Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Guillaume resigns...

On 3 December 2000, the newly appointed Hereditary Grand Duke was named president of the Kraizbierg Foundation's board of directors. Earlier today Guillaume resigned this position. He was immediately named Honorary President of the Board of Directors.

During the press conference, Guillaume implied that the resignation was necessary because the role of Hereditary Grand Duke demands more time. He enjoyed the personal and professional association with the foundation. He particularly liked meeting those who benefit from the foundation's programs. He hopes to retain these relationships as honorary president.

Lucien Thiel has stepped into the role vacated by Guillaume. Mr. Thiel has been a member of the foundation's board for 33 years. His dedication to the foundation and his professional experience make him the natural replacement. He said he is not easy to follow in Guillaume's footsteps. He noted that Guillaume had preformed quite admirably in the role of president.

The honorary presidency will allow Guillaume to continue to support the foundation in the most appropriate fashion. I had always assumed that Guillaume's role as president was more honorary than real board business. I was obviously mistaken. I think that the honorary presidency is more in line with what Guillaume's role should be. He will still appear at the usual events (only a few a year) and support the foundation. He just won't have to deal with other responsibilities associated with his former role. The foundation is not losing Guillaume's support.

It has been more than a year (is it 2 already?) since I noted that Guillaume had made the transition to full-time Hereditary Grand Duke. Guillaume has undertaken a heavy travel schedule and a full round of activities at home. I am aware that Guillaume is busy even on days that he isn't traveling or making a public engagement. Some people forget that there is more to being Hereditary Grand Duke than smiling for the camera. He has a many responsibilities in addition to the appearances that appear in the press. While I am disappointed, I am satisfied to know that this was the best course of action for Guillaume and the foundation. He continues to grow and flourish as The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg

Sources: 352 LuxMag, Luxemburger Wort, Fondation Kraizbierg, Chambre des Députés

6 comments:

  1. Just to make general comment: Guillaume isn't God. He doesn't warrant capitalization of pronouns. Not even the Queen of England gets her pronouns capitalized, just her articles.

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  2. Do you happen to have a link to the video of the press conference or is it not available yet?

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  3. I watched RTL earlier. I didn't see it. I expect it to make the evening shows and recaps. De Magazin, de Journal, and Replay....

    I'll look for it again later in the evening. It seems that Guillaume said quite a lot so hopefully they'll show some of it.

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  4. For the record, Royal pronouns should be capitalized. It is not an error or an implication of godliness. Proper protocol dictates that royal pronouns and articles attached to titles are capitalized. Trust me, when you receive mail from any royal office the pronouns will be capitalized. If you write a letter to a royal you should capitalize pronouns and definitive articles attached to titles.

    If you are writing in general about royals with no one specific as the subject they are not capitalized. If you are writing about a specific individual the pronoun is capitalized. Normally, people and press do not follow this rule because it does look odd, but it isn't incorrect. Some people only apply this when writing a letter to/from the royal. I've been applying the capitalized pronoun on this blog for a while now. From the beginning, I think. Sometimes I forget, but I usually capitalize it. I prefer to use the capitalized royal pronoun. This is *my* personal preference. I do not believe anyone reading this blog mistakes this as in implication of godliness.

    Queen Elizabeth? I'm offended by the notion that She is somehow "the" of what is and isn't correct for all royals. British protocol does not govern every royal court.

    It is really no different than addressing a royal person as Your Majesty or Your Royal Highness when speaking to them. IMHO, it is no odder than some of the spoken protocol that is supposed to be used when speaking to a royal.

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  5. I am disappointed that he had to drop this patronage. So is he solely focusing on business, trade, and social business? It would have been great if another Lux royal member picked up the patronage. I hope Guillaume's future wife does.

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  6. He's still honorary president of the foundation. TBH, I always thought that his position was more along the lines of an honorary president than a real sitting board member. I was obviously mistaken. I think that the honorary presidency is more along the lines of what Guillaume's role should be anyway. He will still appear at the usual events and support the foundation. He just won't have to deal with regular board business now.

    It seems business, trade, finance and social business are his public duties. He still has his musical patronages, which seem to take little time. He also has a full schedule of the regular stuff like correspondence, meetings, preparing for his engagements, following up on contacts with important people he meets, writing speeches, the Council of State, learning from Henri (and Jean) and studying the workings of the government he will one day head. With all of this and his busy travel schedule I'm shocked the poor guy has time to sleep.

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