Their Royal Highnesses Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duke Henri; Credit: © Cour grand-ducale / Lola Velasco / all rights reserved

His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Jean turns 97 tomorrow, on 5 January 2018.

Son of Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg and Prince Felix of Bourbon of Parma, His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg was born in Berg Castle on 5 January 1921. He became Grand Duke of Luxembourg on 12 November 1964 and abdicated on 7 October 2000 in favour of his eldest son Prince Henri.

The Grand Duke Jean undertook his primary and secondary studies in Luxembourg and completed them at the College of Ampleforth (Yorkshire) in the United Kingdom.

During the invasion of the German troops, on 10 May 1940, he left Luxembourg territory with the grand-ducal family, who fled first to France, Portugal, then the United States of America, Canada and Great Britain. In Quebec, the Grand Duke Jean took courses in law and political science at Laval University. His Royal Highness is also a Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Strasbourg (1957), the University of Miami (1979) and Université Laval, Quebec (2007).

In November 1942, the Grand Duc Jean entered the Irish Guards as a volunteer, having received his military training at the Royal Military College in Sandhurst. In 1943, he was promoted to Lieutenant of the Irish Guards and in 1984, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II appointed His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg Colonel of the Irish Guards Regiment and in 1995 he was appointed General Honorary of the British Army. Appointed Lieutenant-Representative in 1961, he succeeded his mother the Grand Duchess Charlotte as Grand Duke of Luxembourg on 12 November 1964, on the same day he was appointed General of the Luxembourg Army.

Regarding family life, the Grand Duke Jean married Her Royal Highness Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium- who died in 2005- on 9 April 1953. The royal couple saw the birth of five children: Princess Marie-Astrid (17 February 1954), the current Grand Duke Prince Henri (16 April 1955), Prince John (15 May 1957), Princess Margaretha (15 May 1957) and Prince Guillaume (1 May 1963).