Prince of Liège ( French: Prince de Liège, Dutch: Prins van Luik,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: Prinz von Lüttich) is a

substantive title A substantive title, in the United Kingdom, is a title of nobility which is owned in its own right, as opposed to titles shared among cadets, borne as a courtesy title by a peer's relatives, or acquired through marriage. Current monarchies * ...

awarded by King Leopold III of the Belgians to his younger son, Prince Albert (the future King Albert II), while he was second in line to the throne of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

on 7 June, 1934. The title was used from that date until his accession as

King of the Belgians The monarchy of Belgium is the Constitutional monarchy, constitutional and Inheritance, hereditary institution of the monarchical head of state of the Kingdom of Belgium. As a popular monarchy, the Belgian monarch uses the title king/quee ...

on 9 August 1993. His wife, the former Queen Paola, was known as the Princess of Liège from their marriage in 1959 until their accession in 1993. Albert's elder brother Prince Baudouin (the future King Baudouin) was known as the

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, Duke of Brabant, Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Le ...

at the time of Albert's birth. The title

Count of Hainaut The Count of Hainaut (; ; ) was the ruler of the county of Hainaut, a historical region in the Low Countries (including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany). In English-la ...

was traditionally reserved for the eldest son of the crown prince and King Leopold's brother held the title of

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the c ...

. This meant that all the commonly used titles in the Belgian Royal Household had been given, so a new

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

had to be created. The title is reminiscent of the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as ...

, a noble title of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. That title ceased to exist in 1795. King Albert II decided in 2001 to no longer award substantive titles such as

, and Prince of Liège. The heir to the throne is awarded the title Duke or Duchess of Brabant. It is currently held by

Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant (born 25 October 2001), is the heir apparent to the Belgian throne. The child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, she was elevated to the dukedom after her grandfather Albert II abdicated on 21 July ...

. It is therefore likely that Albert II will be the only Prince of Liège. The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

ecclesiastical principality of the

that was situated for the most part in present-day

. It was an

Imperial Estate An Imperial Estate (; , plural: ') was an entity or an individual of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise signi ...

, so the

bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, as its prince, had a seat and a vote in the Imperial Diet. The Prince-Bishopric of Liège should not be confused with the

Diocese of Liège In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

, which was larger and over which the prince-bishop exercised only the usual responsibilities of a bishop.

Princes of Liège (Kingdom of Belgium)

* Albert (1934–1993) {{DEFAULTSORT:Liege, Prince of * 20th century in Belgium Noble titles created in 1934 1934 establishments in Belgium