Referred to in the UK as a lord chamberlain, the maréchal is the top post in the palace administration, regrouped under the so-called Maison du Grand-Duc in .

Backes had assumed the post in after her predecessor retired. This followed the publication of a highly , led by former senior civil servant Jeannot Waringo, into the workings of the palace.

The so-called Waringo report had found serious shortcomings in the management of the royal household and its finances.

The creation of the Maison du Grand-Duc to manage the public activities of the royal family was a central recommendation of the report to better separate their official and private lives.

Arend previously worked at the foreign ministry and Luxembourg’s mission to Nato. He was mayor of Clervaux between 2007 and 2011 for the CSV.

He completed a Master of Arts in English literature and international relations at the University of Aberdeen in 2004 after a preliminary year of study in Luxembourg.