| Joséphine-Charlotte | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Joséphine-Charlotte in 1967 | |||||
| Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg | |||||
| Tenure | 12 November 1964 – 7 October 2000 | ||||
| Born | (1927-10-11)11 October 1927 Royal Palace of Brussels,Brussels, Belgium | ||||
| Died | 10 January 2005(2005-01-10) (aged 77) Fischbach Castle,Fischbach, Luxembourg | ||||
| Burial | 15 January 2005 Notre-Dame Cathedral,Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
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| House | Belgium | ||||
| Father | Leopold III of Belgium | ||||
| Mother | Princess Astrid of Sweden | ||||
Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (11 October 1927 – 10 January 2005) wasGrand Duchess of Luxembourg as the wife ofGrand Duke Jean. She was the first child of KingLeopold III of Belgium, and sister of the lateKing Baudouin and formerKing Albert II and aunt ofKing Philippe. She was also the maternal first cousin of KingHarald V of Norway, maternal second cousin of former QueenMargrethe II of Denmark, and a paternal third cousin of the late QueenElizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
Joséphine-Charlotte was born in 1927 at theRoyal Palace of Brussels. She was the oldest child and only daughter of the KingLeopold III of Belgium and his first wife, PrincessAstrid of Sweden. She was christened a month after her birth. Her godfather was her uncle,Prince Charles, Count of Flanders and her godmother was her future mother-in-law,Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg. While expecting her daughter, Astrid had read a biography of her ancestress, the French empressJoséphine de Beauharnais. Josephine was also the name of one of the child's great-aunts,Princess Joséphine-Caroline of Belgium, the dearest sister of King Albert I. She was called "little Jo" by her mother.[1]
Joséphine-Charlotte initially spent her childhood in the Royal Palace of Brussels before moving toStuyvenberg Castle in 1930.[2][1] She was the older sister of Belgian monarchsBaudouin andAlbert II.[3] Leopold and Astrid were devoted parents to their children.[2] While her parents went abroad, Joséphine-Charlotte and her siblings stayed in Belgium under the care of governesses and nannies.[2] She and her siblings lived with their maternal grandparents in their summer house in Sweden during holidays.[2] Queen Astrid commissioned a playhouse built in the gardens of theCastle of Laeken for her children’s enjoyment.[2] Joséphine-Charlotte often accompanied her mother on official public appearances.[2]
Joséphine-Charlotte's mother was killed in an automobile accident in Switzerland in August 1935 when Joséphine-Charlotte was nearly eight.[4] After her mother's death, Joséphine-Charlotte spontaneously assumed the role of mother for her two brothers.[2] The Belgian public extended their enormous sympathies onto the grieving family, with great concern given to the effects their mother's death had on Joséphine-Charlotte and her brothers. King Leopold remained a devoted father to his children and kept close ties with his late wife's family. Many photographs exist from this time of the children with their Swedish grandparents and Norwegian cousins. Later, in 1941, her father remarried toMary Lilian Baels (later became Princess of Réthy). This marriage produced three more children:Prince Alexandre (who was also Joséphine-Charlotte's godson), Princess Marie-Christine andPrincess Marie-Esméralda. Joséphine-Charlotte initially had a hard time accepting her father's second marriage[2] but later developed a close relationship with her stepmother and called her "Mother".[5][6]
Joséphine-Charlotte first attended school at the Royal Palace in Brussels, where a small class had been organized for her.[1] In her free time, she joined theBelgian Girl Guides.[2] She and her brothers went through a short period of exodus inFrance andSpain under the care of Viscount Gatien du Parc just after theGerman invasion of Belgium.[4][2] They initially settled inRussy before moving toChâteau de Montal inSaint-Jean-Lespinasse. They and Viscount du Parc travelled toSan Sebastián in Spain after her father offered himself as a prisoner of war to Nazi Germany.[2] In August 1940, Joséphine-Charlotte and her brothers returned to Belgium.[2] Joséphine-Charlotte attended the Boarding School of the Faithful Virgin in Brussels from the end of 1940 until 1942.[4][1] She then continued her education with her own private teachers at theRoyal Palace of Laeken, where her family was held prisoner.[4] On 7 June 1944, the day after theAllied Forces landed inNormandy,France, she and her father were sent to Hirschtein Castle near Dresden,Germany and kept there under house arrest.[2] OnAdolf Hitler's orders, King Leopold III and his family were deported toStrobl, Austria where they were given shelter in a villa.[2] The Royal Family, which included her brothers Baudouin and Albert, her half-brother Alexandre, and their stepmother Princess Lilian, was freed on 7 May 1945 and settled inPregny-Chambésy,Switzerland until 1950.[1][4]
