A look at Hereditary Grand Duchess Stéphanie as she turns 40

Born on 18 February 1984, Stéphanie Marie Claudine Christine de Lannoy is the youngest of eight children.

A Belgian noble from birth, Stéphanie was born in East Flanders to Count Philippe de Lannoy and Countess Alix. She attended the Dutch language Sancta Maria de Ronse school before continuing her education at Collège Saint-Odile in France and then at L’Institut de la Vierge Fidèle back in Brussels.

Stéphanie also spent time in Russia studying the Russian language and literature before enrolling at Belgium’s University of Louvain to study German philology. She obtained a master’s degree from Humboldt University of Berlin.

She can speak all the languages of Belgium (French, Dutch and German), as well as English fluently. She also has a good knowledge of Luxembourgish and Russian.

As for her professional career, the Belgian noble interned at the Walloon Export and Foreign Investment Agency and worked for an investment fund company in Brussels.

It was during a 2004 social gathering in Germany that she first met Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume (the eldest child of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg). However, it was not until their second meeting in 2009 that they began dating. Their engagement was announced on 26 April 2012.

Tragedy struck ahead of their wedding as Countess Alix died from a sudden stroke on 26 August 2012 – just two months before her daughter’s wedding.

Guillaume and Stéphanie married in a civil ceremony in the Luxembourg Town Hall on 9 October 2012 by Luxembourg City Mayor (and future Prime Minister) Xavier Bettel. A religious ceremony followed on 20 October at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Luxembourg.

Stéphanie wore a bespoke Elie Saab lace gown with her family’s heirloom tiara. As a tribute to her mother, she wore Alix’s engagement ring on her left middle finger to keep her close during the nuptials and reception.

Upon marriage, Stéphanie became the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, became a Luxembourgish citizen and renounced her Belgian citizenship.

She told the media her reason for renouncing her Belgian citizenship was due to her new role: “As the Hereditary Grand Duchess, I am proud to share my husband’s nationality. Belgium will always be the country of my childhood and where my roots are, but I don’t think keeping Belgian citizenship is consistent with the job that awaits me from now on.”

Princess Stéphanie, as she is also called, now joins her husband on foreign trips and has adopted patronages close to her heart, including the arts and those helping victims of strokes. She regularly visits the elderly in Luxembourg with her family as well.

The Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple now have two sons, Prince Charles (b. 10 May 2020) and Prince Francois (b. 27 March 2023).