Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 16 December 1955) is a member of the Belgian royal family 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; he has held this position since 1996.
| Prince Lorenz | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archduke of Austria-Este (more) | |||||
 Prince Lorenz at the wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden in 2010 | |||||
| Born | 16 December 1955 Belvedere Clinic, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | |||||
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| House | Austria-Este | ||||
| Father | Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este | ||||
| Mother | Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta | ||||
Early life
editPrince Lorenz was born at Belvedere Clinic in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France 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, the last Emperor of Austria.
He and his uncle, Carl Ludwig, 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Commission for Human Rights was ruled inadmissible by the court.[1] Further, in June 2011, the Habsburg Law was repealed by the Austrian Parliament.
Marriage and issue
editOn 22 September 1984, at Church of Our Blessed Lady of the Sablon in Brussels, 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:[2][3][4]
- 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 in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Brussels). Married Elisabetta "Lili" Maria Rosboch von Wolkenstein, on 5 July 2014 in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere,.[5] They have three children:[6][8]
- Princess Maria Laura Zita Beatrix Gerhard d'Autriche-Este (Habsburg-Lorraine), Princess of Belgium[12] (born on 26 August 1988 at Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Brussels), married William Isvy on 10 septiember 2022, at Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels.
- Prince Joachim Karl-Maria Nikolaus Isabelle Marcus d'Aviano of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born on 9 December 1991 at Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Brussels)
- Princess Luisa Maria Anna Martine Pilar of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 11 October 1995 at Clinique St Jean in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Brussels)
- Princess Laetitia Maria Nora Anna Joachim Zita of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born on 23 April 2003 at Clinique St Jean in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Brussels).
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
editSince 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.[13] Since 2005, he has also served as the Patron of Europae Thesauri, an association of European cathedral and church treasuries.[14]
Lorenz also served as deputy chairman of the Société des Amis of the Almanach de Gotha.[15] In 2015, he was named a member of the Royal Crown Council of Romania.[16]
Title
editThe 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. The Belgian monarchy refers to him as the Archduke of Austria-Este.[17]
Ancestry
edit| Ancestors of Prince Lorenz of Belgium |
|---|
Honours
editNational
edit
House of Habsburg-Este: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Eagle of Este
House of Habsburg: 1,285th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece
Belgium: Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold[18]
Foreign
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Germany: Grand Cross 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Luxembourg: Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau
Netherlands: Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
Montenegrin Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I
Norway: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit
Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry[19]
Romanian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Crown
Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit[20]
Sweden: Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star
Military ranks
edit
Austria 1980– : Austrian Armed Forces, Leutnant as Reserve Officer
References
edit- ^ Decision made on 14 December 1989; case number 15344/89
- ^ Enache, Nicolas. La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 44,50. French
- ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Furstlicher Hauser Bande XIV, C.A. Starke Verlag, Ligne, Limburg, 1991, pp. 92–95. German
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Prins Amedeo en Lili trouwen in de zon". VTM. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ NWS, VRT. "Nederlands". vrtnws.be. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ Due to a royal decree issued by his uncle King Philippe, which limits the range of family members bearing the title "Prince of Belgium", Amedeo's children do not bear the princely title nor the style of Royal Highness.[7]
- ^ Dubuisson, Martine (9 August 2016). "Quel nom pour les princes qui ne seront plus "de Belgique"?" [What name for the princes who will no longer be "of Belgium"?] (in French). Le Soir. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023.
Dès lors, comment s'appelle-t-elle ? A la rubrique « nom et prénoms », son acte de naissance porte en effet, comme nous avons pu le voir : « Son Altesse Impériale et Royale la Princesse Anna Astrid Marie Archiduchesse d'Autriche-Este (Habsburg-Lorraine) » [So what is her name? Under the heading "surname and first names", her birth certificate indeed bears, as we have seen: "Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Anna Astrid Marie Archduchess of Austria-Este (Habsburg-Lorraine)"]
- ^ "België is een prinsje rijker: zoontje voor prins Amedeo en prinses Elisabetta". De Standaard. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ "A third child is born to Princess Elisabetta and Prince Amedeo". The Brussels Times. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ "31 JANVIER 2022. - Arrêté royal autorisant Son Altesse Royale la Princesse Maria Laura d'Autriche-Este (Habsburg-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.
- ^ Association Royale des Demeures Historiques de Belgique: Conseil d'Administration Archived 15 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Goosse, Georges. "Membres - Europae Thesauri". europaethesauri.eu. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ Almanach de Gotha, Société des Amis de l'Almanach de Gotha
- ^ "EXCLUSIV: Personaj CHEIE, dat afară din Casa Regală a României - Flux24.ro". 2 March 2016.
- ^ "Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz". Official website of the Belgian Monarchy. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ ministere des affaires etrangeres, du commerce exterieur et de la cooperation internationale (5 April 2002). "Arrêté Royal ordres nationaux ordre de leopold par arrete royal du 20 decembre 2000 a ete nomme : grand cordon le prince lorenz, otto, carl, amedeus, prince de belgique, archiduc d'autriche-este . par arrete royal du 23 novembre 2(...) commandeur le comte de liedekerke beaufort, humbert, president honoraire de l'association de la(...)". etaamb.openjustice.be (in French). Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ "Presidency of the Republic - Chancellery of Portuguese Honorary Orders". dre.pt.
- ^ "Boletín Oficial del Estado" (PDF).