Paperjam.lu

Photo: EEJCC/Creative Commons 

The prosecutor’s office said it had spoken to former members of staff as well as Jeannot Waringo, who last year was charged with a thorough investigation into the workings of the royal household.

The claims made against the royal family could not be substantiated, the prosecutor said, adding that no one had pressed charges against the family. The journalist during the investigation refused to name his sources. The investigation has therefore been closed and the matter will not be prosecuted further.

Waringo in February had published his report into the royal household, commissioned by the prime minister after persistent rumours of staff mismanagement at the palace. Between 2014 and 2019, around 50 members of staff left royal service, out of 110 employees.

The report also pointed to serious shortcomings in how the palace manages its money, with no clear separation between private and public activities and how they are paid for. The royal household in 2020 received €10.6m in taxpayer money plus an additional €4m in funding, for example for the upkeep of royal residences and the family’s security detail.

Prime minister Xavier Bettel this week said that the budget for the palace would have to increase to implement new measures to increase transparency, for example in financial controlling.

In the wake of the so-called Waringo report, the royal household appointed a new lord chamberlain, Yuriko Backes, the head of the palace administration. Norbert Becker--who founded tax advisory company Atoz--in June became the new money manager for the Administration des biens de Son Altesse Royale le Grand-Duc, which oversees the private fortune but also the accounts for official activities.