Luxembourg celebrates Grand Duke Guillaume after his father abdicates

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — Grand Duke Guillaume swore an oath to ascend to the throne of Luxembourg on Friday in a traditional ceremony attended by royals and European heads of state.

Church bells rang out just before hundreds crowded outside the Grand Palace began chanting “Guillaume, Guillaume!” as the new grand duke walked onto a balcony to greet his new subjects.

Grand Duke Guillaume, 43, wearing an olive-green military uniform with a yellow sash, was flanked by the royal family, including his wife, Grand Duchess Stéphanie, in a sky-blue gown. They carried their two children — designated heir Charles, 5, and 2-year-old François — both clad in shorts.

Just moments earlier Guillaume had taken the throne after swearing the sovereign's oath in Luxembourg's parliament.

“I will live the life of my people, from whom I do not want to be separated by any barrier. I will share their joys and sufferings,” Guillaume said, quoting a 1919 speech by one of his predecessors, the Grand Duchess Charlotte, in his first address to the nation. He drew a parallel between the carnage of World War I and geopolitical tensions today.

“A symbol of the principles of freedom and unity enshrined in our Constitution, the monarchy has remained — then as now — a constant point of reference and a steadfast support in times of crisis. In this sense, the oath I have just taken on the Constitution marks a significant institutional milestone for our country.”

Grand Duke Guillaume takes over from his father Henri, 70, who had served for 25 years in the largely symbolic role.

The crowd gathered outside the yellow stone and ornate turrets of the palace carried photographs of the new grand duke and duchess, others flags of Luxembourg and the red lion and orange fields of the Royal House of Nassau. Some people had their faces painted in the Luxembourg flag: red, white and light blue.

All across the old city of Luxembourg, storefronts boasted portraits of the royal couple and blue banners commemorated “Trounweissel” or “ascension to the throne” in Luxembourgish.

Nefeni Neocleousk, 18, wore a Luxembourgish flag across her shoulders and wished the grand duke well in the Luxembourgish language.

“Maach dat gudd! Du packs dat!" she said, which means “Do it well, you will succeed.”

Royals from the Netherlands and Belgium attended the ceremonies. Later on Friday, the new grand duke will host an evening gala for guests including French President Emmanuel Macron and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Guillaume is Luxembourg’s seventh grand duke since 1890, when the modern monarchy was established. On Saturday and Sunday he will tour his new realm, a tiny duchy — the size of Rhode Island — of 700,000 citizens in the heart of Europe.

The tour will end with a Sunday Mass with Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich at the Catholic Notre-Dame de Luxembourg cathedral.

An official supplier to the Royal Court, Lea Linster, 70, dropped off roughly 200 madeleines, a small shell-shaped sponge cake, for staff at the ceremonies. She’s selling commemorative boxes of the cakes with Guillaume and Stéphanie designed to look like “a romantic fairytale” reflective of Luxembourg’s picturesque landscape of castles and forests.

When Guillaume was 13, she began teaching him to cook dishes like Bouneschlupp, a hearty green bean and ham soup.

Sitting beneath portraits of the French novelist Marcel Proust and a Grand Duke Henri, Linster said Guillaume’s kindness and empathy will do him well as sovereign — and he’ll be able to feed the family.

“You can feel that he is the son of a couple of parents who loved each other very much,” she said, of Guillaume. “He’s very emotive, very sensitive. So I love that and I think he will be a beautiful Grand Duke for us.”

Cleaved from part of what are now France, Belgium and Germany in the 17th and 19th centuries, the small nation is a parliamentary democracy with the grand duke as head of state, akin to King Charles in the United Kingdom or King Philippe in Belgium. Roughly 700,000 citizens speak a mix of Luxembourgish, a Germanic language, and French and German in public life. It is the world’s last remaining grand duchy.

One of the European Union’s smallest nations and its richest per capita, Luxembourg is a financial powerhouse that hosts important EU institutions like the European Court of Justice and the European Investment Bank. The grand duchy is home to many of the banks in the eurozone, reinsurance companies and managers of hedge funds and money markets.

