The Curious Case of the Missing Label...
Charles is the only child of Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie, and is therefore second in line to the Luxembourg Throne. Guillaume was not officially assigned the traditional yellow three-pointed Label until a Grand Ducal Decree of 31st October 2012 which came into effect on 9th November, two days before Guillaume's 31st Birthday (not 21st!). It, however, confirmed the same Label as his father had carried as Hereditary Grand Duke until the year 2000.
Princes and Princesses of the Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg are Grand Crosses of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau by birth but the decoration is worm only after they reach their majority (18 years old). Guillaume was also technically a knight from birth of the higher Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, shared with the Netherlands, from birth too in an unusual move at the time as the statutes of the Order stipulate Princes who are the son or brother of either Head of State and Guillaume was still 'only' the grandson. Nothing has yet been announced for Charles.
If Henri does not abdicate before Charles gains his majority or reaches his 21st Birthday, Charles may be assigned a 5-pointed yellow Label or a Label of a different colour or one carrying a distinctive symbol such as a red Lion or an Oak Leaf. It is a shame that Luxembourg does not have a tradition of stall plates for its Orders of Chivalry as all of Grand Duke Henri's children have been assigned the two major Luxembourg Orders but Guillaume remains the only one of his generation with a confirmed Coat of Arms. (Guillaume has also been awarded the Order of the Oak Crown and Princess Alexandra received the Japanese Order of the Precious Crown in association with her visit to Japan with her father in 2017.) |