by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2014
Prince Jean of Luxembourg – Photo: Zimbio
Prince Jean Félix Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg was born May 15, 1957, at Betzdorf Castle in Luxembourg. He is the second son of the three sons and the third of the five children of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium.
Prince Jean has four siblings:
- Princess Marie Astrid (born 1954) married Archduke Carl Christian of Austria, had five children
- Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (born 1955) married María Teresa Mestre y Batista, had five children
- Princess Margaretha (born 1957, Jean’s twin) married Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, had four children
- Prince Guillaume (born 1963) married Sibilla Weiller, had four children
Prince Jean was educated in Luxembourg, Switzerland, and France before attending the Bell School of Languages in Cambridge, England. He then enrolled in the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, graduating in 1978. He continued his education at the University of Geneva, and Webster University, also in Geneva, and began working at a financial firm in New York City. He returned to Europe in 1985, and the following year earned an MBA from INSEAD in France.
Prince Jean and his first wife, Hélène Vestur. photo: Nobles & Royalties
On May 27, 1987, Prince Jean married Hélène Vestur at the Church of Saint-Philippe-du-Roule in Paris, France. Jean had given up his succession rights the previous year, just after the birth of the couple’s first child. So upon marriage, his wife and children took on the surname ‘de Nassau’ with no royal style or title. In 1995, they were raised to Count/Countess of Nassau, and in 2004, Grand Duke Henri elevated the children to Prince/Princess of Nassau, with the style of Royal Highness. However, they do not have any succession rights. Jean and Hélène divorced in 2004.
The couple had four children:
- Princess Marie-Gabrielle of Nassau (born 1986), married Antonius Willms, had two sons
- Prince Constantin of Nassau (born 1988), married Kathryn Mechie, had one son
- Prince Wenceslas (born 1990)
- Prince Carl-Johan (born 1992)
In 2009, Prince Jean married Diane de Guerre at the City Hall in Roermond, the Netherlands. She holds the title of Countess de Nassau. They have no children.
Prince Jean does not undertake any official duties for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, however, he is often in attendance at private family functions. He works with the GDS-Suez Group and serves as Executive Vice President of the Suez Foundation, and a member of the board of Degrémont, a company that specializes in the production of clean and healthy drinking water. Degrémont is a subsidiary of Suez Environnement, SA. Continuing with his work in the area of water sanitation, Prince Jean purchased a subsidiary of Suez Environnement in 2006, and created Mea Aqua. This organization is focused on developing water and energy solutions in the Middle East and Asia.
Prince Jean and Countess Diane de Nassau at the 2013 wedding of his nephew, Prince Félix of Luxembourg. photo: Zimbio
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