Guillaume will be Luxembourg’s seventh grand duke since 1890, when the modern monarchy was established. Across the duchy, his photo has replaced that of his father’s. His monogram, symmetrical golden “G” letters below a crown, has also been added to the uniforms of the army, the police, emergency services, the prison service and customs.

Guillaume, like Henri, was educated in France, Switzerland and at the United Kingdom’s military academy, Sandhurst. Guillaume then worked for Belgian, German and Spanish firms.

Christoph Brüll, a historian and professor at the University of Luxembourg, said Guillaume will be stepping into a very traditional role.

“His margin of maneuver or right to action is zero. So the only power he has is then the power of speech or words. For the rest, the grand duke will remain a political symbol,” he said.

This story has been updated to correct the surname of the baker to Linster instead of Lister.

Luxembourg's Grand Duke Guillaume and Luxembourg's Grand Duchess Stephanie wave from the balcony of the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Luxembourg's Grand Duke Guillaume and Luxembourg's Grand Duchess Stephanie hold their children Prince Charles and Prince Francois as they wave from the balcony of the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Luxembourg's Grand Duke Guillaume, center right, and Luxembourg's Grand Duchess Stephanie, center left, during a swearing-in ceremony in the session hall of the Chamber of Deputies in Luxembourg, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Luxembourg's Grand Duke Guillaume, right, and Luxembourg's Grand Duchess Stephanie during a swearing-in ceremony in the session hall of the Chamber of Deputies in Luxembourg, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Luxembourg's Honorary Ministers of State Jean-Claude Juncker, left, and Jacques Santer arrive for the abdication and enthronement ceremony of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg at the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

European Council President Antonio Costa, left, is greeted by Luxembourg's Grand Duke Henri, right, and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as he arrives for the abdication and enthronement ceremony of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg at the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Luxembourg's Grand Duke Henri, right, speaks with Grand Duchess Maria Teresa as they wait for the arrival of guests for the abdication and enthronement ceremony of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg at the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

From left, Belgium's Queen Mathilde, Luxembourg's Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Belgium's King Philippe, Luxembourg's Grand Duke Henri and Belgium's Princess Elisabeth pose during arrivals for the abdication and enthronement ceremony of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg at the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

FILE - This photo combination shows Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, left, Dec. 1, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Luxembourg's Crown Prince Guillaume in Tokyo, June 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss Iran's deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic state.

Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in an effort to defuse the situation after Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The sound of gunfire faded Thursday in the capital, Tehran. The country closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.

Here is the latest:

Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group, said on Thursday that “criminal gangs” were responsible for the situation in Iran, accusing them of carrying out an “American-Israeli” scheme.

“Criminal gangs in Iran killed Iranian citizens, security forces and burned mosques,” he said without providing evidence. “What’s being committed by criminal gangs in Iran is horrific, bearing an American stamp as it includes slaughter and burning some people alive.”

He also said that the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Iran to create a crisis leading to the current issues in the country with the end goal of controlling Iran.

Yet he said the U.S. has “failed in Iran” and that Iranians “will not yield to America.”

The president of the European Union’s executive arm says the 27-member bloc is looking to strengthen sanctions against Iran as ordinary Iranians continue their protests against Iran’s theocratic government.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday following a meeting of the EU’s commissioners in Limassol, Cyprus that current sanctions against Iran are “weakening the regime.”

Von der Leyen said that the EU is looking to sanction individual Iranians —apart from those who belong to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard — who “are responsible for the atrocities.”

She added that the people of Iran who are “bravely fighting for a change” have the EU’s “full political support.”

Canada’s foreign minister says a Canadian citizen has died in Iran “at the hands of the Iranian authorities.”

“Peaceful protests by the Iranian people — asking that their voices be heard in the face of the Iranian regime’s repression and ongoing human rights violations — has led the regime to flagrantly disregard human life,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand posted on social media Thursday.

“This violence must end. Canada condemns and calls for an immediate end to the Iranian regime’s violence,” she added.

