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 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 Pri ...

. He is the head of the

House of Austria-Este The House of Habsburg-Este (), also known as the House of Austria-Este () and holder of the title of Archduke of Austria-Este (; ), is a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine and also descends from the House of Este in the cognatic line ...

, 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 Cr ...

; 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 ...

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 wes ...

, France as the second child and eldest son of

Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este (given names: ''Robert Karl Ludwig Maximilian Michael Maria Anton Franz Ferdinand Joseph Otto Hubert Georg Pius Johannes Marcus d'Aviano''; 8 February 1915 – 7 February 1996), was the second son of Karl I, (beat ...

, 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 Croatia, ...

, 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 The European Commission of Human Rights was a special body of the Council of Europe. From 1954 to the entry into force of Protocol 11 to the European Convention on Human Rights, individuals did not have direct access to the European Court of Hu ...

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 ...

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

, the only daughter of the then-Prince and Princess of Liège, later King Albert II and

Queen Paola Paola (born Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria;AlthougThe Belgian Monarchy websiteattributes the title of "Princess" to Queen Paola prior to marriage, Burke's Peerage 1973, The Descendants of Louis XIII 1999, ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'' 200 ...

. 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 Prince Jean of Luxembourg (given names: ''Jean Félix Marie Guillaume''; born 15 May 1957 at Betzdorf Castle), the second son of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. He is the twin brother of Princess M ...

, 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 published ...

. In 2015, he was named a member of the Royal Crown Council of Romania.

Title

The title

Prince of Belgium 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 ...

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 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 h ...

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, intellec ...

* : Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau * : 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 (decoration), order of the Principality of Montenegro, Principality and later Kingdom of Montenegro, Kingdom, of Montenegro. It ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livin ...

* : 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 t ...

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, until ...

: 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 th ...

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 natio ...

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 Ger ...

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