In a detailed Instagram post, the former Princess of Luxembourg remembered her former grandfather-in-law Grand Duke Jean, who died in 2019, as a “role model”.
“The most wonderful, informed, fair and kind man I have ever known. A man who loved his family as much as he loved his country,” she captioned a photo of her two sons with the duke.
Tessy, the former wife of Prince Louis, recalled she was placed “all the way in the back” at the duke’s funeral, her view obstructed by a “huge” concrete column.
“I didn’t mind that journalists were sitting with family while I was put where they put me,” she said.
“Just the blessing of being there for him and for my children to know that mama is there if needed was all that mattered. I closed my eyes and saw everything in my heart.”
Tessy said she and sons Gabriel and Noah miss Grand Duke Jean every day.
“I am far from being perfect. Yet, that was never an issue. Since the moment our paths crossed he made me feel loved, accepted — like family,” she added.
The duke, who stepped down from Luxembourg’s throne in 2000 after 36 years of rule, died in April 2019, weeks after Tessy and Prince Louis were officially granted a divorce.
His funeral was attended by royalty from all over Europe, including Britain’s Princess Anne and King Philippe of Belgium.
Tessy was stripped of her royal titles after her divorce.
She and Prince Louis married in 2006 when they were both 20. At the time, the marriage was scandalous, as the couple had welcomed Gabriel six months prior.
Their 12-year relationship broke down in 2016, and they were granted a decree nisi in February 2017 before officially divorcing two years later.
Despite their separation, Tessy and Louis are believed to maintain a close relationship.
Tessy, a co-founder of social enterprise Professors Without Borders, currently lives with the couple’s children in London.
On New Year’s Eve, the ex-royal announced her engagement to Swiss financier and CEO Frank Floessel, writing: “Yes to 2021 and many more years together.”
Tessy has candidly discussed her royal divorce, telling Hello magazine she “took a long time” to recover from her divorce, as she was stripped of her royal titles.
“After every relationship it takes a while to heal when the heart has been broken,” she said.
“It has been really, really wonderful for me to realise that I am able to trust and love again. It’s nice to see that life goes on.”
Discussing the public scrutiny she faced as a royal with Sky News, she explained: “My little cousin needed to change schools twice. My twin brother was incredibly bullied at work – he still is today.”
“My sister, my parents suffered, my oldest brother doesn’t talk to me anymore because of that, because it was too much for him to handle.
“That was when I married in, and when I got divorced, oh my gosh the same.”
In October 2020, Tessy told the Tell It Like It Is podcast that she felt like a “prisoner” when news of the divorce broke out.
“For me, I really had to build myself up again one day at a time. It was really hard. I learned you could not fix that with pills, so I never took any pills like anti-depressants or stuff…I had so much anxiety, I couldn’t go shopping for food,” she said.
“Divorce was one of the most painful things I have gone through. I lost 98 per cent of my friends.”