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 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 ...

, and the younger sister to the current Belgian monarch, King Philippe. She is married to Prince Lorenz of Belgium, head of the

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. ...

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 C ...

, and is fifth in line of succession to the Belgian throne.

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 Astrid of Sweden (17 November 1905 – 29 August 1935) was the Queen of the Belgians and the first wife of King Leopold III. Originally a princess of Sweden of the House of Bernadotte, Astrid became the Duchess of Brabant after her marriage ...

, the popular first wife of

King Leopold III Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasi ...

. Her godparents were her uncle

Fabrizio Fabrizio is an Italian first name, from the Latin word "Faber" meaning "smith" and may refer to: * Fabrizio Barbazza (born 1963), Italian Formula One driver * Fabrizio Barca (born 1954), Italian politician * Fabrizio Brienza (born 1969), Italian mo ...

, Prince Ruffo di Calabria-Santapau, 7th Duke di Guardia Lombarda, and her aunt 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 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 ...

.Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 44-45,50. FrenchGenealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Furstlicher Hauser Bande XVI, C.A. Starke Verlag, ''Haus Osterreich'', Limburg, 2001, pp. 91–92. German Lorenz is the 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, ( bea ...

(1915–1996), and his wife

Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta Margherita, Archduchess of Austria-Este ( Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta, 7 April 1930 – 10 January 2022) was an Italian princess, the first-born child of Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta, and Princess Anne d'Orléans. Biography Margherita, bor ...

(1930–2022). Her husband was also created Prince of Belgium by Royal Decree on 27 November 1995. Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz have five children: * Prince Amedeo Maria Josef Carl Pierre Philippe Paola Marcus d'Aviano of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born on 21 February 1986 at

Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc The Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc (UCLouvain Saint-Luc) is a non-profit academic hospital of the University of Louvain (UCLouvain), located on the university campus of UCLouvain Bruxelles Woluwe in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Brussels, Belgium. ...

Woluwé-Saint-Lambert Woluwe-Saint-Lambert () or Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe (Dutch, ) is one of the nineteen municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It is a prosperous residential area, with a mixture of flats and detached, semi-detached and terraced hous ...

). *Princess Maria Laura Zita Beatrix Gerhard of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born on 26 August 1988 at

), m. William Isvy *Prince Joachim Karl-Maria Nikolaus Isabelle Marcus d'Aviano of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born on 9 December 1991 at

) *Princess Luisa Maria Anna Martine Pilar of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 11 October 1995 at Clinique St Jean in

) *Princess Laetitia Maria Nora Anna Joachim Zita of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born on 23 April 2003 at Clinique St Jean in

)

Royal role

Astrid was formerly President of the

Belgian Red Cross The Belgian Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that aids in providing emergency and disaster related services and relief as well as providing education for disaster awareness within the population of Belgium. It is a member of the Internat ...

, 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 The Belgian Defense Forces ( nl, Defensie; french: La Défense) is the national military of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became independ ...

. Her official residence is the Royal Castle of Laeken on the edge of Brussels. She is a member of the Honorary Board of the International Paralympic Committee. In April 2015 the Princess took over the reins of the

Prince Albert Fund The Prince Albert Fund is a Belgian non-profit organization (fund) which provides a scholarship to young Belgian professionals to give them the opportunity to carry out a project for a Belgian company in international business development, outsi ...

from her father King Albert.

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 The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of 1997, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or often simply the Mine ...

, since Belgium joined in 1998. In 2013, the Princess was named Special Envoy of the convention, and has promoted the acceptance of a global ban on landmines and promoted the rights of survivors in various UN meetings. In 2014, she met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdallah, to encourage

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

to join the treaty, which occurred a few months later. In 2019, she carried out a mission to

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

to promote the convention. In Beirut she met with President Michel Aoun, and Minister of National Defense Elias Bou Saab.

Titles, styles and honours

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-EsteShe 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 Imperial and Royal Highness (abbreviation HI&RH) is a style possessed by someone who either through birth or marriage holds two individual styles, '' Imperial Highness'' and '' Royal Highness''. ''His/Her Imperial Highness'' is a style used by me ...

" 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".

Honours

National

* : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold

Foreign

* : Grand Cross 1st Class 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 Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the O ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown * : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit * : Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry * : 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 fore ...

* : Member 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 ...

Awards

* : Freedom of the City of

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

Other

2016 : Honorary mayor and The Hidalgo Award of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Arms

nl, 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

Ancestry

Note

References

External links

*
Official Belgian Monarchy website – Princess Astrid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astrid Of Belgium Belgian princesses Belgian expatriates in Switzerland Members of the Senate (Belgium) House of Belgium Austrian princesses category:Austria-Este Nobility from Brussels 1962 births Living people Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (military) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands) Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Daughters of kings