Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 16 December 1955) is a member of the
Belgian royal family
Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's he ...
as the husband of
Princess Astrid of Belgium. He is the head of the
House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the
House of Habsburg-Lorraine
The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of ...
; he has held this position since 1996.
Early life
Prince Lorenz was born at Belvedere Clinic in
Boulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious commune in the Parisian area, located from its centre. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and t ...
,
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a département in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
as the second child and eldest son of
Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este, and his wife, Archduchess Margaret (née
Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta). He is the grandson of
Charles I of Austria
Charles I or Karl I (german: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, hu, Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 18871 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, ), King of Croati ...
, the last Emperor of Austria.
He and his uncle,
Carl Ludwig
Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (; 29 December 1816 – 23 April 1895) was a German physician and physiologist. His work as both a researcher and teacher had a major influence on the understanding, methods and apparatus used in almost all branches ...
, complained about the constitutional provision that prohibited members of the former
ruling dynasty from running in the Austrian presidential elections, and the terms under which their family was banished from the country. Their subsequent appeal to the
European Commission for Human Rights was ruled inadmissible by the court. Further, in June 2011, the Habsburg Law was repealed by the
Austrian Parliament
The Austrian Parliament (german: Österreichisches Parlament) is the bicameral federal legislature of the Austrian Republic. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene ...
.
Marriage
On 22 September 1984, at
Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon
nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Zavelkerk
, native_name_lang =
, image = Brussels, église Notre Dame du Sablon oeg2043-00070 foto7 2015-06-07 13.28.jpg
, image_size = 250px
, alt =
, caption ...
in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Prince Lorenz married
Princess Astrid of Belgium, the only daughter of the then-Prince and Princess of Liège, later
King Albert II and
Queen Paola. The couple has five children:
Prince Amedeo, Princess Maria Laura,
Prince Joachim, Princess Luisa Maria, and Princess Laetitia Maria. Prince Lorenz is the godfather to Prince Carl-Johan of Nassau, youngest child of
Prince Jean of Luxembourg, and Count Costantino Secco di Aragona, the oldest son of his cousin,
Archduchess Catharina-Maria of Austria.
Patronages
Since 2004, Lorenz has served as the honorary president of the Council of the ''Koninklijke Vereniging der Historische Woonsteden van België/Association Royale des Demeures Historiques de Belgique''. Since 2005, he has also served as the Patron of ''Europae Thesauri'', an association of European cathedral and church treasuries.
Lorenz also served as deputy chairman of the Société des Amis of the
Almanach de Gotha
The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First publish ...
. In 2015, he was named a member of the Royal Crown Council of Romania.
Title
The title
Prince of Belgium was granted to him by royal decree on 10 November 1995 by his father-in-law, King
Albert II of Belgium
, house = Belgium
, father = Leopold III of Belgium
, mother = Astrid of Sweden
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
, death_date =
, death_place =
, signature = Albert II of Belgium Signat ...
. The
Belgian monarchy refers to him as the Archduke of Austria-Este.
Honours
National
*
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
: 1,285th Knight of the
Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece
*: Grand Cordon of the
Order of Leopold
Foreign
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of Adolphe of Nassau
The Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau (french: Ordre de Mérite civil et militaire d’Adolphe de Nassau) is an order of merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for meritorious service to the Grand Duke, the Grand-Ducal House a ...
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of the Crown
*
Montenegrin Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Prince Danilo I
The Order of Prince Danilo I ( cnr, Орден Књаза Данила I, translit=Orden Knjaza Danila I) was an order of the Principality and later Kingdom, of Montenegro. It is currently a dynastic order granted by the head of the House of Pet ...
* : Grand Cross of the
Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
* : Grand Cross of the
Order of Prince Henry
The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...
*
Romanian Royal Family
The Romanian royal family ( ro, Familia regală a României) was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Romania, a constitutional monarchy in Central-Eastern Europe. The kingdom existed from 1881, when Carol I of Romania was proclaimed king, unti ...
: Knight Grand Cross of the
Royal Order of the Crown
* : Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Civil Merit
The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and forei ...
* : Commander Grand Cross of the
Royal Order of the Polar Star
The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim.
The Order of ...
Military ranks
* 1980– :
Austrian Armed Forces
The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria.
The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...
,
Leutnant
() is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland.
History
The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Ge ...
as Reserve Officer
References
External links
Official Belgian Monarchy Website – Prince Lorenz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este
1955 births
Living people
Austria-Este
Austrian princes
Dukes of Modena
Belgian people of Austrian descent
Belgian people of Hungarian descent
Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria
Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands)
Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania)
Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit
Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star
University of St. Gallen alumni
Austrian people of Belgian descent