Prince Lorenz of Belgium

Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 16 December 1955) is a member of the Belgian royal family by his marriage with Princess Astrid of Belgium. Since 1996 he is also head of the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Prince Lorenz
Archduke of Austria-Este (more)
Born (1955-12-16) 16 December 1955
Belvedere Clinic , Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1984)​
IssuePrince Amedeo
Princess Maria Laura
Prince Joachim
Princess Luisa Maria
Princess Laetitia Maria
Full name
Lorenz Otto Carl Amadeus Thadeus Maria Pius Andreas Marcus d'Aviano
HouseAustria-Este
FatherRobert, Archduke of Austria-Este
MotherPrincess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta

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.

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, later King Albert II and Queen Paola. The couple have five children: Prince Amedeo, Princess Maria Laura, Prince Joachim, Princess Luisa Maria, and Princess Laetitia Maria. 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.[1] Since 2005, he has been the Patron of Europae Thesauri, an association of European cathedral and church treasuries.[2]

Lorenz has also served as deputy chairman of the Société des Amis of the Almanach de Gotha.[3] He is named member of the Royal Crown Council of Romania in 2015.[4]

Title

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 Belgium. He is also referred to as Archduke of Austria-Este by the Belgian monarchy.[5]

Honours
See also: List of honours of the Belgian Royal Family by country

National

Foreign
Coat of Arms as Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit.

Military ranks

References
  1. Association Royale des Demeures Historiques de Belgique: Conseil d'Administration Archived 15 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Goosse, Georges. "Membres - Europae Thesauri". www.europaethesauri.eu.
  3. Almanach de Gotha, Société des Amis de l'Almanach de Gotha
  4. "EXCLUSIV: Personaj CHEIE, dat afară din Casa Regală a României - Flux24.ro". 2 March 2016.
  5. "Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz". Official website of the Belgian Monarchy. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  6. "Presidency of the Republic - Chancellery of Portuguese Honorary Orders". dre.pt.
  7. "Boletín Oficial del Estado" (PDF).
Prince Lorenz of Belgium
Born: 16 December 1955
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Archduke Robert		 Archduke of Austria-Este
1996 – present		 Incumbent
Heir:
Archduke Amedeo
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