Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant

Princess Mathilde Duchess of Brabant (more) The Duchess of Brabant on 18 June 2010, at the pre-wedding events before the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden Spouse Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant Issue Princess Elisabeth Prince Gabriel Prince Emmanuel Princess Eléonore Full name Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine House House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Father Count Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz Mother Countess Anna Maria Komorowska Born 20 January 1973 (1973-01-20) (age 38) Uccle, Belgium Styles of Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant Reference style Her Royal Highness Spoken style Your Royal Highness Alternative style Ma'am

Belgian Royal Family
HM The King HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Brabant HRH The Duchess of Brabant HRH Princess Elisabeth HRH Prince Gabriel HRH Prince Emmanuel HRH Princess Eléonore HI&RH The Archduchess of Austria-Este HI&RH The Archduke of Austria-Este HI&RH Prince Amedeo HI&RH Princess Maria Laura HI&RH Prince Joachim HI&RH Princess Luisa Maria HI&RH Princess Laetitia Maria HRH Prince Laurent HRH Princess Claire HRH Princess Louise HRH Prince Nicolas HRH Prince Aymeric HM Queen Fabiola HRH Princess Léa HRH Princess Marie-Christine HRH Princess Marie-Esméralda
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Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant, DHS (née: Ec. Mathilde Marie Christiane Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz), is the wife of the heir apparent to the Belgian throne, Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant. Of Belgian and noble Polish ancestry; she is expected to be the first Belgian-born Queen consort of Belgium.

Biography

Early life and family

She was born Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz in Uccle on 20 January 1973. Though her grandfather and her uncle were barons, she and her father were members of the untitled nobility.

Mathilde's father was Count (formerly Jonkheer) Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz (Uccle, 28 April 1936 – Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, 25 September 2008), son of Baron Charles d'Udekem d'Acoz (Ghent, 8 March 1885-Proven, 7 December 1968), who was of Walloon noble ancestry; her mother was Countess Anna Maria Komorowska (born 24 September 1946 in Białogard, Poland), daughter of Count Leon Michael Komorowski (Siedliska, 14 August 1907-1992) and Polish Princess Zofia María Sapieha of Krasiczyn, Clan Lis (Bobrek^{[disambiguation needed ]}, 10 October 1919-Herstal, 14 August 1997). Upon her marriage to Prince Philippe of Belgium, the Duke of Brabant in 1999, King Albert II of the Belgians elevated the family d'Udekem d'Acoz from the baronial to the comital rank, hereditary in the male lineage. Upon the accession of her husband, Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant to the throne of Belgium she would be the first Belgian queen consort of native Belgian nationality.^[1][2]

Mathilde is the oldest of five children. She has three younger sisters and one younger brother:

• Jonkvrouw Marie-Alix d'Udekem d'Acoz (born 16 September 1974 - April, 1997).

• Margravine Elisabeth von Pallavicini, née Countess d'Udekem d'Acoz (born 17 January 1977) who is married to Margrave Alfonso von Pallavicini with whom she has 2 children; Margravine Olympia and Margrave Adalberto.

• Baroness Hélene Janssen, née Countess d'Udekem d'Acoz (born 22 September 1979) who is married to Baron Nicolas Janssen.

• Count Charles-Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz (born 13 May 1985).

On 29 March 2008, Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz, Princess Mathilde's uncle, told a Belgian newspaper that his brother, Patrick had been admitted to the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht, and was dying. The Count was in an irreversible coma and in critical condition. Henri stated that his brother had been ill since January, and his illness had gradually put him into the coma. Henri noted that Mathilde had visited her father in the hospital, as had other members of the Royal Family.^[3][4] On 25 September 2008, it was announced that the Count had died, aged 72, in Ottignies.^[5]

Education

Princess Mathilde attended secondary school at the Institut de la Vierge Fidèle in Brussels. She then studied speech therapy at the Institut Libre Marie Haps in Brussels from 1991 to 1994 and earned a diploma with "grande distinction" (equivalent to magna cum laude).

Mathilde then worked as a speech therapist in her own practice in Brussels from 1995 to 1999. She also studied psychology at the Université catholique de Louvain and earned a diploma in psychology with "distinction" in 2002.

She speaks French, Dutch, English and Italian. Her mother, who spent most of her life outside of Poland, did not teach her Polish, thinking that it would not be necessary. Therefore, Mathilde knows only a few words in Polish.^[6]

Marriage and children

The announcement of Mathilde's engagement to the Belgian heir-apparent, Prince Philippe, who had never been seriously linked with any woman, came as a surprise to the country. Mathilde married Prince Philippe on 4 December 1999 in Brussels, civilly at the Brussels Town Hall and religiously at the Cathedral of Saint Michel and Saint Gudula. She was made Princess of Belgium on 8 November 1999 (published on 13 November 1999 and effective from 4 December 1999).

The couple has four children:

• Princess Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène born 25 October 2001
• Prince Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie born 20 August 2003
• Prince Emmanuel Léopold Guillaume François Marie born 4 October 2005
• Princess Eléonore Fabiola Victoria Anne Marie born 16 April 2008

Princess Elisabeth, the couple's eldest child, is the second-in-line to the throne behind her father and ahead of her brothers and sister, who are third-, fourth-, and fifth-in-line to succeed, owing to a change in Belgian succession laws in 1991.

Mathilde is also godmother to two princesses: Princess Alexia of the Netherlands and Princess Isabella of Denmark.

Titles, styles an honours

Coat of arms of Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz

Titles

• Jonkvrouw Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz (1973–1999)
• Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant, Countess d'Udekem d'Acoz (1999–present)

Before the wedding, by means of a Royal Order of 8 November 1999, Mathilde was made a princess of Belgium in her own right. This Royal Order entered into force on the date of the wedding. The wife of a Belgian prince used to receive this title automatically, but a special creation is now required. In addition, her father and two uncles were elevated to the rank of count.

Upon marriage itself, Mathilde became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Brabant.

Belgian Honours

• Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold

Foreign Honours

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

•  Finland (Orders) : Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose (2004) - (Photo)
•  Holy See : Dame of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (June 2010)
•  Luxembourg (Orders) : Grand Cross of the Order of Adolphe of Nassau (2007) - (Photo)
•  Netherlands (Orders) : Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (2006) - (Photo 1, Photo 2)
•  Norway (Orders) : Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Olav (2003) - (Photo)
•  Poland (Orders) : Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2004) - (Photo)
•  Portugal (Orders) : Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (08/03/2006) - (Orders website)
•  Spain (Orders) : Order of Isabella the Catholic (2000) -
•  Sweden (Orders) : Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star (Photo)

See also

• Princess Mathilde Fund

Ancestors

References

1. ^ Her predecessors were, in order of succession, French, Austrian, German, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian.
2. ^ Lilian, Princess of Réthy was never officially designated as queen consort.
3. ^ (French) RTL Info – 'Le père de la princesse Mathilde est mourant'
4. ^ (Dutch) Vader prinses Mathilde ligt op sterven
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ Wprost Weekly, The Polish-Belgian Queen (Krolowa polsko-belgijska) 21 December-28, 2008

External links

• Official biography from the Belgian Royal Family website

Persondata
Name	Mathilde, Duchess Of Brabant, Princess
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	20 January 1973
Place of birth	Uccle, Belgium
Date of death
Place of death