# Coronation imminent: on Friday, Luxembourg gets a new monarch **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2025, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553 "2025-10-01T07:31:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/81 "2025-10-04T12:23:05Z")
And I wondered about it, but I assumed you knew better, so I copied you. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/82 "2025-10-04T13:49:59Z")
So now we have the Luxemboughish / American guy copying the German guy writing German in English. Sorta. Got it! Clear as mud. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/83 "2025-10-04T16:23:05Z")
We also got the Spanish-German guy who started the kerfuffle about the Wilhelms. 😉 (and corrected this German guy’s misspelling) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/84 "2025-10-04T18:53:32Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I’d say it’s 60% German, 30% Dutch, and 10% French, actually. Can Luxembourgish speakers understand German speakers, and vice versa? And, yes, this has been a fun and educational thread. You’ve made me want to visit Luxembourg. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/85 "2025-10-04T20:13:26Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Hey! Liechtenstein and Monaco will remind you, these are _Sovereign Principalities_. Not just Better-than-Adequate Duchys. In Germanic-Language countries, a prince (German _Fürst_) ranks below a duke (German _Herzog_). In Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, a _Principe_ ranked above a duke. During the _ancien régime_, France made it even more confusing. Native French princes ranked below dukes, but visiting foreign princes were given ceremonial precedence above native dukes. At some point (I think during the 19th Century), the diplomats just said “F\*\*\* it, every Head of State is equal to every other Head of State.” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/86 "2025-10-04T20:44:10Z")
One more thing: Liechtenstein’s and Monaco’s princes are styled His/Her Serene Highness. Luxembourg’s monarch is a Royal Highness, a couple of grades higher. The Luxembourgers got the promotion partly because they are heirs to the Napoleonic kingdom of Etruria, and partly because they are a branch of the Bourbons, and cousins to the French and Spanish royal families. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/87 "2025-10-04T20:49:04Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > During the _ancien régime_, France made it even more confusing. Native French princes ranked below dukes, but visiting foreign princes were given ceremonial precedence above native dukes. That must have made it a nightmare to set up seating charts for state dinners. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/88 "2025-10-04T20:59:16Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@JRDelirious](#): > > > > Americans of a certain age would be more familiar with the “Grand Duchy” of Fenwick. > > Whenever I hear “Grand Duchy” I think Fenwick. Nitpick: it’s not a Grand Duchy, but rather the Duchy of Grand Fenwick. I’ve sometimes made the same mistake, so I understand the confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/89 "2025-10-04T21:50:00Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Can Luxembourgish speakers understand German speakers, and vice versa? Not easily. There are some individual words in common (“bad” = _schlecht_ in both Lux. and German; ditto “boring” = _langweilig_), and some words are fairly close (“maybe” = _vielleicht_ in German, _vläicht_ in Lux, which sounds like the German word if you apostrophize the first diphthong; “together” = _zusammen_ in German, _zesummen_ in Lux). Other words are clearly related when you know (“but” = _aber_ in German, pronounced like ‘obba,’ vs _awer_ pronounced ‘ovva’ in Lux; “to drive” = _fahren_ in German vs _fueren_ in Lux; “child/children” = _Kind/Kinder_ in German vs _Kand/Kanner_ in Lux), but the sound is sufficiently different that it slides past the ear. Plus the verb conjugation in Lux. is all wonky compared to German. The infinitive form of most verbs ends in “-en,” like _fahren_ above, or _spielen,_ “to play.” Except for irregulars, you normally use that form with the subject “we” or “they” — _wir spielen, sie spielen._ But in first person, you conjugate: _ich spiele._ By contrast, in Lux., you use that infinitive form in first person: _ech spillen._ The infinitive “to be” in German is _sein_ (“zyne”), which becomes _sind_ for we/they, but in first person, you say _ich bin_ (I am). In Lux, you say _ech sinn._ Plus there’s a fair amount of vocabulary taken from French and Dutch. For example, if you want to refer to a work rotation in German, you might say _die Rotation_ (“dee roh TA see OHN”). But in Lux, you use a French-derived word — _Roulement_ (capitalized because it’s a noun). If you put written German and written Luxembourgish next to each other, you can pretty easily map one to the other (_er wohnt in einem Haus_ → _hie wunnt an engem Haus_ → he lives in a house). But when being spoken, all these little differences add up. The German speaker hearing Luxembourgish will notice words every now and then they recognize, but the overall effect is that it sounds like a drunken soup of _almost but not quite_ German. The Luxembourger listening to a German speaker, by contrast, will have no trouble at all, because the Luxembourger speaks German. And French. And English. And probably some Portuguese. And… 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/90 "2025-10-04T22:20:32Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So now we have the Luxemboughish / American guy copying the German guy writing German in English. Sorta. > > Got it! Clear as mud. 😁 > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > We also got the Spanish-German guy who started the kerfuffle about the Wilhelms. 😉 (and corrected this German guy’s misspelling) Don’t forget the befuddled Canadian! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2025, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/91 "2025-10-04T22:29:07Z")
What do Luxembourgers thing about Belgian Luxembourg? Is there any confusion over sharing the name? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2025, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/92 "2025-10-05T11:01:08Z")
> Germanic-Language countries, a prince (German Fürst) ranks below a duke And just to confuse, in the Holy Roman Empire, there were Kurfürsten, usually known in English as “Electors”, who formed the electoral college for choosing the Emperor. And they had various reforms and reorganisations before the republic ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2025, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/93 "2025-10-05T13:08:50Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > One more thing: Liechtenstein’s and Monaco’s princes are styled His/Her Serene Highness. As spoofed on _Goodness Gracious Me_ with Guru Maharishi Yogi, “His Most Serene Calmness.” ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/94 "2025-10-05T16:16:42Z")
Thank you! I really appreciate the detail. It’s fascinating. Languages, to me, always are. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2025, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/95 "2025-10-29T10:10:38Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > > > So I have a chance? > > I’d be skeptical. Luxembourg is very generous in hiring teachers @Saint_Cad Following up with a news article on the teacher situation here, in case you want to do a little more homework. > **[In maths and languages: Over 500 teaching positions needed over next five...](https://today.rtl.lu/news/luxembourg/a/2350116.html)** > > In response to a parliamentary question about teacher shortages, Education Minister Claude Meisch and Research and Higher Education Minister Stéphanie Obertin revealed that Luxembourg will need hundreds of new teachers over the next five years,... ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2025, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/96 "2025-10-29T10:54:23Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > If you’re from Provence, you smell like lavender. And so on. 😉 So Parisians think Provençals smell really good? ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2025, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/97 "2025-10-29T11:22:28Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > I have to agree that the upcoming coronation has not been the talk of the town, here in Canada. I had read a small article about the succession a few months ago. > > I think most people in North America couldn’t tell you much about Luxembourg, and many would think it’s the same thing as les Jardins du Luxembourg. Flying under the radar may be a winning strategy in today’s world.. I’ve actually been to Luxembourg and while I don’t keep up with daily news I am aware of the monarchy and it’s succession. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553/98 "2025-11-14T16:01:55Z")
I am late to this thread. I did see the news some time back of the abdication. On YouTube I saw, years ago, the wedding of the new Grand Duke and Duchess. Such a lovely couple then and fine looking now, not that looks should matter. I was astonished that the man who walked her down the aisle was her brother, and that the elderly gentleman at the front was her father. Took a while but they finally had kids. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronation-imminent-on-friday-luxembourg-gets-a-new-monarch/1023553.md?page=4)