Princess Astrid Celebrates Fiftieth Birthday

Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este yesterday celebrated her fiftieth birthday.

To mark the occasion, the Belgian Royal Court released a series of portraits of Princess Astrid and her husband, Prince Lorenz. A birthday party was also held on Saturday June 2nd at the Royal Palace of Laeken, which was attended by Princess Astrid’s children, parents, and her younger brother with his family.

During the luncheon, the Princess was presented with a large white birthday cake covered in red and white roses. With the assistance of her youngest daughter, Princess Laetitia Maria, and her two nephews, Princes Nicolas and Aymeric, Princess Astrid blew out the fifty candles to the applause of the family.

The Princess was born on June 5th, 1962 at the Château de Belvédère in Laeken to the-then Prince and Princess of Liège, now King Albert II and Queen Paola. She was named in honour of her paternal grandmother, Princess Astrid of Sweden. She has two siblings, Prince Philippe and Prince Laurent. After attending high school in Brussels, Princess Astrid moved to the Netherlands to study art history before attending the Institute of European Studies in Geneva.

In 1984, the Princess’ engagement to Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este was announced by the Belgian Royal Court. They married on September 22nd in Brussels, and have five children: Prince Amedeo (b. 1986), Princess Maria Laura (b. 1988), Prince Joachim (b. 1991), Princess Luisa Maria (b. 1995) and Princess Laetitia Maria (b. 2003).

The Princess and her family live in Laeken, which allows her to continue with her public duties. She is the Special Representative of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, the Chairwoman of the Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation and the former President of the Belgian Red Cross.

Click here to read more about Princess Astrid’s birthday celebrations.

Filed under Austria-Hungary, Belgium
Tagged Biography, Birthday, House of Austria-Este, Portraits, Princess Astrid of Belgium.

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