Anand said consular officials are in contact with the victim’s family in Canada. She did not provide details.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced Thursday that a local staff member was killed and several others were wounded during the deadly protests in Iran over the weekend.

Amir Ali Latifi, an Iranian Red Crescent Society worker, was working in the country’s Gillan province on Jan. 10 when he was killed “in the line of duty,” the organization said in a statement.

“The IFRC is deeply concerned about the consequences of the ongoing unrest on the people of Iran and is closely monitoring the situation in coordination with the Iranian Red Crescent Society,” the statement continued.

U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed as “good news” reports that the death sentence has been lifted for an Iranian shopkeeper arrested in a violent crackdown on protests.

Relatives of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani had said he faced imminent execution.

Trump posed Thursday on his Truth Social site: “FoxNews: ‘Iranian protester will no longer be sentenced to death after President Trump’s warnings. Likewise others.’ This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!”

Iranian state media denied Soltani had been condemned to death. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.

Trump sent tensions soaring this week by pledging that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters and urging them to continue demonstrating against authorities in the Islamic Republic.

On Wednesday Trump signaled a possible de-escalation, saying he had been told that “the killing in Iran is stopping.”

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union’s main foreign policy chief said the G7 members were “gravely concerned” by the developments surrounding the protests, and that they “strongly oppose the intensification of the Iranian authorities’ brutal repression of the Iranian people.”

The statement, published on the EU’s website Thursday, said the G7 were “deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries” and condemned “the deliberate use of violence” by Iranian security forces against protesters.

The G7 members “remain prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues to crack down on protests and dissent in violation of international human rights obligations,” the statement said.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his counterpart in Iran, who said the situation was “now stable,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Abbas Araghchi said “he hoped China will play a greater role in regional peace and stability” during the talks, according to the statement from the ministry.

“China opposes imposing its will on other countries, and opposes a return to the ‘law of the jungle’,” Wang said.

“China believes that the Iranian government and people will unite, overcome difficulties, maintain national stability, and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests,” he added. “China hopes all parties will cherish peace, exercise restraint, and resolve differences through dialogue. China is willing to play a constructive role in this regard.”

“We are against military intervention in Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran must address its own internal problems… They must address their problems with the region and in global terms through diplomacy so that certain structural problems that cause economic problems can be addressed.”

Ankara and Tehran enjoy warm relations despite often holding divergent interests in the region.

Fidan said the unrest in Iran was rooted in economic conditions caused by sanctions, rather than ideological opposition to the government.

Iranians have been largely absent from an annual pilgrimage to Baghdad, Iraq, to commemorate the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of the twelve Shiite imams.

Many Iranian pilgrims typically make the journey every year for the annual religious rituals.

Streets across Baghdad were crowded with pilgrims Thursday. Most had arrived on foot from central and southern provinces of Iraq, heading toward the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in the Kadhimiya district in northern Baghdad,

Adel Zaidan, who owns a hotel near the shrine, said the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small. Other residents agreed.

“This visit is different from previous ones. It lacks the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, especially in terms of providing food and accommodation,” said Haider Al-Obaidi.

Europe’s largest airline group said Thursday it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan's capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns as fears grow that unrest in Iran could spiral into wider regional violence.

Lufthansa — which operates Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — said flights would run only during daytime hours from Thursday through Monday “due to the current situation in the Middle East.” It said the change would ensure its staff — which includes unionized cabin crews and pilots -- would not be required to stay overnight in the region.

The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday without explanation.

A spokesperson for Israel’s Airport Authority, which oversees Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was operating as usual.

Iranian state media has denied claims that a young man arrested during Iran’s recent protests was condemned to death. The statement from Iran’s judicial authorities on Thursday contradicted what it said were “opposition media abroad” which claimed the young man had been quickly sentenced to death during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the country.

State television didn’t immediately give any details beyond his name, Erfan Soltani. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday that his government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran.

“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters posted on X.

“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed,” he said.

Peters said his government had expressed serious concerns to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.

Women cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)