European royalty including Prince Louis of Luxembourg and his young sons gathered together for the funeral of Luxembourg’s 98-year-old Grand Duke Jean on Saturday, but royal fan watchers couldn’t help noticing the notable absence of Prince Louis’ ex-wife Tessy Antony, formerly Princess Tessy of Luxembourg.
Louis and Tessy, who are parents to sons Gabriel, 13, and Noah, 11, finalised their divorce in April with Tessy losing her royal title and reverting to the name Antony-de Nassau, her maiden name and the surname of the Luxembourgish royal family, Hello! Magazine reports.
Prince Louis, the third son of Luxembourg’s monarch Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, embarked on a controversial relationship with Tessy in 2004 when the pair were still teenagers.
Tessy, born to a modest family in the small town of Niederkorn and therefore not of royal blood, was serving with UN troops in Kosovo when she met Prince Louis who was there visiting peacekeeping forces.
The couple wed in September 2006 aged 20, six months after the birth of their first child Prince Gabriel of Nassau.
Upon their marriage, Prince Louis was forced to give up succession rights for himself and his descendants.
Their second son, Prince Noah of Nassau, was born in 2007.
Louis and Tessy’s fairytale romance came to a bitter end in the summer of 2016 and they were granted a decree nisi in February last year after 12 years together.
In an interview with Hello! Magazine, charity founder and humanitarian Tessy revealed there were powerful people who “made sure” her royal title was taken away, but stressed it did not matter to her because “a title doesn’t make you who you are”, Daily Mail reports.
Of her life in the royal enclave, Tessy said: “It gave me a platform – people are more charmed to listen. It is nice, but having a title was never my identity. And as far as I am concerned, every woman is royal at heart – a heroine.”
Tessy now lives in London with the couple’s two children while Prince Louis lives in Paris.
The terms of their divorce were finalised by a London court in early April, with Tessy representing herself.
The mother-of-two jumped to the defence of Meghan Markle earlier this year when the Duchess of Sussex was hit with a barrage of negative comments over her alleged involvement in the rumoured royal rift between Prince William and Prince Harry.
Tessy tweeted: “No on deserves that. One should never assume. Either you know or be quiet, it’s not nice to talk badly about someone just because one can, as he or she take advantage of the anonymity of the web. Stay kind!!! It’s the new cool. She [Meghan] does not deserve that.”