Luxembourg's royal couple tie knot
Under a canopy of soldiers' drawn swords as church bells tolled, Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg and Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy emerged smiling on Saturday from the tiny duchy's Notre Dame Cathedral after wrapping up a two-day wedding gala with a religious ceremony.
With a celebratory fireworks show still to come, onlookers and well-wishers lined the super-scrubbed streets near the cathedral and roared with joy as the newlyweds looked down from a red velvet-covered palace balcony, and haltingly - but deeply - kissed for the crowd.
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Luxembourg's Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume (R) and his wife Princess Stephanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, leave the Notre-Dame Cathedral after their religious wedding service in Luxembourg October 20, 2012. [Photo/Agencies] |
The church wedding of Prince Guillaume - the 30-year-old heir to the throne and Luxembourg's grand duke-to-be - and the Belgian countess drew top-drawer guest list. It came a day after a civil ceremony at Luxembourg City Hall.
The bearded groom and his 28-year-old blonde bride were trailed by a procession of well-known royals, including Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, Prince Naruhito of Japan, and Britain's Prince Edward - Queen Elizabeth's youngest child - and his wife, Sophie.
For the wedding banquet attended by 800 people, Bocuse d'Or-winning chef Lea Linster - herself from Luxembourg - whipped up a buffet medley including Riesling-marinated pork and veal pate, lobster in gelee consomme, and sea bass in salted crust and thyme stuffing; dessert included Madeleine cakes, choux a la creme pastries and creme brulee.
Stephanie plans to renounce her Belgian citizenship in order to - one day - become Luxembourg's grand duchess. The tiny country wedged between France, Belgium and Germany is an important financial center and continues to prosper despite Europe's economic trouble.
Stephanie wore a lace Elie Saab dress with a 5-meter-long wedding train during the ceremony, which was conducted in a mixture of French, German and Luxembourgish. It began with a minute's silence to honor her late mother, Countess Alix de Lannoy.
The nuptials gave tiny Luxembourg - a founding member of the predecessor of the European Union - a rare moment in the international media spotlight. With a population of just more than 500,000, the trilingual duchy punches above its weight: Besides being an important financial center, it's home to the world's largest steel manufacturer and it boasts the second-highest gross domestic product per capita in the world, more than $80,000.
Luxembourg began as a Roman fortress. It has, at one time or another, fallen under the control of Spain, France and Austria. In 1839, it gained its independence from the Netherlands, but lost more than half its territory to Belgium. Germany overran Luxembourg twice in the 20th century despite its protests of neutrality.
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Luxembourg's Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume (R) and his wife Princess Stephanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, leave the Notre-Dame Cathedral after their religious wedding service in Luxembourg October 20, 2012. [Photo/Agencies] |
