Jump to content

Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Cherenthania (talk | contribs) at 10:47, 10 August 2017. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Princess Marie-Esméralda
Lady Moncada
Born (1956-09-30) 30 September 1956 (age 68)
Château du Stuyvenberg, Brussels, Belgium
SpouseSir Salvador Moncada
IssueAlexandra Moncada
Leopoldo Moncada
Names
French: Marie-Esméralda Adelaide Lilian Anna Léopoldine
HouseSaxe-Coburg and Gotha
FatherLeopold III of Belgium
MotherLilian Baels

Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium, Lady Moncada (Marie-Esméralda Adelaide Lilian Anna Léopoldine, born 30 September 1956 in Laeken, Belgium) is a member of the Belgian Royal Family, she is the aunt of King Philippe of Belgium.

Family

She is the youngest child of the late Leopold III of Belgium and his second wife, Lilian Baels (known as Princess of Réthy).[1] Her full siblings are the late Prince Alexandre of Belgium and Princess Marie-Christine of Belgium. Her half-siblings include the late King Baudouin of Belgium, Belgium's former monarch King Albert II, who is also Marie-Esméralda's godfather, and the late Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium (Grand Duchess of Luxembourg).

Personal life

Princess Marie-Esméralda is a journalist and author, writing under the name Esméralda de Réthy. After studying law at the Facultés Universitaires Saint-Louis in Brussels, she graduated in journalism at Université catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve and moved to Paris to pursue her career, working as free lance for international magazines.

She married Sir Salvador Moncada, a Honduran-British pharmacologist, in London on 5 April 1998. They have a daughter, Alexandra Leopoldine (born in London on 4 August 1998), and a son, Leopoldo Daniel (born in London on 21 May 2001).

Charity

Princess Maria-Esmeralda is very active in the field of environment and women's rights. She is the President of King Leopold III Fund for Nature Exploration and Conservation since the death of her father in 1983. She is also Honorary President of Delphus, an association offering every year to autistic children a week of assisted therapy with dolphins. The princess is very active like her father in research of nature and wildlife. She supports amongst other Prince de Merode.[2] [3]

She is also patron of The Princess Lilian Foundation which was established in 1958 by her late mother with the initial objective of sending Belgian children with heart condition to be operated in the United States. In the seventies, the foundation focused on organizing high level scientific meetings. Since the death of Princess Lilian, the foundation has created a visiting Professorship.

Author

  • "Christian Dior, the early years 1947-1957", The Vendome Press, New York, 2001
  • "Léopold III, mon père", editions Racine, 2001
  • "Léopold III photographe", editions Racine, 2006
  • "Terre", editions Racine, 2011
  • "Lilian, une princesse entre ombre et lumière" (with Patrick Weber), editions Racine, 2012
  • "Albert et Elisabeth" (with Christophe Vachaudez), editions Racine, 2014
  • "Femmes prix Nobel de la Paix", editions Avant-Propos, 2014

Filmography:

  • "Léopold III mon père", documentaire de 90 minutes réalisé par Nicolas Delvaulx pour la RTBF
  • "Sur les pas du roi Albert Ier et de la reine Elisabeth mes grands-parents", documentaire de 140 minutes réalisé par Nicolas Delvaulx pour la RTBF en 2014

Titles and styles

Styles of
Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium
Reference styleHer Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Royal Highness
Alternative styleMadame

Titles and styles

  • 30 September 1956 – 4 April 1998: Her Royal Highness Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium
  • 4 April 1998 – present: Her Royal Highness Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium, Lady Moncada

Ancestry

Family of Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium
16. Leopold I of Belgium
8. Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders
17. Princess Louise-Marie of Orléans
4. Albert I of Belgium
18. Charles Anthony, Prince of Hohenzollern
9. Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
19. Princess Josephine of Baden
2. Leopold III of Belgium
20. Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria
10. Duke Karl-Theodor in Bavaria
21. Princess Ludovika of Bavaria
5. Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria
22. Miguel of Portugal
11. Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal
23. Princess Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg
1. Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium
24. Petrus Paulus Baels
12. Julius Ludovicus Baels
25. Barbara Francisca de Vos
6. Henri Baels
26. Jean Baptiste Mauricx
13. Delphina Alexandrina Mauricx
27. Joanna Theresia Thuyn
3. Mary Lilian Baels
28. Charles Joseph de Visscher
14. Adolphe Auguste De Visscher
29. Maria Geers
7. Anne Marie De Visscher
30. Jozef August Opsomer
15. Alice Victoria Céline Opsomer
31. Nathalia de Meulenaere

References

  1. ^ "H R H Princess Liliane of Belgium", Daily Telegraph, 10 June 2002. Retrieved 10 August 2014
  2. ^ http://weekend.levif.be/lifestyle/royals/la-mission-de-la-princesse-esmeralda/article-normal-597873.html
  3. ^ http://blog.soirmag.lesoir.be/rue-royale/2011/02/24/la-petite-soeur-du-roi-nous-recoit-chez-elle/


Stub icon

This biography of a member of a European royal house is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Princess_Marie-Esméralda_of_Belgium&oldid=794843427"