Joséphine-Charlotte continued her studies at the École Supérieure de Jeunes Filles inGeneva, Switzerland.[1] There, she took courses inFrench literature,English,history andchemistry.[4] Afterwards, Joséphine-Charlotte enrolled at theUniversity of Geneva where she received lessons fromJean Piaget.[1]
On 11 April 1949, Joséphine-Charlotte returned to Belgium for the first time since the war from Luxembourg.[4] She was the first member of the royal family to set foot on Belgian soil again sinceWorld War II.[2] She visited Belgium as a test to see how the population reacted to the royal family and to polish the monarchy's reputation.[2] A few months earlier, she had expressed her desire to return to Belgium during the presentation of a gift from the Belgian delegation of the Ladies of the Resistance.[4] InBastogne, she visited Bastogne's Town Hall, the war memorial andMardasson Memorial. She also visitedBande,Marche andNamur before reachingBrussels, where she stayed at the Royal Palace of Laeken with her grandmother,Queen Elisabeth.[4]
On 13 April 1949, Joséphine-Charlotte visitedLichtervelde andLa Panne before returning to Brussels to participate in theHoly Thursday mass inMechelen.[4] On 16 April 1949, she left Brussels and stayed atFischbach Castle in Luxembourg for a few days before returning to Switzerland.[4] She returned to Belgium again to vote in the referendum on 12 March 1950, which ended up with the result of the maintenance of the monarchy in Belgium.[4] After the accession of her brother Baudouin, Joséphine-Charlotte resided in Laeken with her father, stepmother and her brothers.[2] She also took up her official duties and made several official trips outside Belgium.[2] At the same time, she also devoted herself to social problems and developed her interest in the arts.[1] In February 1953, Joséphine-Charlotte visited several villages in Belgium that were affected by the floods. She also distributed aids and gifts.[2] A few days before her wedding, Joséphine-Charlotte announced in a radio message that she would donate all the donations she had received to a national Belgian fund to combat polio.[2]
Joséphine-Charlotte metJean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg during one of her short stays with her godmother and future mother-in-law, Grand Duchess Charlotte, in Fischbach in 1948.[4] Rumours of the engagement of Joséphine-Charlotte and Jean had already been circulating after Jean visited her in Pregny-Chambésy in 1948.[2] On 7 November 1952, the couple announced their engagement to the public.[2] Joséphine-Charlotte and Jean were joined in marriage on 9 April 1953 inLuxembourg.[3] During their 52-year marriage, the couple had five children:[1]
As a Belgian princess, Joséphine-Charlotte brought a wealth of elegance, taste and refinement to her new homeland. She carried out many social, cultural and humanitarian duties. She focused on several initiatives that she would ardently support, particularly matters pertaining to children and families.[4] Unlike her predecessors, Joséphine-Charlotte played her role as Grand Duchess perfectly, albeit always reservedly, which resulted in Joséphine-Charlotte's low popularity among the Luxembourgers. She also never fully mastered theLuxembourgish language.[2] After the accession of Grand Duke Jean in 1964, the Grand Ducal family, who initially lived atBetzdorf Castle, moved toBerg Castle. Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte was actively involved in the renovation of the castle.[4]
As Grand Duchess, she often accompanied her husband on foreign visits, as well as many events within Luxembourg itself.[4] She and the Grand Duke made numerous state visits such as to theVatican andBrazil in 1965, theUnited Kingdom in 1972,USSR andTunisia in 1975,Senegal in 1977,China in 1979, and theUnited States in 1984.[7] During her tenure as a consort, she and her husband hosted 39 state visits to Luxembourg.[7]
