Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este

Princess Maria Laura Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (more) Full name Maria Laura Zita Beatrix Gerhard House House of Austria-Este Father Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este Mother Princess Astrid of Belgium Born 26 August 1988 (1988-08-26) (age 23) Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Woluwe-St-Lambert, Belgium

Styles of Princess Maria Laura Reference style Her Imperial and Royal Highness Spoken style Madame

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 v · d · e

Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (Maria Laura Zita Beatrix Gerhard, born 26 August 1988^[1][2]) is the second child and oldest daughter of Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este and Princess Astrid of Belgium. She was born at the University Clinic St. Luc, Woluwe-St-Lambert, Belgium and is currently eighth in line to the Belgian throne.

Family

Maria Laura has one older brother, Amedeo (b. 1986), one younger brother, Joachim (b. 1991) and two younger sisters: Luisa Maria (b. 1995) and Laetitia Maria (b. 2003). Her godparents are her paternal uncle Archduke Gerhard of Austria-Este and her elder paternal aunt Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este, Countess von und zu Arco-Zinneberg.

All of her grandparents and great-grandparents are royal or noble. She descends from the Austrian, Belgian, Italian, French, Swedish, Danish, British, Portuguese, Spanish and German royal families.

Education

Maria Laura was raised until 1993 in Basel, Switzerland, at which point her parents relocated to Belgium. She was educated, like her siblings and younger cousins, at the Jesuit school College Sint Jan Berghmans (founded 1604) in Brussels. She completed her secondary education at the St. John's International School in Waterloo, Belgium, during which time she was involved in a minor accident (see below). She then went to London, like her brother Amedeo (educated at the London School of Economics and Political Science), but attended SOAS in London, where she studied Chinese. In 2007–2008, she spent time in China as part of her studies.^[1] She then enrolled at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales in Paris in 2008, where she is still studying.^[3]

Public life

Princess Astrid has guarded the private lives of her children, and Princess Maria Laura has thus made very few public appearances. She appeared in family photos, and at the marriages of her uncles Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant in 1999 and Prince Laurent of Belgium in 2003. She has appeared with her mother a few times, most recently at the grand wedding of her second cousin Marie-Christine to Comte Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum last December. She has also been to a Chanel fashion show, and she met Karl Lagerfeld^[4]

The Princess is fluent in French, Dutch, and German, the three official languages of Belgium.

Mentions in the press

On 9 September 2005, Maria Laura, along with six other students, were riding home from St. John's International School in Waterloo when the bus collided into three cars and rolled over several times. All of the students managed to escape before the bus burst into flames. Maria Laura was unharmed but was taken to the hospital for observation and released to her parents after a few hours.^[5]

Titles and styles

• 26 August 1988  – 2 December 1991: Her Imperial and Royal Highness Archduchess Maria Laura of Austria-Este, Princess Imperial of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia
• 2 December 1991  – 7 February 1996: Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este, Princess Imperial of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia
• 7 February 1996  – present: Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este, Princess Imperial of Austria, Princess Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, Princess of Modena

All the children of The Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince Lorenz, bear the title "Prince(ss) of Belgium" by Belgian Royal Decree of 2 December 1991, this in addition to their Austrian titles by tradition i.e. "Archduke/Archduchess of Austria-Este, Prince(ss) Imperial of Austria, Prince(ss) Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, Prince(ss) of Modena". Internationally Maria Laura is shortly styled as HI&RH Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este.

Ancestry

The Princess descends from the Austrian, Belgian, Italian, Scottish, French, Spanish and Swedish royal families.

16. Archduke Otto Franz of Austria

8. Charles I of Austria

17. Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony

4. Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este

18. Robert I, Duke of Parma

9. Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma

19. Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal

2. Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este

20. Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta

10. Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta

21. Princess Hélène of Orléans

5. Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta

22. Jean, Duke of Guise

11. Princess Anne of Orléans

23. Princess Isabelle of Orléans

1. Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este

24. Albert I of Belgium

12. Leopold III of Belgium

25. Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria

6. Albert II of Belgium

26. Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland

13. Princess Astrid of Sweden

27. Princess Ingeborg of Denmark

3. Princess Astrid of Belgium

28. Fulco VII Beniamino Tristano, Ruffo di Calabria

14. Fulco VIII, Prince of Ruffo di Calabria

29. Laura Mosselmann du Chenoy

7. Princess Paola Ruffo di Calabria

30. Augusto, Count Rossana e San Sebastiano

15. Luisa Gazelli di Rossana e di Sebastiano

31. Countess Maria Rignon

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Regine N. "Les 20 ans de la Princesse Maria Laura de Belgique" 26 August 2008
2. ^ Monarchie – Birthdays
3. ^ Regine N. "La rentrée scolaire des petits-enfants du Roi Albert II" 29 August 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
4. ^ Regine N. "Les 20 ans de la Princesse Maria Laura de Belgique" 26 August 2008. Retrieved 2 July 2009
5. ^ De Morgen – Boete voor bestuurster die ongeval prinses Maria Laura veroorzaakte

External links

• Paul Theroff. Imperial House of Austria
• Paul Theroff. Royal House of Belgium
• Regine ___. "Les 20 ans de la Princesse Maria Laura de Belgique" 26 August 2008. Contains a photo of Princess Maria Laura.
• Maria Laura with her mother in 2005. Contains a photo of the princess with her mother in 2005.

Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este House of Austria-Este Cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine Born: 26 August 1988
Belgian royalty
Preceded by Prince Amedeo, Archduke of Austria-Este	Line of succession to the Belgian throne 8th position	Succeeded by Prince Joachim, Archduke of Austria-Este

Persondata
Name	Maria Laura Of Belgium, Princess, Archduchess Of Austria-Este
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 August 1988
Place of birth	Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Woluwe-St-Lambert, Belgium
Date of death
Place of death