Prince Lorenz of Belgium
Prince Lorenz of Belgium | |||||
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Archduke of Austria-Este (more) | |||||
Head of the House of Austria-Este | |||||
Tenure | 7 February 1996 – present | ||||
Predecessor | Archduke Robert | ||||
Heir apparent | Archduke Amedeo | ||||
Born | Belvedere Clinic , Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France | 16 December 1955||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue | Prince Amedeo, Hereditary Archduke of Austria-Este Princess Maria Laura Prince Joachim Princess Luisa Maria Princess Laetitia Maria | ||||
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House | Austria-Este | ||||
Father | Archduke Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este | ||||
Mother | Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta |
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Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 16 December 1955) is a member of the Belgian Royal Family and has both Austrian and Belgian citizenships.[1] Since 1996 he is also head of the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the formerly Imperial Austrian House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
Early life
Prince Lorenz was born in Belvedere Clinic, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France, as the second child of Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este and his wife, Archduchess Margaret (née Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta).
Education and career
After finishing school, Archduke Lorenz did his military service in the regiment of Gebirgsjäger ("Alpine Hunters") of the Federal Austrian Army, and he was promoted to Reserve Leutnant (Second Lieutenant) in 1980.[2]
Lorenz studied economics at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and the University of Innsbruck in Austria. He then worked at various banks in London, Paris, and Rome. In 1983, he joined the Gutzwiller private bank in Basel, where he eventually became a Managing Partner. In 1993, he spent one year as a consultant to SWIFT, a company which provides services to the financial industry. In 1995, he became Advisor to the Board of Directors of BNP Paribas bank in Paris. He was formerly a director of UCB, Sita (a worldwide waste management company located in France) and Ondeo Nalco (a water management company in the United States).
Marriage
On 22 September 1984 in Brussels, Lorenz married Princess Astrid of Belgium, the only daughter of the then-Prince and Princess of Liège, former King Albert II and Queen Paola. The couple have five children and one granddaughter:
- Prince Amedeo Marie Joseph Carl Pierre Philippe Paola Marcus d'Aviano, Archduke of Austria (born 21 February 1986 at Saint Luc University Hospital in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert); married Elisabetta Maria Rosboch von Wolkenstein (b. 1987) on 5 July 2014. The couple have one daughter:
- Archduchess Anna Astrid of Austria-Este (born 17 May 2016 in Brussels)
- Princess Maria Laura Zita Beatrix Gerhard, Archduchess of Austria (born 26 August 1988 at Saint Luc University Hospital in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert)
- Prince Joachim Karl-Maria Nikolaus Isabelle Marcus d'Aviano, Archduke of Austria (born 9 December 1991 at Saint Luc University Hospital in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert )
- Princess Luisa Maria Anna Martine Pilar, Archduchess of Austria (born 11 October 1995 at Saint Jean Hospital in Brussels )
- Princess Laetitia Maria Nora Anna Joachim Zita, Archduchess of Austria (born 23 April 2003 at Saint Jean Hospital in Brussels )
Prince Lorenz is a godfather to Prince Carl-Johan of Nassau, youngest child of Prince Jean of Luxembourg and Count Costantino Secco di Aragona, oldest son of his cousin Archduchess Catharina-Maria of Austria.
Patronages
Since 2004, Lorenz has been the honorary president of the Council of the Koninklijke Vereniging der Historische Woonsteden van België/Association Royale des Demeures Historiques de Belgique.[3] Since 2005, he has been the Patron of Europae Thesauri, an association of European cathedral and church treasuries.[4]
Lorenz has also served as deputy chairman of the Société des Amis of the Almanach de Gotha.[5]
He is named member of the Royal Crown Council of Romania in 2015.[6]
Titles and styles
- 16 December 1955 – 10 November 1995: His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este
- 10 November 1995 – 7 February 1996: His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este
- 7 February 1996 – present: His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Lorenz of Belgium, The Archduke of Austria-Este
As head of the House of Austria-Este since his father's death on 7 February 1996, Lorenz bears the titles "Archduke of Austria-Este".[7][8] The name and arms of Este were made hereditary according to male primogeniture by declaration of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 31 October 1914 (following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este) and was confirmed by Imperial Austrian letters patent, both of which conferred it (with the traditional coat-of-arms of the House of Austria-Este) upon Lorenz's father, Archduke Robert, on 16 April 1917,[9][10][11] and has been confirmed for Lorenz by specific reference in Article IX.1 of the constitution of the Kingdom of Belgium.