Joséphine-Charlotte became president of the Luxembourg Red Cross in 1964. She was president of Luxembourg Youth Section of theRed Cross.[3] She also served as honorary president of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra.[citation needed] She became the chief guide of Luxembourg’s guides movement in 1990.[citation needed] She was the patron of the Union of Voluntary Blood Donors and the Luxembourg Paediatrics Society.[citation needed] The Grand Duchess also oversaw the restoration of theGrand Ducal Palace from 1991 until 1996.[citation needed] She became a patron and honorary president ofl’association pour la protection curative de l’enfance,[4] theScouts and Guides of Luxembourg,[4] the Equestrian Federation,[4]les Jeunesses musicales,[4] the International Bazaar of Luxembourg and theHëllef fir kriibskrank Kanner Foundation.[4] She also regularly visited Luxembourg's social and cultural centers, establishments, institutes, hospitals and nurseries.[4]
Beside secular organizations, Joséphine-Charlotte supported religious institutions such asAction Catholique des Femmes du Luxembourg (ACFL) of which she became a patron.[citation needed]
Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte's favorite hobbies includedgardening andhorticulture. She also enjoyedhunting,fishing,skiing and otherwatersports.[1] The Grand Duchess also enjoyed collecting works of modern art. In 2003, the exhibition namedDe Manessier à Wim Delvoye presented 108 works from the private collection of the Grand Duchess at the National Museum of History and Art in Luxembourg.[4]
The Grand Duchess, who suffered fromlung cancer for a long time, died at her home,Fischbach Castle in 2005, at the age of 77.[4]
Joséphine-Charlotte metro station inBrussels is named after her.One of her wedding gifts was a diamondtiara, commonly known as the Belgian Scroll Tiara, given by theSociété Générale. This is now part of the Luxembourg reigning family's jewel collection.[citation needed]
On 5 December 2016, a remembrance concert in honour of Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte was held in Luxembourg. The concert was performed byVienna Philharmonic Orchestra and directed by Tugan Sokhiev while Rudolf Buchbinder performed on the piano.[citation needed]
Belgium:
Grand Cordon of theOrder of Leopold
Luxembourg:
Knight of theOrder of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau
Grand Cross of theOrder of Adolphe of Nassau
Denmark: Knight of theOrder of the Elephant
Germany: Grand Cross Special Class of theOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Greek Royal Family: Dame 1st Class of theRoyal Order of Saints Olga and Sophia
Iceland: Grand Cross of theOrder of the Falcon[8]
Iranian Imperial Family: Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the 2,500 year Celebration of the Persian Empire[citation needed]
Holy See: Recipient of thePro Ecclesia et Pontifice
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Dame Grand Cross in Obedience of theSovereign Military Order of Malta
Japan: Grand Cordon (Paulownia) of theOrder of the Precious Crown
Netherlands:
Norway: Grand Cross of theOrder of St. Olav
Portugal: Grand Cross of theOrder of Christ[9]
Spain: Dame Grand Cross of theOrder of Isabella the Catholic[10][11]
Sweden:
Thailand: Dame Grand Cross of theOrder of Chula Chom Klao
United Kingdom: Recipient of theQueen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
Media related toJoséphine-Charlotte of Belgium at Wikimedia Commons
Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium Cadet branch of theHouse of Wettin Born: 11 October 1927 Died: 10 January 2005 | ||
| Luxembourgish royalty | ||
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| Preceded byas prince consort | Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg Duchess consort of Nassau 1964–2000 | Succeeded by |
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Generations are numbered from the ascension ofAdolphe as Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 1890. | ||
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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. | ||
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*also aprincess of Luxembourg by marriage ^also aprincess of Bourbon-Parma by marriage #title lost due to divorce | ||
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