Word: duking
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...Like most of his 20th century predecessors, Duke Henri of Luxembourg has played a mostly figurehead role in his country, a sliver of a nation wedged between Germany, Belgium, and France. But an unfolding royal family drama - replete with a papal cameo - has forced the handsome 53-year-old Duke to fall on what remains of his political sword. (Read TIME's Top 10 news stories...
...Duke Henri refused to sign a bill to legalize euthanasia for the terminally ill. The proposal, which would make Luxembourg one of the few countries to give terminal patients the right to die, was approved earlier this year by Parliament. But the monarch, a devout Catholic, says "reasons of conscience" prevented him from making it law. (Read about the fight to legalize euthanasia...
...Duke's stance is a strong nod to the current Pope, who has made the struggle against the secularization and "de-Christianization" of Europe amongst the central tenants of his papacy. Unlike the Pope, though, the Luxembourg monarch must face the realities of democracy. Aware that it would be the first time since 1912 that a Duke or Duchess of Luxembourg has defied the will of the elected government, Henri called on Parliament to change the Constitution to strip him of the power to approve laws. On Thursday, the Luxembourg Parliament voted overwhelmingly to approve the measure, which will become...
...Since the Duke's annuncement, throne-watchers in Luxembourg have wondered why their head of state would take such a rigid stand on principle. Some speculate that the religious hardline is driven by the Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Henri's wife and the mother of his five children. The Cuban-born daughter of Spanish aristocrats, the Grand Duchess has made her staunchly traditional Catholicism evident, and is believed to be very influential in her husband's public decisions...
...Henri wants to avoid popular dissent around his reign, which may help explain his decision to cede political authority in order to hold on to the Duke's role as symbol of national unity. Michel Pauly, a professor of transnational Luxembourg history at the University of Luxembourg, says stripping the Duke of any legislative authority is the "natural democratic evolution" of the country, and predicts that Luxembourg will eventually go down the path of the purely ceremonial monarchy in place in countries such as Sweden and Denmark...