Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium

Infobox Bourbon-Parma Royalty|princess|consort
name =Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium
title =Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg


caption =
reign =November 12, 1964 - October 7, 2001
spouse =Jean
issue =Archduchess Marie-Astrid
Henri
Prince Jean
Princess Margaretha
Prince Guillaume
royal house =House of Bourbon-Parma
House of Nassau-Weilburg
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
styles ="HRH" Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte
"HRH" The Grand Duchess
"HRH" The Hereditary Grand Duchess
"HRH" Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium
father =Leopold III of Belgium
mother =Astrid of Sweden
date of birth =birth date|1927|10|11|mf=y
place of birth =Brussels, Belgium
date of death =death date and age|2005|1|10|1927|10|11|mf=y
place of death =Fischbach Castle|

Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium (born "Joséphine-Charlotte Ingeborg Elisabeth Maria Josepha/Marie-José Margarethe/Marguerite Astrid" 11 October, 1927 – 10 January, 2005) was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as spouse of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Childhood

She was born at the Royal Palace of Brussels as the oldest child and only daughter of Leopold III of Belgium and Astrid of Sweden.

The young princess spent her childhood at the Stuyvenberg Palace just outside of Brussels with her parents, Prince Léopold and Princess Astrid. Her mother, who was born a Princess of Sweden and a direct descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte's first wife Joséphine, was killed in an automobile accident in 1935 at age 29. Her father was a direct descendant of Stéphanie de Beauharnais, cousin of Joséphine's first husband and adopted daughter of Joséphine's second husband.

Education

Princess Joséphine-Charlotte first attended school at the Royal Palace where a small class had been organized for her. At the end of 1940 she entered a boarding school and then continued her education with her own private teachers. On June 7, 1944, the day after the Allied Forces landed in Normandy, France, she and her father were sent to Germany and kept there under house arrest. The Royal Family, which included her brothers Baudouin and Albert and their stepmother, Mary Lilian Baels, Princess de Réthy, was freed on May 7, 1945 and settled in Prégny, Switzerland.

Princess Joséphine-Charlotte continued her studies at the "Ecole Supérieure de Jeunes Filles" in Geneva, Switzerland. Afterwards she took Jean Piaget's lectures on child psychology at the University of Geneva. When she returned to Belgium the princess took up her official duties. At the same time she also devoted herself to social problems and developed her interest in the arts.

Marriage

On April 9, 1953 in Luxembourg, the princess married Prince Jean, then Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. They had five children:

*Princess Marie-Astrid, who was born on February 17, 1954;
*Grand Duke Henri, who was born on April 16, 1955;
*Prince Jean, who was born on May 15, 1957;
*Princess Margaretha, who was born on May 15, 1957;
*Prince Guillaume, who was born on May 1, 1963.

As Hereditary Grand Duchess first, then, from Jean's accession to the throne on November 12, 1964, until his abdication in 2001, as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, she carried out the many and varied duties (particularly of a social and cultural nature) as The Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

The Grand Duchess was interested in childhood problems, family and health problems. From 1959 to 1970 she was President of the Luxembourgish Youth Red Cross.

Her favourite hobbies included gardening and horticulture. She also enjoyed hunting, fishing, skiing and watersports.

Joséphine-Charlotte, who had suffered from lung cancer for some time, died at Fischbach Castle at the age of 77, survived by her husband, children and grandchildren.

Ancestry

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boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
1= Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium
2= Leopold III of Belgium
3= Princess Astrid of Sweden
4= Albert I of Belgium
5= Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria
6= Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland
7= Princess Ingeborg of Denmark
8= Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders
9= Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
10= Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria
11= Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal
12= Oscar II of Sweden
13= Princess Sofia of Nassau
14= Frederick VIII of Denmark
15= Princess Lovisa of Sweden
16= Leopold I of Belgium
17= Princess Louise-Marie of France
18= Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern
19= Princess Josephine of Baden
20= Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria
21= Princess Ludovika of Bavaria
22= Miguel of Portugal
23= Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
24= Oscar I of Sweden
25= Duchess Josephine of Leuchtenberg
26= Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau
27= Princess Pauline of Württemberg
28= Christian IX of Denmark
29= Louise of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel)
30= Charles XV of Sweden
31= Princess Louise of the Netherlands

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External links

* [http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/belgium.html Royal House of Belgium]
* [http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/luxemburg.html Grand-Ducal House of Luxemburg]