Born on 11 October 1927 at Stuyvenberg Castle in Brussels, Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium was the eldest daughter of King Leopold III and Queen Astrid of Sweden. Her childhood was profoundly shaped by the premature death of her mother in a car accident in 1935, and later by the dramatic events of the Second World War. Deported with her family to Germany and Austria by the Nazis, she spent her adolescence in the uncertainty of exile.

After the war, the Princess continued her studies in Geneva, where she developed a particular interest in social sciences and languages. The humanistic nature of her education deepened her commitment to social causes and educational issues, areas in which she would later play an active role. Her youth was overshadowed by great uncertainty, particularly the ‘royal question’ that unsettled the Belgian monarchy at the end of the Second World War. Nevertheless, once the monarchy was confirmed in Belgium, these experiences nurtured her strong sense of duty and shaped her future role as Grand Duchess, a guarantor of stability.

On 9 April 1953, she married Hereditary Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, whom she had met during a visit to her godmother, Grand Duchess Charlotte. Their wedding, celebrated at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City, was both a dynastic event and a symbol of rapprochement between two European monarchies. The couple had five children: Marie-Astrid (1954), Henri (1955), Jean (1957), Margaretha (1957) and Guillaume (1963).

She paid particular attention to early childhood, health, education and local crafts. She regularly visited hospitals, nurseries, retirement homes and centres for people with disabilities, often away from the cameras and formal protocol.

The Grand Duchess also played an essential diplomatic role in representing Luxembourg abroad. Alongside her husband, she took part in numerous State Visits: to Brazil, the Vatican, the United Kingdom, China, Japan and the United States. The couple was universally recognised for their dignity, restraint and modern representation of a monarchy in the service of the nation.

She encouraged young artists and chaired various cultural committees. She was also passionate about floral art and organised annual exhibitions at Berg Castle, where she combined nature, aesthetics and heritage. In her honour, the Philharmonie - inaugurated in 2005 - bears the official name ‘Salle de Concerts Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte’.

Within her family, she ensured that her children were taught the values of responsibility and public service, in accordance with the Nassau motto Je maintiendrai (“I will maintain”). Princess Marie-Astrid, who became a nurse, was involved in humanitarian missions, working in particular in Rwandan hospitals in 1975.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Grand Duchess continued her commitments despite increasing health problems. She took part in major national and international commemorations, as well as in Pope John Paul II's visit to Luxembourg.

Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte was laid to rest alongside her husband in the Grand Ducal crypt at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg City. She is remembered as an elegant and cultured woman, deeply committed to serving the common good. Through her sense of duty and charitable work, she left a lasting mark on Luxembourg’s contemporary history.