Michel de Ligne, 14th

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

de Ligne, Prince d'Épinoy, Prince d'Amblise, GE (Michel Charles Eugène Marie Lamoral; born 26 May 1951Enache, Nicolas. ''La descendance de Marie-Thérèse de Habsbourg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 46, 51, 427–429 . (French). ) is the head of the princely

House of Ligne The House of Ligne is one of the oldest Belgian noble families, dating back to the eleventh century.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XIV. "Ligne". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 495-500. . The family's name comes from the ...

.Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (editor). ''Burke's Guide to the Royal Family'', Burke's Peerage, London, 1973, pp. 218, 240. He is the eldest son of Antoine, 13th Prince de Ligne, and his wife, Princess Alix of Luxembourg; he was thus a nephew of the late

Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Jean (Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano; 5 January 1921 – 23 April 2019) was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He was the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg of French agnatic ...

and a cousin of reigning

Grand Duke Henri Henri (french: Henri Albert Gabriel Félix Marie Guillaume, ; born 16 April 1955) is the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He has reigned since 7 October 2000. Henri, the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, is a f ...

. He is also a

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

in Austria.

Early life

Michel was born 26 May 1951 as the first child of Belgian nobleman Prince Antoine of Ligne (youngest child of Prince Eugène, 11th Prince of Ligne and his wife Philippine de Noailles) and his wife Princess Alix of Luxembourg (youngest daughter of

Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg Charlotte (Charlotte Adelgonde Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine; 23 January 1896 – 9 July 1985) reigned as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 14 January 1919 until her abdication on 12 November 1964. She acceded to the throne on 14 January 1919 fol ...

and her consort Prince Felix né: Prince of

Bourbon-Parma The House of Bourbon-Parma ( it, Casa di Borbone di Parma) is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, whose members once ruled as King of Etruria and as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Guastalla, and Lucca. The House descended from the French C ...

). At the time of his birth, Michel was third in line of succession to the title of

Prince of Ligne Prince of Ligne is a title of Belgian nobility that belongs to the House of Ligne, which goes back to the eleventh century. It owes its name to the village in which it originated, between Ath and Tournai. The lords of Ligne belonged to the ent ...

; he was also the first grandchild of his maternal grandparents.

Marriage and children

On 10 March 1981 in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Michel married Princess Eleonora of Orléans-Braganza (born 20 May 1953 in Jacarezinho), daughter of

Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Princess Maria Elisabeth of Bavaria , house = Wittelsbach , father = Prince Franz of Bavaria , mother = Princess Isabella Antonie of Croÿ , birth_date = , birth_place = Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire , death_date = , de ...

Arms

File:Grandee Coat of arms of the Princes of Ligne.svg, Coat of arms as

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

(2005–present)

References

External links

Princes of Ligne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligne, Michel, Prince Of 1951 births Living people #14 Grandees of Spain Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria