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 branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and is fifth in line of succession to the Belgian throne.
Contents
Biography
Princess Astrid was born one day before her father's 28th birthday at the Belvédère Château in Laeken, northern Brussels, and was named after her late paternal grandmother, Astrid of Sweden, 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 House of Austria-Este, on 22 September 1984 at the Church of Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon in Brussels. Lorenz is the eldest son of Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este (1915–1996) and Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta (1930–2022). Her husband was also created Belgian Prince 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, Brussels). 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 of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born on 26 August 1988 at Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Brussels), married William Mark Isvy (b. 9 March 1991) on 10 September 2022 at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels. 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, Brussels).
Princess Luisa Maria Anna Martine Pilar of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 11 October 1995 at Clinique St Jean in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Brussels).
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 Belgian Medical Service of the Belgian Armed Forces. 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.
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, 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 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-Este
Honours
Belgium: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold I
Germany: Grand Cross, 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Hungary: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary
Luxembourg: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau
Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown
Norway: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit
Palestine:
Latin Catholic Patriarchate of Jerusalem: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry
Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit
Sweden: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star
Awards
Peru: Freedom of the City of Lima
South Korea
Seoul: Honorary Citizen of Seoul
2016 : Honorary mayor and The Hidalgo Award of San Antonio, Texas.