There has been a lot of speculation since their marriage in October 2012. But after seven years of marriage, on 5 December 2019, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie of Luxembourg finally announced that they were going to be parents in May 2020. Their son was born at the Maternité Grande-Duchesse Charlotte in Luxembourg on Sunday 10 May 2020 at 5.13am. Charles Jean Philippe Joseph Marie Guillaume is second in line to the throne after his father.
What will the baby be called?
That was of course the big question before Charles’s birth. Guillaume’s brothers Prince Félix and Prince Louis opted for more modern names for (part) of their children, although Amalia was the name of the first wife of Stadtholder Hendrik, a Prince of the Netherlands, who was quite beloved in Luxembourg. I however expected Guillaume and Stéphanie to be a bit more traditional, especially with the first child, and I was correct. Not a real surprise from them.
As usual the name speculation already started immediately. On the day it was announced I opted on Twitter for Jean Philippe Henri Adolphe or Alix Maria Teresa Joséphine-Charlotte. At least I guesses two names correctly. Jean in honour of Guillaume’s grandfather, and Philippe in honour of Stéphanie’s father – they both died last year. Alix is the name of Stéphanie’s late mother, while the name also runs in the family of Guillaume. Alix or Marie-Alix – to make it a bit more regal, and because a girl would already have two maternal cousins called Alix – would therefore be a nice option to my opinion.
What names thus far appeared in the family? The reigning grand dukes/duchesses of Luxembourg – leaving out the first three, that were also Dutch kings – were:
- Adolph(e) Wilhelm Karl August Friedrich (1817-1905)
- Marie Adélaïde Thérèse Hilda Antoinette Wilhelmine (1894-1924)
- Charlotte Adelgunde Elisabeth Maria Wilhelmine (1896-1985)
- Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Louis Antoine Adolphe Marc d’Aviano (1921-2019)
- Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume (1955-)
Other names that run in the family (including female in-laws) as first name are:
- Adelheid/Adélaïde
- Adolph(e)
- Alexandra
- Alexandre
- Alix
- Amalia
- Antonia
- Carl-Johann
- Charles
- Claire
- Constantin
- Diane
- Elisabeth
- Felix
- Frederik
- Gabriel
- Guillaume
- Hélène
- Henri
- Hilda
- Jean
- Joan
- Joséphine-Charlotte
- Julie
- Léopold
- Liam
- Louis
- Margaretha
- Maria Anna
- Maria Teresa
- Marie Adélaïde
- Marie-Astrid
- Marie Gabrielle
- Noah
- Paul-Louis
- Robert
- Sébastien
- Sibilla
- Sophie
- Tessy
- Wenceslas
- Wilhelm (German version of Guillaume)
On the other hand one has Stéphanie’s family. She is the daughter of Count Philippe de Lannoy (1922-2019) and Alix della Faille de Leverghem (1941-2012). Her paternal grandparents were Count Paul de Lannoy (1898-1980) and Princess Béatrice de Ligne (1898-1982). Her maternal grandparents were Harold della Faille de Leverghem (1908-1994) and Madeleine de Brouchoven de Bergeyck (1912-1996).
Stéphanie’s siblings are Jehan (* 1966), Christian (* 1968), Nathalie (* 1969), Gaëlle (* 1970), Amaury (* 1971), Olivier (* 1974) and Isabelle (* 1976). They all have children: Caroline, Louise, Antoine, Maxime (children of Jehan); Teresa, Ignace, Jacques, Alix (children of Christian); Antonia, Charlotte, Madeleine, Alix, Victoria (children of Nathalie); Théodore (son of Amaury); Philippe, Gustave, Léopold (children of Olivier), Isaure, Aline, Lancelot, Héloïse, Nicodème, Foucault (children of Isabelle).