Family portrait

A few decades ago, Luxembourg was still a beloved little country for holidays. Close to home, yet exotic. A beautiful capital with a rich past and abundant nature. From 1815, Luxembourg was a Grand Duchy under King William I of the Netherlands. At the Treaty of London in 1839, the territory of Luxembourg was divided. One part, primarily French-speaking, became the Belgian province of Luxembourg, while the other part, smaller and German-speaking, remained united with the Netherlands in a personal union. The first postage stamp of Luxembourg featured King William III of the Netherlands. But in 1890 was Luxembourg, after the death of William III, independent. The head of state became Grand Duke Adolf I depicted on the stamps. This was followed by, among others, Grand Duke Wilhelm IV en Grand Duchess Marie Adelheid🇧🇷 In 1921 Grand Duchess Charlotte, and so on. Every country has its own head of state, monarch, or president. And that head of state naturally has family. For many stamp collectors, collecting stamps featuring images of the head of state with his or her family is a wonderful hobby. You can build entire family trees with stamps. Luxembourg, too, has depicted the royal house on stamps many times. An example with the main character Jean Benoît Guillaume Marie Robert Louis Antoine Adolphe Marc d'Aviano, born on 5 January 1921 and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 to 2000. He was the son of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix of Bourbon-ParmaOn April 9, 1953, Grand Duke Jean married Josephine-Charlotte, daughter of the Belgian Koning Leopold IIIFive children were born from their marriage: Marie-Astrid (1954), Henri (1955), Jean (1957), Margaretha (1957), and Guillaume (1963). On the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary, a block of stamps featuring Grand Duke Jean and Joséphine-Charlotte was issued on April 3, 1978. 368.165 copies of the block were sold. On February 14, 1981, the future married Grand Duke Henri with Maria Teresa Mestre, daughter of a banker who had fled from Cuba. Despite the strong objections his parents also had regarding Maria Teresa's non-noble lineage, the marriage went ahead. It was not until June 22, 1981, that a stamp was issued to commemorate the wedding. Five children were also born from this marriage: Guillaume (1981), Félix (1984), Louis (1986), Alexandra (1991), and Sébastien (1992). On the occasion of the International Philatelic Exhibition for Young Philatelists JUVALUX '88, of which Henri was a patron, a block of three stamps was issued. The 12-franc stamp featured a portrait of Maria Teresa, and the 50-franc stamp featured Henri. The middle stamp depicted three of the couple's children: Guillaume, Félix, and Louis. Since October 7, 2000, Henri has succeeded his father as Grand Duke of Luxembourg. His official title? His Royal Highness Henri, by the Grace of God Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Nassau, Prince of Bourbon-Parma, Count of Sayn, Königstein, Katzenelnbogen and Diez, Viscount of Hammerstein, Lord of Mahlberg, Wiesbaden, Idstein, Merenberg, Limburg and Eppstein. Quite a mouthful….