Maria Teresa was born in Havana, Cuba on 22nd March 1956. Her parents are Maria Teresa Batista & Jose Antonio Mestre. Her family descends from an aristocratic Spanish family with ties to Spanish royalty. In 1959 when she was 3 years old her parents moved to New York due to the revolution in Cuba. Maria Teresa attended the Marymount school in New York City and later Lycee Francais de New York. As a child she participated in multiple cross-curicular activities such as, ballet, skiing, ice skating, singing & water sports.
After graduating Maria Teresa went to study in Spain and then Geneva, Switzerland. It was in Geneva that she met her husband Prince Henri of Luxembourg. They had a civil marriage on February 4th 1981 and on the 14th a religious ceremony was held. The royal couple have five children together;
1). Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke (11th November 1981)
2). Prince Felix (3rd June 1984)
3). Prince Louis (3rd August 1986)
4). Princess Alexandra (16th February 1991)
5). Prince Sebastien (16th April 1992)
Henri & Maria Teresa have 5 grandchildren, Prince Gabriel and Prince Noah who are Louis' children, Princess Amalia and Prince Liam, Felix's children and Prince Charles, the son of Hereditary Grand Duke, Guillaume.
When Maria Teresa married Henri he was the heir apparent to the Luxembourg throne. On 7th October 2000 her father-in-law Grand Duke Jean abdicated and Henri became Grand Duke. Maria Teresa became Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is heavily involved in humanitarian causes and received the the 'Path to Peace' award for her work. Maria Teresa is also president of the Luxembourg Red Cross. The Grand Duchess is an advocate for children and was appointed to the task by UNICEF. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is also an honorary member of the International Paralympic Committee board.
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