Princess Elisabeth of Belgium
Encyclopedia
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Princess Élisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène of Belgium (born 25 October 2001 in Anderlecht
) is the eldest daughter of Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, the heir apparent to the throne of Belgium, and his wife Princess Mathilde. Princess Elisabeth is a granddaughter of Albert II, King of the Belgians
and Queen Paola
. She is member of the Belgian Royal Family and second in the line of succession to the Belgian throne
.
, Brussels. At birth, she weighed 2.9 kg (6.4 lb) and was 49.5 cm (19.5 in) long.
Elisabeth was baptized on 9 December 2001 in the chapel of Ciergnon Castle in the Belgian Ardennes, by Cardinal
Godfried Danneels, the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. Her godparents are Prince Amedeo of Belgium, her cousin, and Countess Hélène d'Udekem d'Acoz, her aunt.
Her names meant the following:
She has two younger brothers, Prince Gabriel and Prince Emmanuel, and a younger sister, Princess Eléonore.
was put into effect which created full lineal primogeniture
, meaning that despite having two younger brothers, Elisabeth, as the eldest child, comes first in the line of succession. If she ascends the throne, she will be Belgium's first ever queen regnant
.
The eldest son of the heir apparent was traditionally titled 'Count of Hainaut
' . It was therefore expected that a new royal decree would be issued, granting the title of Countess of Hainaut to Princess Elisabeth. A royal decree was indeed issued, but, despite all predictions, it didn't grant her the title, but abolished it, because the French "Hainaut" was not considered linguistically neutral.
Through her father, Elisabeth is descended from both Italian nobility
and several prominent royal families, including the Coburgs
, as well as the French Orléans
, Danish
, Swedish
and Bavarian royal houses. Through her mother, she is related to many famous Polish noble, magnate families, such as the Czartoryski
, Lubomirski
, Radziwiłł, Zamoyski
, Sanguszko
, Tyszkiewicz
houses. As a descendant of the Czartoryski and Sanguszko princes, she is related to the Gediminids
, has connections to the Jagiellon royal dynasty
, (which reigned in Poland, Lithuania, Hungary and Bohemia) as well as connections to various Russian princely families, such as Galitzine
s and Trubetskoy
.
in Marolles
, Brussels, which was attended previously by her older cousins, the children of her aunt Princess Astrid. This is a significant change in the habits of the royal family, as it is the first time that a future Belgian monarch's education has begun in Dutch. Elisabeth also attends dance classes conducted in Dutch at the Municipal Music Academy in Asse
, in Flemish Brabant
.
The princess attended her first official royal duty in 2006 when she was present at the Te Deum
in honour of Belgian National Day. In 2007, she accompanied her father to the opening of a Science Museum. She also attended the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
and the presentation at the Royal Palace of a model of the Belgian Antarctic station which bears her name, the Princess Elisabeth Base
.
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Princess Élisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène of Belgium (born 25 October 2001 in Anderlecht
Anderlecht
Anderlecht is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region.There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.-Pronunciation:* Dutch: * French:...
) is the eldest daughter of Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, the heir apparent to the throne of Belgium, and his wife Princess Mathilde. Princess Elisabeth is a granddaughter of Albert II, King of the Belgians
Albert II of Belgium
Albert II is the current reigning King of the Belgians, a constitutional monarch. He is a member of the royal house "of Belgium"; formerly this house was named Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
and Queen Paola
Queen Paola of Belgium
Paola, Queen of the Belgians , is the queen consort of Albert II of Belgium....
. She is member of the Belgian Royal Family and second in the line of succession to the Belgian throne
Line of succession to the Belgian Throne
Since 1991, Belgium practises absolute cognatic primogeniture but this only applies to the descendants of King Albert II, effectively barring the female descended offspring of Leopold II, Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, Albert I and Leopold III from the throne...
.
Birth and baptism
Elisabeth was delivered by caesarian section at 9:58 pm at the Hôpital Erasme (Eramus Hospital) in AnderlechtAnderlecht
Anderlecht is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region.There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.-Pronunciation:* Dutch: * French:...
, Brussels. At birth, she weighed 2.9 kg (6.4 lb) and was 49.5 cm (19.5 in) long.
Elisabeth was baptized on 9 December 2001 in the chapel of Ciergnon Castle in the Belgian Ardennes, by Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Godfried Danneels, the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. Her godparents are Prince Amedeo of Belgium, her cousin, and Countess Hélène d'Udekem d'Acoz, her aunt.
Her names meant the following:
- Elisabeth is for her great-great-grandmother Elisabeth of Bavaria.
- Marie is for the Virgin Mary as per tradition with Catholic Royalty.
- Hélène is for her maternal aunt and godmother Countess Hélène d'Udekem d'Acoz.
She has two younger brothers, Prince Gabriel and Prince Emmanuel, and a younger sister, Princess Eléonore.
