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 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 (but not sovereign branch) of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, which originally also descended fr ...

branch of the

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...

, 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 Belvédère Château in

Laeken (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the ...

, northern

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, and was named after her late paternal grandmother,

Astrid of Sweden Astrid of Sweden (Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra; 17 November 1905 – 29 August 1935) was a member of the Swedish House of Bernadotte and later became Queen of the Belgians as the first wife of Leopold III of Belgium, King Leopold III. Following her ...

, King Leopold III's popular first wife, who had died in 1935 in a car accident aged 29. Princess Astrid's godparents were her uncle Fabrizio, Prince Ruffo di Calabria-Santapau, 7th Duke di Guardia Lombarda, and her aunt Hereditary 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 the Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon in

.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 Charles I of A ...

(1915–1996), and Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta (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 in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert,

). Married Elisabetta "Lili" Maria Rosboch von Wolkenstein on 5 July 2014 in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. They have three children: ** Archduchess Anna Astrid Marie of Austria-Este (born on 17 May 2016) ** Archduke Maximilian Joseph Lorenz Ettore Karl Marcus d'Aviano of Austria-Este (born on 6 September 2019) ** Archduchess Alix Lorenza Anne Marie Josephine of Austria-Este (born on 2 September 2023) *Princess Maria Laura Zita Beatrix Gerhard d'Autriche-Este (Habsbourg-Lorraine), Princess of Belgium (born on 26 August 1988 at Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert,

), married William Isvy on 10 September 2022 at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in

. They have one son: ** Albert Isvy (born on 26 January 2025) *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,

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

). *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,

Royal role

Astrid was formerly President of the Belgian Red Cross, 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 Armed Forces (; , ) are the combined national military forces of Belgium. The Monarchy of Belgium, King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium Belgian Rev ...

. 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 The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

. In April 2015, the Princess took over the Prince Albert Fund from her father King Albert.

Special Envoy

Princess Astrid has been for many years an 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 2019, she carried out a mission to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

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 membe ...

" 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 (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest Order (honour), 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 Order of ...

* : Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown * : Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

* : Grand Cross of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...

* : Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of Civil Merit The Royal Order of Civil Merit (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OMC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and the Order ...

* : Member Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order o ...

Awards

* : Freedom of the City of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Other

2016 : Honorary mayor and The Hidalgo Award of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Arms

Ranks

Ancestry

Note

References

External links

Official Belgian Monarchy website – Princess Astrid
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astrid Of Belgium Princesses of Belgium Belgian expatriates in Switzerland Members of the Senate (Belgium) House of Belgium Austrian princesses House of 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