Princess Astrid of Belgium

Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 5 June 1962), is the second child and first daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and the younger sister to the current Belgian monarch, King Philippe. She is married to Prince Lorenz of Belgium, head of the Austria-Este branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and is fifth in line of succession to the Belgian throne.

"Astrid of Belgium" redirects here. For her grandmother, Astrid, Queen of the Belgians and consort to King Leopold III, see Astrid of Sweden.

Princess Astrid
Archduchess of Austria-Este
Princess Astrid in 2022
Born (1962-06-05) 5 June 1962
Belvédère Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1984)​
IssuePrince Amedeo
Princess Maria Laura
Prince Joachim
Princess Luisa Maria
Princess Laetitia Maria
Names
Astrid Joséphine-Charlotte Fabrizia Elisabeth Paola Marie
HouseBelgium
FatherAlbert II of Belgium
MotherPaola Ruffo di Calabria
ReligionRoman Catholic

Biography

Princess Astrid was born one day before her father's 28th birthday at the Château de Belvédère, near Laeken, and was named after her late paternal grandmother, Astrid of Sweden, the popular first wife of King Leopold III. Her godparents were her uncle Fabrizio, Prince Ruffo di Calabria-Santapau, 7th Duke di Guardia Lombarda, and her aunt Hereditary Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg.

Marriage and issue

Princess Astrid married Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, subsequently head of the Archducal House of Austria-Este, on 22 September 1984 at Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon in Brussels.[1][2] Lorenz is the eldest son of Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este (1915–1996), and his wife Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta (1930–2022).[2] Her husband was also created Prince of Belgium by Royal Decree on 27 November 1995.[2]

Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz have five children:[1][2][3]

Royal role

Astrid was formerly President of the Belgian Red Cross,[2] a position which ended on 31 December 2007. She declined to stand again for election to the role in light of internal struggles in the organisation in reconciling its Flemish-speaking and French branches, each of which seeks greater autonomy. The princess is also a colonel in the Medical Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. Her official residence is the Royal Castle of Laeken on the edge of Brussels.[2]

She is a member of the Honorary Board of the International Paralympic Committee.[5]

In April 2015 the Princess took over the reins of the Prince Albert Fund from her father King Albert.[6]

Special Envoy

Princess Astrid has been for many years a fierce advocate for landmine survivors rights, participating actively in the work of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, also known as the Ottawa Treaty, since Belgium joined in 1998.

In 2013, the Princess was named Special Envoy of the convention,[7] and has promoted the acceptance of a global ban on landmines and promoted the rights of survivors in various UN meetings.[7][8][9]

In 2014, she met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah, to encourage Oman to join the treaty, which occurred a few months later.

In 2019, she carried out a mission to Lebanon to promote the convention.[10][11] In Beirut she met with President Michel Aoun, and Minister of National Defense Elias Bou Saab.[12]

Titles, styles and honours
Styles of
Princess Astrid,
Archduchess of Austria-Este
Reference styleHer Imperial and Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Imperial and Royal Highness

Titles
  • 5 June 1962 – 22 September 1984: Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium
  • 22 September 1984 – present: Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este[note 1]

Honours
See also: List of honours of the Belgian Royal Family by country

National

Foreign

Awards

Other

2016 : Honorary mayor and The Hidalgo Award of San Antonio, Texas.[15]

Arms
Coat of arms of Princess Astrid of Belgium
Notes
As a Princess of Belgium and a descendant of King Leopold I, the Princess is entitled to use a coat of arms which was stipulated in the Royal Decree of King Philippe in 2019.[16]
Adopted
12 July 2019
Coronet
Princely crown of Belgium
Escutcheon
On a lozenge, sable, a lion rampant or, armed and langued gules (Belgium), on the shoulder an escutcheon barry of ten sable and or, a crancelin vert (Wettin), overall a bordure or.
Supporters
Two lions guardant proper
Motto
French: L'union fait la force
Dutch: Eendracht maakt macht
German: Einigkeit macht stark
Other elements
The whole is placed on a mantle purpure with ermine lining, fringes and tassels or and ensigned with the Royal crown of Belgium.

Ranks
19972003

Ancestry

Note
  1. She has held the title "Princess of Belgium" from birth under Belgian law. By marriage to an archduke of the house of Austria-Este, she gained, in addition to her native title, the style "Imperial and Royal Highness" and the title "Archduchess of Austria-Este". Upon her husband's succeeding to the headship of his house in 1996, as wife of the Archduke of Austria-Este, internationally or depending on the situation, she is also accorded the traditional title "Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Archduchess of Austria-Este" or, more formally, reflecting both her native and marital titles, is addressed as HI&RH Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este. Her children by Archduke Lorenz bear the titles "Prince(ss) of Belgium" by Belgian decree of 2 December 1991, in addition to their Austrian titles borne by tradition, "Archduke/Archduchess of Austria".

References
  1. Enache, Nicolas. La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 44-45,50. French
  2. Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Furstlicher Hauser Bande XVI, C.A. Starke Verlag, Haus Osterreich, Limburg, 2001, pp. 91–92. German
  3. William Bortrick. "HM The King of the Belgians and HM The Queen of the Belgians. The Royal Family of Belgium. Houses of Wettin and Belgium". Burke's Peerage. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
  4. "31 JANVIER 2022. - Arrêté royal autorisant Son Altesse Royale la Princesse Maria Laura d'Autriche-Este (Habsbourg-Lorraine), Princesse de Belgique, à contracter mariage" [31 JANUARY 2022. - Royal Decree authorizing Her Royal Highness Princess Maria Laura of Austria-Este (Habsburg-Lorraine), Princess of Belgium, to enter into marriage] (in French). ejustice.just.fgov.be. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023.
  5. "Honorary Board". IPC.
  6. "About Archive".
  7. "AP Mine Ban Convention: Special envoy Princess Astrid of Belgium welcomes Oman's decision to join the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention". www.apminebanconvention.org.
  8. "AP Mine Ban Convention: Princess Astrid of Belgium calls for greater assistance to landmine survivors". www.apminebanconvention.org.
  9. "Maputo Summit: 3rd Review Conference". www.maputoreviewconference.org.
  10. "Lebanon aims at joining Ottawa Treaty: president - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  11. Liban, Délégation de l'Union Européenne au (3 October 2019). "Envoyé spécial en visite au Liban pour l'encourager à prendre des mesures concrètes pour adhérer au traité historique de désarmement humanitaire". Libnanews, Le Média Citoyen du Liban (in French). Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  12. "AP Mine Ban Convention: Special Envoy asks the Lebanese Republic to join anti-landmine treaty". www.apminebanconvention.org. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  13. "Tildelinger av ordener og medaljer". www.kongehuset.no.
  14. "Photo" (PDF). www.boe.es.
  15. Guenther, Rocío (7 December 2016). "City Welcomes Princess Astrid of Belgium to San Antonio". San Antonio Report. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  16. Philippe, Koning der Belgen (12 July 2019). "Koninklijk besluit houdende vaststelling van het wapen van het Koninklijk Huis en van zijn leden" (PDF). Moniteur Belge/ Belgisch Staatsblad. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  17. Le Soir, Article (French) announcing the rank
  18. Belgian Defense Website, Article evoking Princess Astrid & Prince Laurent
  19. Belgian Defense Website, Article evoking Princess Astrid, last section "Mon colonel !" Archived 3 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
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