nl, Gabriël Boudewijn Karel Maria , image = Gabriël van België.png , caption = Picture released by the Belgian Royal Household on the Prince's birthday in 2022 , birth_date = , birth_place = Erasmus Hospital,

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

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 ...

, Belgium , father =

Philippe of Belgium Philippe or Filip ( nl, Filip Leopold Lodewijk Maria ; french: Philippe Léopold Louis Marie ; born 15 April 1960) is King of the Belgians. He is the eldest child of Albert II of Belgium, King Albert II and Queen Paola. He succeeded his father upo ...

, mother =

Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz Mathilde (born ''Jonkvrouw'' Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz ; 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen. She has founded and assisted charities to ...

, house =

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Prince Gabriel of Belgium (french: Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie, nl, Gabriël Boudewijn Karel Maria; born 20 August 2003) is the elder son and second child of King Philippe and

Queen Mathilde of Belgium Mathilde (born ''Jonkvrouw'' Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz ; 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen. She has founded and assisted charities to ...

. He is currently second in line to the throne of Belgium after his elder sister, Elisabeth.

Life

Prince Gabriel was born on 20 August 2003 in the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht, Brussels. He was christened at

Ciergnon Castle Ciergnon Castle, or the Royal Castle of Ciergnon (Château Royal de Ciergnon; Koninklijk kasteel van Ciergnon) is a residence and summer retreat of the Belgian Royal Family situated near the town of Ciergnon in the municipality of Houyet, provin ...

, one of the royal family’s summer residences, on 25 October 2003. His godparents are his maternal uncle Count Charles-Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz; and his paternal second cousin, Baroness Maria Christina von . He was named after his great-uncle King

Baudouin of Belgium Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his de ...

, his maternal uncle and godfather Count Charles-Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz and

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

(traditional name in Catholic royalty). Gabriel’s older sister, Elisabeth, precedes him in the

line of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.absolute primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

. He also has a younger brother, Prince Emmanuel, and a younger sister, Princess Eléonore. He lives with his parents and siblings at the

Royal Palace of Laeken The Palace of Laeken or Castle of Laeken (french: Château de Laeken, nl, Kasteel van Laken, german: Schloss zu Laeken) is the official residence of the King of the Belgians and the Belgian Royal Family. It lies in the Brussels-Capital Regi ...

. Gabriel was a student at

St John Berchmans College St John Berchmans College ( nl, Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege) is a Roman Catholic secondary school founded by the Society of Jesus in Brussels. It is situated close to Chapel Church and is named after John Berchmans. History The school was founded ...

until 2019, where the instruction is in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, in the Marolles district of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. He also speaks

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

. From 2019 to 2021, he finished his secondary education at the

International School of Brussels The International School of Brussels (ISB) is an English-language international school with grades spanning from pre-school to high school. Its campus lies in the Brussels commune of Watermael-Boitsfort. History The International School of Bru ...

(ISB), an English-language private school in

Watermael-Boitsfort Watermael-Boitsfort () or Watermaal-Bosvoorde () is a residential suburb of the city of Brussels in Belgium, and one of the 19 municipalities which form the Brussels-Capital Region. The municipality has a total area of of which 58 percent is cov ...

. From September 2021, he is taking a 1-year preparatory A-Level course in mathematics, further mathematics, and physics at The National Mathematics and Science College, a

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

-oriented sixth form college in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...

, England. In August 2022, the Royal Family announced that Gabriel attended the

Royal Military Academy of Belgium The Royal Military Academy (french: École royale militaire, nl, Koninklijke Militaire School) is the military university of Belgium. The institution is responsible for the education of the officers of the five components of the Belgian defen ...

, studying social and military sciences in Dutch and will be a part of the 162nd class. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Prince Gabriel had conversations over the phone with elderly people in residential care centers in order to encourage and support them. He has been involved in the Scouts since he was eight years old and has become a patrol leader in the last few years. Prince Gabriel plays the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. He likes to practice

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

and

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

. He was also a member of , a Belgian

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

club based in

Evere Evere (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region ( Belgium). On 1 January 2006, the municipality had a total population of 33,462. The total area is which gives a population density of . In common with all of Brussels' ...

but decided to quit hockey in 2019 to focus on his school work.

Arms

nl, Eendracht maakt macht
german: Einigkeit macht stark , other_elements = The whole is placed on a mantle

purpure In heraldry, purpure, () is a tincture, equivalent to the colour "purple", and is one of the five main or most usually used ''colours'' (as opposed to ''metals''). It may be portrayed in engravings by a series of parallel lines at a 45-degree angl ...

with ermine lining, fringes and tassels or and ensigned with the Royal crown of Belgium.

References

External links

Biography on the official website of the Belgian Royal Family
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriel, Prince of Belgium 2003 births Living people House of Belgium People from Anderlecht Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Belgian male swimmers Belgian male taekwondo practitioners Belgian male tennis players Belgian people of Danish descent Belgian people of German descent Belgian people of Italian descent Belgian people of Polish descent Belgian people of Swedish descent Sons of kings