Luxembourg's Grand Duke Henri paves way for power transfer to son

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg on Tuesday appointed his son, Crown Prince Guillaume, as "lieutenant-représentant," or regent, thus initiating the transfer of duties and ultimately his succession to the role of head of state.

The 42-year-old now takes over certain responsibilities from his father while the latter remains the head of state.

"I am very proud to be able to support our head of state even more in his tasks from today," Guillaume said on Tuesday during a ceremonial event at the palace following his appointment as lieutenant-représentant.

In a public session in parliament, he subsequently took an oath on the constitution before being greeted by numerous citizens in front of the palace and parliament.

Henri has been the head of state of the second smallest country in the European Union since October 2000.

While the 69-year-old has decided when he will abdicate, he stated in an interview released by the grand ducal palace he does not want to announce a date yet: "However, it is clear that it won't take an eternity," he said.

Tuesday is "a turning point" and "a rare moment in the history" of the nation, said Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden.

Henri said he was "extremely happy" about his son's appointment, adding that Guillaume was very well prepared for the tasks ahead.

"I really want to give Prince Guillaume a lot more responsibility, because I think I really need to take my foot off the gas," Henri said.

His son will, for example, take care of the accreditation of ambassadors and sign decrees on behalf of the grand duke, according to Henri.

Meanwhile the grand duke said he would continue to take charge of all state visits and major events in the country.

Guillaume is the sixth regent of the Luxembourg-Nassau dynasty.

Guillaume has been married to Princess Stéphanie, a Belgian countess, since October 2012. The couple has two sons.

Guillaume studied political science in Britain and France, after completing his officer training at the British military academy Sandhurst.

Luxembourg is the only remaining grand duchy in the world today and has approximately 670,000 inhabitants. Grand duke is a title for monarchs ranked between a king and a duke.