The Este suffix descended by male primogeniture and is borne by Lorenz and his successors as heads of the Austria-Este cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.[9][10] The title "Prince of Belgium" was granted to him by Royal Decree of 10 November 1995 by his father-in-law, King Albert II of the Belgians.[12][13] Depending on the situation, Lorenz is thus legally and formally styled HRH Prince Lorenz of Belgium, or internationally otherwise HI&RH Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este or simply HI&RH The Archduke of Austria-Este.
His children by Princess Astrid bear the titles "Prince(ss) of Belgium", by Belgian decree of 2 December 1991, in addition to their traditional Austrian titles, "Archduke/Archduchess of Austria, Prince(ss) Royal of Hungary".
Honours
National honours
- House of Habsburg: 1,285th Knight of the Imperial and Royal Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece[14][15][16]
- Belgium: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold I[17][18]
Foreign honours
- Germany: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany[19][20]
- Luxembourg: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau[21][22]
- Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown[23]
- Montenegrin Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I
- Norway: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit[24]
- Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry[25][26][27][28]
- Romanian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Crown[29][30]
- Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit[31]
- Sweden: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Polar Star[32][33]
Military ranks
- Austria 1980– : Austrian Armed Forces, Leutnant as Reserve Officer
Ancestry
References
- ^ nomination in the board of "SIX Management SA"
- ^ Blog article (French) about Prince Lorenz
- ^ Association Royale des Demeures Historiques de Belgique: Conseil d'Administration Archived 15 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Goosse, Georges. "Membres - Europae Thesauri". www.europaethesauri.eu.
- ^ Almanach de Gotha, Société des Amis de l'Almanach de Gotha
- ^ "EXCLUSIV: Personaj CHEIE, dat afară din Casa Regală a României - Flux24.ro". 2 March 2016.
- ^ Velde, Francois R. "The Succession Laws of Modena". www.heraldica.org.
- ^ "House of Este - Italian family".
- ^ a b Enache, Nicolas. La Descendance de Marie-Therese de Habsburg. ICC, Paris, 1996. pp. 44,50. French
- ^ a b Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Furstlicher Hauser Bande XIV, C.A. Starke Verlag, Ligne, Limburg, 1991, pp. 92–95. German
- ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (editor). Burke's Guide to the Royal Family, Burke's Peerage, London, 1973, p. 240. ISBN 0-220-66222-3
- ^ Velde, François. Heraldica.org. Titres Royaux en Belgique, section 2.3 (French) accessdate = 31 July 2011.
- ^ "Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz". Official website of the Belgian Monarchy. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ^ "Photo" (JPG). c7.alamy.com.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
{{cite web}}
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{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Photo". www.gettyimages.com.
- ^ "Photo". www.gettyimages.com.
- ^ "Photo". www.corbisimages.com.
- ^ Belga Pictures, State visit of President Herzog in Belgium (1998), Group Photo Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Photo". members2.boardhost.com.
- ^ "Photo". www.gettyimages.co.uk.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Photo" (JPG). www.monarchie.be.
- ^ "Photo". www.ordens.presidencia.pt.
- ^ "Photo". dre.pt.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
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suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Photo". modenaducale.altervista.org.
- ^ "Vizită regală belgiană în România - Familia Regală a României / Royal Family of Romania". www.romaniaregala.ro.
- ^ "Seară la Castelul Regal Peleș, 12 septembrie 2015 - Familia Regală a României / Royal Family of Romania". www.romaniaregala.ro.
- ^ "Boletín Oficial del Estado" (PDF).
- ^ "Belga Image". www.belgaimage.be.
- ^ "Stock Photography, Royalty-Free Photos & The Latest News Pictures - Getty Images". www.corbisimages.com.
External links
- Use dmy dates from October 2012
- Belgian royal princes
- 1955 births
- Living people
- Austria-Este
- Austrian princes
- Dukes of Modena
- Belgian people of Austrian descent
- Knights of the Golden Fleece
- Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Netherlands)
- Grand Crosses of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
- 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