Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este

Prince Lorenz Archduke of Austria-Este Wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling (18 June 2010) Head of House of Austria-Este Period 7 February 1996 - present (&000000000000001500000015 years, &0000000000000149000000149 days) Predecessor Robert Spouse Princess Astrid of Belgium Issue Prince 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 House House of Austria-Este House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Father Archduke Robert of Austria-Este Mother Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta Born 16 December 1955 (1955-12-16) (age 55)

Styles of The Archduke of Austria-Este Reference style His Imperial and Royal Highness Spoken style Your Royal Highness Alternative style Monseigneur

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

Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 16 December 1955) is a member of the Belgian Royal Family and since 1996 head of the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

Early life and marriage

Prince Lorenz was born in Clinique du Belvédère, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France as the second child of Robert, Archduke of Austria-Este and of Archduchess Margaret, née Princess Margherita of Savoy-Aosta.

On 22 September 1984 in Brussels, Lorenz married Princess Astrid of Belgium, the only daughter of the then Prince and Princess of Liège, now King Albert II and Queen Paola. They have five children:

• HI&RH Prince Amedeo Marie Joseph Carl Pierre Philippe Paola Marcus d'Aviano, Archduke of Austria-Este (b. 1986)
• HI&RH Princess Maria Laura Zita Beatrix Gerhard , Archduchess of Austria-Este (b. 1988)
• HI&RH Prince Joachim Karl-Maria Nikolaus Isabelle Marcus d'Aviano, Archduke of Austria-Este (b. 1991)
• HI&RH Princess Luisa Maria Anna Martine Pilar, Archduchess of Austria-Este (b. 1995)
• HI&RH Princess Laetitia Maria Nora Anna Joachim Zita, Archduchess of Austria-Este (b. 2003)

Education and career

Lorenz studied economics at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and the University of Innsbruck in Austria. He 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 is currently a director of UCB, a global pharmaceutical manufacturer. He was formerly a director of Sita (a worldwide waste management company located in France) and of Ondeo Nalco (a water management company in the United States).

Patronages

Since 2004, Lorenz has been the honorary president of the Council of the Association Royale des Demeures Historiques de Belgique. Since 2005, he has been the Patron of Europae Thesauri, an association of European cathedral and church treasuries.

Lorenz has also served as deputy chairman of the Société des Amis of the Almanach de Gotha.

Titles and styles

• His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia (1955–1995)
• His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia (1995–1996)
• His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince of Belgium, Duke of Modena, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia (1996–present)

As head of the Archducal House of Austria-Este, Lorenz has the traditional titles "Archduke of Austria-Este" and "Duke of Modena" since 7 February 1996. In addition he also bears the Austrian titles by tradition of "Prince Imperial of Austria" and "Prince Royal of Hungary", "Croatia and Bohemia". Although correctly used out of courtesy (according to international customs), these titles do not have real legality anymore since the dissolution of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. His only title which is fully legally recognized today is that of "Prince of Belgium", which was granted to him by Royal Decree of 10 November 1995 by his father-in-law, King Albert II of Belgium. Depending of the situation, Lorenz is thus legally and formally styled HRH Prince Lorenz of Belgium, or internationally otherwise HI&RH Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este or simply HI&RH The Archduke of Austria-Este.

His children bear the titles "Prince(ss) of Belgium - by Royal Decree of 2 December 1991 in addition to their Austrian titles -, Archduke/Archduchess of Austria-Este, Prince(ss) Imperial of Austria, Prince(ss) Royal of Hungary and Bohemia".

Ancestry