Grand Duke Guillaume addresses troops at the National Day military ceremony on Avenue de la Liberté in Luxembourg-Gare;
Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu
On Tuesday 23 June 2026, Luxembourg celebrated National Day with an official ceremony at the Philharmonie Luxembourg in Luxembourg-Kirchberg, organised by the government in honour of Grand Duke Guillaume.
Upon their arrival, Grand Duke Guillaume and Grand Duchess Stéphanie were welcomed by President of the Chamber of Deputies, Claude Wiseler, Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden, and Mayor of Luxembourg City, Lydie Polfer.
The ceremony welcomed over 1,000 guests, including members of the Chamber of Deputies, the Council of State, the judiciary, the Luxembourg City Council and the diplomatic corps accredited to Luxembourg.
During the ceremony, Grand Duke Guillaume, Claude Wiseler and Prime Minister Frieden delivered speeches before presenting honorary distinctions to individuals recognised for their contributions in civic, economic, sporting and cultural fields.
Musical accompaniment was provided by the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Chœur de Chambre de Luxembourg and the Pueri Cantores of the Luxembourg City Conservatory. The programme also include a musical piece by violinist and composer Jean-Jacques Mailliet, which was commissioned by the Ministry of State and the Ministry of Culture for the occasion of National Day.
The official ceremony was followed by the traditional 21-gun salute at Fetschenhaff in Luxembourg-Cents.
The Grand Ducal couple then attended the military ceremony on Avenue de la Liberté in Luxembourg-Ville. Under the command of Colonel Alain Schoeben, Commander of the Armed Forces and troops, the parade was composed of detachments of the Luxembourg Army, the Grand Ducal Police and several civilian detachments.
The ceremony included a review of the troops by Grand Duke Guillaume and senior members of the Luxembourg Armed Forces and government, and a performance of the national anthem by Sergeant-Major musician Stéphanie Schlink.
The ceremony concluded with a military parade featuring the Luxembourg Army, which consisted of a guard company, army flag with escort, veterans’ detachments, a motorised unit and the Military Band, as well as a detachment of the French Army, the Grand Ducal Police, with guard company, canine unit and motorised unit, the Administration of Customs and Excise, with its company, flag with escort, canine unit, music band and motorised unit, the Prison Administration, with an infantry company and canine unit, the Grand-Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps (CGDIS), with company, flag with escort, canine unit and motorised unit, the Luxembourg Red Cross, with a canine unit and motorised detachment and the Union Grand-Duc Adolphe, represented by three music societies from the municipality of Käerjeng.
The parade concluded with a low altitude fly-by of several aircraft, including an Airbus H145M helicopter of the Luxembourg Police, an Airbus A330 MRTT of the Multi Role Tanker Transport Unit and an Airbus A400M of the Belgian Air Force, flown by Luxembourg officers.
At the invitation of Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich, the Grand Ducal couple then attended the solemn Te Deum, which took place at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg-Ville and included speeches from Archbishop Hollerich, Alain Nacache, Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg, Hafiz ef. Hilmija Redžić, head of the Muslim community in Luxembourg and Volker Beba, pastor of the Protestant Church of Luxembourg.
