Prince Félix of Luxembourg

Prince Félix of Luxembourg (Félix Léopold Marie Guillaume; born 3 June 1984) is the second son of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa. He is currently second in the line of succession.

Prince Félix was born 3 June 1984 at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Maternity Hospital in Luxembourg. He is the second of the five children of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, the others being: Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume, Prince Louis, Princess Alexandra and Prince Sébastien. His godparents are Prince Jean and Catalina Mestre. He was named after his great-grandfather, Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma.

Prince Félix attended Lorentzweiler for his primary schooling and the Notre Dame Sainte-Sophie of Luxembourg, then the "American School of Luxembourg" for secondary schooling.

He attended the International School of Luxembourg and in 1998 he joined the Swiss boarding school Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland. After completing high school with honours, he joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Britain; however due to a serious knee injury, he had to leave the programme early. Between 2003 and 2004, Prince Félix took interest in different fields of study such as political science, psychology and communication, leading him to attend schools in England and Belgium. He has also completed courses at various companies in order to obtain additional professional experience.

In 2005, Prince Félix joined the Marketing and Public Relations department of Grand Chelem Management SA, a Swiss company specializing in the organisation of sporting and cultural events. He continues to work as an independent consultant for the company. The prince takes particular interest in ethics in biotechnology. In June 2009, the Grand Ducal Court announced that in October 2009 Prince Félix would begin a bachelor's degree in bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, Italy.

He is fluent in Luxembourgish, French, English, and German. He has also studied Spanish and Italian.

In 2003, he accepted the patronage of the sports association paratrooper "Cercle Para Luxembourg" (FAL). A fan of basketball, he was appointed honorary president of the "Federation Luxembourg Basketball" in 2005.

He regularly plays tennis, football and volleyball and has a particular interest in athletics, golf and basketball. He is also a fan of snow sports and has practised freestyle, slalom classic, giant slalom skiing and snowboarding.

On 13 December 2012, the grand ducal household confirmed Prince Félix's engagement to Claire Lademacher. The civil wedding took place on 17 September 2013 in Königstein im Taunus, followed by a religious ceremony on 21 September in the Basilica of Sainte Marie-Madeleine in Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, France. Since the wedding, the couple has been living in the south of France at the Château Les Crostes, a winery in Lorgues that has been owned by the Lademacher family for many years.

Prince Félix and Princess Claire's daughter, Princess Amalia Gabriela Maria Teresa de Nassau, was born on 15 June 2014 at the Maternité Grande-Duchesse Charlotte Hospital in Luxembourg. Amalia was christened on 12 July 2014 at the Chapelle Saint-Ferréol in Lorgues, France. Her godparents were her paternal aunt, Princess Alexandra, and her maternal uncle, Felix Lademacher.

On 28 November 2016 Félix and Claire welcomed their second child, a son, born in Geneva, Switzerland at Beaulieu General Clinic. On 6 December 2016, Prince Félix, Princess Claire and the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess released new photos of Prince Félix & Princess Claire's two children and announced the newborn's name, title and style: His Royal Highness Prince Liam Henri Hartmut of Nassau.

Henri and Hartmut are for Prince Félix & Princess Claire's fathers respectively. His elder sister, Amalia Gabriela Maria Teresa, is named for her two grandmothers, Gabriela and Maria Teresa.

Prince Félix's full title and style is: "His Royal Highness Prince Félix of Luxembourg, Prince of Nassau, Prince of Bourbon-Parma". The title of Prince of Bourbon-Parma was dropped in 1986 by his grandfather, Grand Duke Jean, but was resumed by the Arrêté Grand-Ducal on 21 September 1995. Prince Félix and his family bear the title as male-line descendants of the Bourbon Dukes of Parma.

Honours and awards

As a son of one of the 2 Heads of the House :

•  "Lux." /  "Neth."  : Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau (by birth)

As Prince of Luxembourg, at 18 years old :

•  Luxembourg : Grand Cross of Order of Adolphe of Nassau (by birth, on 18 years old)

• Victoria of Sweden 's wedding, Félix' photo
• Noblesse et Royautés, Guillaume of Luxembourg's wedding : gala dinner de gala, Photo of the young Princes of Luxembourg : Louis, Félix & Sébastien
• "Honorary distinctions of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg" (PDF). Service Information et Presse. Retrieved 2007-09-21. 
• Honorary distinctions of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, publication of the government of Luxembourg : Princes and Princesses of the Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg are Grand Crosses of the Order by birth but the decoration is worm only after they reach their majority (18 years old)