourage, including two security guards and three court employees, lodged at the luxury hotel Carlton, incurring a total cost exceeding €17,000. This included seven luxury rooms and a suite.
The suite alone cost €4,100 for one night, while the chauffeur service amounted to over €7,000 for two days. Surprisingly, the coronation of Elizabeth’s successor, King Charles III, was only half as expensive.
The online platform also delves into the environmental impact, questioning the carbon footprint of these journeys, primarily conducted by air travel. An example cited is the airline flight to the world climate conference in Dubai, which cost approximately €5,200.
Following the monarchy reform, the Grand Ducal Court is obligated to maintain precise records detailing how taxpayer money is allocated. In 2021, it reported ongoing fees of almost €19 million, decreasing by €3 million in 2022. The majority of these costs were attributed to staff expenses.
As for the Hereditary Grand Ducal couple, Reporter.lu wrote that the publication had not observed any matters of note in terms of finances.
