Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 16 December 1955) is a member of the

Belgian royal family The monarchy of Belgium is the constitutional and hereditary institution of the monarchical head of state of the Kingdom of Belgium. As a popular monarchy, the Belgian monarch uses the title king/queen of the Belgians and serves as the ...

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 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 ...

; he has held this position since 1996.

Early life

Prince Lorenz was born at Clinique du Belvédère in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 Charles I (, ; 17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV), and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from November 1916 until the monarchy was abolished in November 1918. He was the ...

, 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. Further, in June 2011, the Habsburg Law was repealed by the

Austrian Parliament The Austrian Parliament () is the bicameral federal legislature of Austria. It consists of two chambers – the National Council and the Federal Council. In specific cases, both houses convene as the Federal Assembly. The legislature meets i ...

Marriage and issue

On 22 September 1984, at the Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon in

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 ...

, 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:Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg''. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 44,50. FrenchGenealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Furstlicher Hauser Bande XIV, C.A. Starke Verlag, ''Ligne'', Limburg, 1991, pp. 92–95. German * 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 (Habsburg-Lorraine), Princess of Belgium (born on 26 August 1988 at Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert,

), married William Isvy on 10 septiember 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,

). 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

Since 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''. Since 2005, he has also served as the Patron of ''Europae Thesauri'', an association of European cathedral and church treasuries. Lorenz also served as deputy chairman of the Société des Amis of the

Almanach de Gotha The ''Almanach de Gotha'' () is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published in 1763 by C. W. Ettinger in ...

. In 2015, he was named a member of the Royal Crown Council of Romania.

Title

The 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.

Ancestry

Honours

National

* : Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold

Dynastic

* House of Habsburg-Este: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Eagle of Este *

: 1,285th Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

* Montenegrin Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I * Romanian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Crown

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 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 ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit * : Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star

Military ranks

* 1980– : Austrian Armed Forces, Leutnant as Reserve Officer

References

External links

Official Belgian Monarchy Website – Prince Lorenz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este 1955 births Living people House of Austria-Este Austrian princes Dukes of Modena Belgian people of Austrian descent Belgian people of Hungarian descent Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star University of St. Gallen alumni Austrian people of Belgian descent