As Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg turns 32, here is everything you need to know about the tennis-loving, multilingual royal

Today, 16 February, marks the 32nd birthday of Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg. One of five children, she is the only daughter of the Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg. Prince Guillame, the Crown Prince (born 1981) is the oldest of the clan, and Prince Sébastien is the youngest (born 1992), with Prince Félix (born 1984) and Prince Louis (born 1986) in between. 

Excluded from the line of succession until 2011, when absolute primogeniture was adopted in respect to Grand Duke Henri’s descendants, Princess Alexandra is currently sixth in the line to the throne, after her brothers and their children. One of her brothers, Prince Louis, renounced the line of succession when he married a former non-commissioned officer in the Luxembourg Army, Tessy Antony in 2006 – though they divorced in 2019.

Born in February 1991, Princess Alexandra attended French-speaking private school Lycée Vauban in Luxembourg in her teens, which was founded in 1985 by French expatriates.

She went on to study psychology and social sciences at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in the United States – where she was on the university tennis team – before moving to Paris to study philosophy. She finished her studies in Trinity College, Dublin in 2017, where she won an award from the Irish School of Ecumenics for a degree in Interfaith Studies with a specialisation in conflict resolution.

A keen linguist, the princess is fluent in in Luxembourgish, French, English, Spanish – and she speaks some German and Italian. She worked as a journalist in the Middle East and had an internship at the security council of the United Nations in New York. 

In her free time, the princess is said to enjoy ‘sport’ including tennis, skiing and water-skiing, as well as ‘dancing and gymnastics’, according to the Grand Ducal court of Luxembourg. She also frequently attends royal engagements, including official activities such as the country’s National Day or the State visit to Japan in November 2017. Now, she works as a volunteer to help refugees.

The Princess announced her engagement to Nicolas Bagory in November 2022. Bagory, a graduate from the Sorbonne University, grew up in Brittany, France. An official statement from the Luxembourg Royal Family read, ‘Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess have the great joy of announcing the engagement of their daughter, Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, to Mr Nicolas Bagory.’ They added, ‘the two families join in the happiness of the engaged couple by surrounding them with their affection.’

Dressed in a lilac suit, the princess posed alongside her fiancé, accesorising with a blue pendant and her engagement ring. The wedding will take place on 22 April 2023, during a civil ceremony at the Town Hall of the City of Luxembourg, whilst the religious wedding will be celebrated on April 29 2023, in the Saint Trophyme church in Bormes-les-Mimosas.