Grand Duke Henri marked a new historic beginning for the Luxembourg royal family as he appointed son Prince Guillaume as the throne’s Lieutenant-Representative today, on October 8.
Under this fresh responsibility, the head of state’s offspring will overtake much of his father’s constitutional powers, but hasn’t become the top-most leader yet.
This is however the first step before Grand Duke Henri officially abdicates – for now, he is said to be preparing for it.
According to Hello Magazine, it is an old Luxembourg monarch tradition to cement the next heir in line as the Lieutenant-Representative before resigning from the throne.
Grand Duke Henri himself experience this in 1998 when father Grand Duke Jean announced him as the new holder of this same position while he prepared to step down.
At that time, the current head of state’s dad took two more years before leaving since the new reign began on October 7, 2000.
Now, it’s not known how long Grand Duke Henri will take to let Prince Guillaume take over entirely.
In 2025, he will be celebrating 25 years of his own rule as well as his 70th birthday, so it’s speculated that the abdication will come early, aligning with these two special occasions next year.
