Name Princess Laura | ||
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Born 26 August 1988 (age 35) Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Woluwe-St-Lambert, Belgium ( 1988-08-26 ) Father Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este Mother Princess Astrid of Belgium Siblings Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este Parents Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este, Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este Uncles Prince Laurent of Belgium, Philippe of Belgium Grandparents Queen Paola of Belgium, Albert II of Belgium Cousins Princess Elisabeth - Duchess, Princess Eleonore of Belgium, Prince Gabriel of Belgium, Prince Emmanuel of Belgium, Prince Aymeric of Belgium Similar People Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Laetitia Maria of, Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Princess Luisa Maria of, Prince Lorenz of Belgium | ||
Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (Maria Laura Zita Beatrix Gerhard, born 26 August 1988) is the second child and oldest daughter of 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.
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Early life
Maria Laura was born in 26 August 1988 at UCL-St Luc, She 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.
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 Berchmans 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, and attended SOAS in London, where she studied Chinese. In 2007–2008, she spent time in China as part of her studies. She then enrolled at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales in Paris in 2008, where she is still studying.
The princess is fluent in French, Dutch, and German, the three official languages of Belgium, as well as English.
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.
Titles and styles
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, in addition to their traditional Austrian and other titles.