Wednesday, November 23, 2011

We will not comment on rumors

Is the cat out of the bag .. or  not.  Point de Vue, the weekly French largely royal magazine, has a story in its latest issue that is caught the attention of the Luxembourg Grand Ducal Court. 

The magazine is stating that Countess Stephanie de Lannoy is indeed Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume's girlfriend.  In a recent interview to commemorate his 30th birthday, Guillaume acknowledged that he is in a serious relationship with a Belgian girl.

Stephanie, 27, is certainly a Belgian girl.  She is the youngest of eight children of Count Philippe de Lannoy and Alix della Faille de Leverghem.  Her great-grandfather was Lord Chamberlain to the Belgian court.

Guillaume and Stephanie first met at a ball hosted by Guillaume's great aunt, Princess Alix, the Dowager Princess of Ligne  at Chateau de Beloeil.
Stephanie's paternal grandmother was born Princess Beatrix de Ligne.

Stephanie has a degree in German philology from Louvain university and a master's degree from Berlin.  She is fluent in French, German and Russian, according to the Point de Vue article.

A reporter from the Luxemburger Wort contacted the Grand Ducal palace for a comment on the Point de Vue article.  The response was not surprising: "We do  not comment on rumors."

The de Lannoys are one of the oldest of Belgium's oldest noble families.

Princess Beatrix was the younger sister of Eugene, Prince de Ligne, the father of Antoine, Prince de Ligne, who married Princess Alix de Ligne.  This means Stephanie's father, Count Philippe, is a first cousin of the late Prince Antoine.

The present Prince of Ligne, Prince Michel, is a first cousin once removed to Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and a second cousin to Countess Stephanie. 
Michel's youngest brother, Prince Lamoral, is married to Countess Minthia de Lannoy, a member of a junior branch of the family.

There might even be an American connection (albeit distant) to the Delano family (as is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose mother Sara was a Delano.  One of the Pilgrims was a Dutchman named Philippe de Lannoy, whose named was anglicized to Delano.


http://www.tageblatt.lu/nachrichten/video/story/St--phanie-de-Lannoy-ist-die-Auserw--hlte-15635653

No comments: