| María Teresa | |
|---|---|
 Maria Teresa in 2024 | |
| Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg | |
| Tenure | 7 October 2000 – 3 October 2025 |
| Born | María Teresa Mestre y Batista (1956-03-22)22 March 1956 (age 69) Marianao,Havana,Cuba |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | |
| Father | José Antonio Mestre y Álvarez |
| Mother | María Teresa Batista y Falla |
.svg) |
Grand Duke Henri
|
| *Is a prince/ss of Nassau but not a prince/ss of Luxembourg |
 |
Extended royal family Descendants ofPrince Felix and also members of theGrand Ducal Family of Luxembourg (see there):
Descendants ofPrince René:
Princess Marina
Descendants of Prince Louis:
Prince Rémy
Princess Chantal Prince Jean
|
Maria Teresa (bornMaría Teresa Mestre y Batista; 22 March 1956) is a member of thegrand ducal family of Luxembourg. She wasGrand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife ofGrand Duke Henri from 2000 until herhusband's abdication in 2025.
Maria Teresa Mestre was born on 22 March 1956 inMarianao,Havana, Cuba, to José Antonio Mestre y Álvarez (1926–1993) and wife María Teresa Batista y Falla de Mestre (1928–1988), both frombourgeoisie families of Spanish descent.[1] She is also the granddaughter of Agustín Batista y González de Mendoza (1899–1968), who was the founder of the Trust Company of Cuba, the most powerful Cuban bank prior to theCuban Revolution.[2]
In October 1959, at the time of the Cuban Revolution, Mestre's parents left Cuba with their children because the new government headed byFidel Castro confiscated their properties. The family settled in New York City,[1] where as a young girl Mestre was a pupil atMarymount School. From 1961 she carried on her studies at theLycée Français de New York. In her childhood, Mestre took ballet and singing courses. She practiced skiing, ice-skating and water sports. She later lived inSantander, Spain, and in Geneva, Switzerland, where she became a Swiss citizen.[1][3]
In 1980, Mestre graduated from theGraduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva with a degree inpolitical sciences.[4] While studying there, she met her future husbandHenri of Luxembourg.[1]
On 14 February 1981, Maria Teresa marriedHenri of Luxembourg at theNotre-Dame Cathedral of Luxembourg. They have four sons and a daughter and eight grandchildren:
Soon after her marriage, Maria Teresa and the then Hereditary Grand Duke Henri established The Prince Henri and Princess Maria Teresa Foundation to help those with special needs integrate fully into society. In 2001, she and her husband created The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Foundation, launched upon the accession of the couple as the new Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg. In 2004, the Grand Duke Henri and the Grand Duchess Maria Teresa Foundation was created after the merging of the two previous foundations.
In 2007, Maria Teresa was made a special ambassador forUNESCO, working to expand education for young girls and women and help to fight poverty.[5]
Since 2005, Maria Teresa has been the chairwoman of the international jury of the European Microfinance Award, which annually awards holders of microfinance and inclusive finance initiatives in developing countries. Also, since 2006, Maria Teresa has been honorary president of the LuxFLAG (Luxembourg Fund Labeling Agency), the first agency to label responsible microfinance investment funds around the world.[6] On 19 April 2007, the Grand Duchess was appointed UNICEF Eminent Advocate for Children, in which role she has visited Brazil (2007),[7] China (2008),[8] and Burundi (2009).[9]
She is a member of the Honorary Board of theInternational Paralympic Committee[10] and a patron of theLigue Luxembourgeoise de Prévention et d’Action medico-sociales andSOS Villages d’Enfants Monde. The Grand Duchess and her husband Grand Duke Henri are the members of the Mentor Foundation (London), created under the patronage of theWorld Health Organization. She is also the president of theLuxembourg Red Cross and the Cancer Foundation.[11][12] In 2016, she organized the first international forum on learning disabilities in Luxembourg.[13]
The Grand Duchess supports the UNESCO “Breaking the Poverty Cycle of Women” project inBangladesh,India,Nepal andPakistan. The purpose of this project is to improve the living conditions of girls, women and their families. As honorary president of her own foundation, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa set up a project calledProjet de la Main Tendue after visiting the Bujumbura prison in 2009 inBurundi. The purpose of this project is to liberate minor people from prison and to give them new opportunities for their future.
In October 2016, Maria Teresa accepted an invitation to join the eminent international Council of Patrons of theAsian University for Women (AUW) inChittagong, Bangladesh. The university, which is the product of east-west foundational partnerships (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,Open Society Foundation,IKEA Foundation, etc.) and regional cooperation, serves extraordinarily talented women from 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East.[14]
In 2019, Maria Teresa presented her initiative "Stand Speak Rise Up!" to end sexual violence in fragile environments, launched in cooperation with the Women’s Forum and with the support of the Luxembourg government. The conference is in partnership with the Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation and We Are Not Weapons of War.[15]
On 3 October 2025,Grand Duke Henriabdicated in favour of their sonGuillaume V.[16]
In 2020 the prime minister of Luxembourg commissioned a report from into theroyal household following concerns over its working. The report found that up to one third of employees had left since 2015 and that "The most important decisions in the field of personnel management, whether at the level of recruitment, assignment to the various departments or even at the dismissal level are taken by HRH the Grand Duchess.” Several newspaper reports at the time highlighted a 'culture of fear' around the Grand Duchess and "that no-one bar the Prime Minister dared confront her".[17] The report also raised concerns about the use of public funds to pay for the Grand Duchess' personal website and that this had been prioritised over the Court's own official website.[18] There were also allegations that staff at the Court have been subjected to physical abuse and these reports were investigated by the Luxembourg judicial police.[19] In February 2023 it was reported by several Luxembourg based media outlets that the Grand Duchess had once again been accused of treating staff poorly during an outfit fitting in October 2022. The incident even involved the Prime Minister of Luxembourg having to speak to the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess about the treatment of the staff and commissioning a report into it.[20][21][22]
Media related toMaria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg at Wikimedia CommonsGrand Duchess Maria Teresa Born: 22 March 1956 | ||
| Luxembourgish royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg 2000 – 2025 | Succeeded by |
Generations are numbered from the ascension ofAdolphe as Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 1890. | ||
| 1st generation | .svg) | |
| 2nd generation |
| |
| 3rd generation | ||
| 4th generation | ||
| 5th generation | ||
| 6th generation |
| |
All princesses of Luxembourg are alsoprincesses of Nassau. ^also aprincess of Bourbon-Parma by marriage #title lost due to divorce | ||
The generations are numbered from the ascension ofWilliam as Duke of Nassau in 1816. | ||
| 1st generation |
|  |
| 2nd generation | ||
| 3rd generation |
| |
| 4th generation | ||
| 5th generation | ||
| 6th generation | ||
| 7th generation |
| |
*also aprincess of Luxembourg by marriage ^also aprincess of Bourbon-Parma by marriage #title lost due to divorce | ||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
.png)
_-_Commander_Grand_Cross.svg)
.png)