Future heir to the throne
Ten years prior to Elisabeth's birth, a new act of successionLine of succession to the Belgian Throne
Since 1991, Belgium practises absolute cognatic primogeniture but this only applies to the descendants of King Albert II, effectively barring the female descended offspring of Leopold II, Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, Albert I and Leopold III from the throne...
was put into effect which created full lineal primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
, meaning that despite having two younger brothers, Elisabeth, as the eldest child, comes first in the line of succession. If she ascends the throne, she will be Belgium's first ever queen regnant
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
.
The eldest son of the heir apparent was traditionally titled 'Count of Hainaut
County of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries with its capital at Mons . In English sources it is often given the archaic spelling Hainault....
' . It was therefore expected that a new royal decree would be issued, granting the title of Countess of Hainaut to Princess Elisabeth. A royal decree was indeed issued, but, despite all predictions, it didn't grant her the title, but abolished it, because the French "Hainaut" was not considered linguistically neutral.
Through her father, Elisabeth is descended from both Italian nobility
Nobility of Italy
The Nobility of Italy consisted of individuals and their families of Italy recognized by sovereigns, such as the Holy Roman Emperor, the Holy See, Kings of Italy or certain other Italian kings and sovereigns as members of a class of persons officially enjoying hereditary privileges which...
and several prominent royal families, including the Coburgs
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha is a German dynasty, the senior line of the Saxon House of Wettin that ruled the Ernestine duchies, including the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
, as well as the French Orléans
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
, Danish
Danish Royal Family
The Danish Royal Family includes the Queen of Denmark and her family. All members except the Queen hold the title of Prince/Princess of Denmark with the style of His/Her Royal Highness or His/Her Highness. The Queen is styled Her Majesty. The Queen and her siblings belong to the House of...
, Swedish
Swedish Royal Family
The Swedish Royal Family since 1818 consists of a number of persons in the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. They are entitled to royal titles and style , and some perform official engagements and ceremonial duties of state...
and Bavarian royal houses. Through her mother, she is related to many famous Polish noble, magnate families, such as the Czartoryski
Czartoryski
Czartoryski is the surname of a Polish-Ukrainian-Lithuanian magnate family also known as the Familia. They used the Czartoryski Coat of arms and were the leading noble family of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century.-History:The Czartoryski is a family of a Grand Ducal...
, Lubomirski
Lubomirski
Lubomirski family is a Polish szlachta family. The family used the "Szreniawa without a cross" arms and their motto was: Nil conscire sibi ....
, Radziwiłł, Zamoyski
Zamoyski
Zamojski, plural: Zamojscy is the surname of an important Polish nobility family of Jelita coat of arms. The name is sometimes spelled Zamoyski. It is the Polish for "de Zamość" - the name they originally wore as lords of the place...
, Sanguszko
Sanguszko
Sanguszko is a Polish-Lithuanian noble family of the Ruthenian Sanguszko is a Polish-Lithuanian noble family of the Ruthenian Sanguszko is a Polish-Lithuanian noble family of the Ruthenian (now Ukrainian stock from the Gediminid dynasty. Like other princely houses of Polish-Lithuanian...
, Tyszkiewicz
Tyszkiewicz
The Tyszkiewicz family was a wealthy and influential magnate family of Ruthenian/Lithuanian nobility with roots traced into the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania...
houses. As a descendant of the Czartoryski and Sanguszko princes, she is related to the Gediminids
Gediminids
The Gediminids were a dynasty of monarchs of Grand Duchy of Lithuania that reigned from the 14th to the 16th century. One branch of this dynasty, known as the Jagiellons, reigned also in Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Hungary and Kingdom of Bohemia...
, has connections to the Jagiellon royal dynasty
Jagiellon dynasty
The Jagiellonian dynasty was a royal dynasty originating from the Lithuanian House of Gediminas dynasty that reigned in Central European countries between the 14th and 16th century...
, (which reigned in Poland, Lithuania, Hungary and Bohemia) as well as connections to various Russian princely families, such as Galitzine
Galitzine
For Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...
s and Trubetskoy
Trubetskoy
Trubetskoy , Трубецкой , Трубяцкі , Trubecki , Trubetsky , Трубецький , Troubetzkoy , Trubezkoi or Trubetzkoy , is a Ruthenian Gediminid gentry family of Black Ruthenian stock, like many other princely houses of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later prominent in Russian...
.
Education and royal duties
Princess Elisabeth is currently a student at Sint-Jan BerchmanscollegeSint-Jan Berchmanscollege
Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege may refer to different schools:*Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege , located in Antwerp, Antwerp*Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege , located in Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region...
in Marolles
Marolles
Marolles is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Marolles, in the Calvados département*Marolles, in the Loir-et-Cher département*Marolles, in the Marne département*Marolles, in the Oise département...
, Brussels, which was attended previously by her older cousins, the children of her aunt Princess Astrid. This is a significant change in the habits of the royal family, as it is the first time that a future Belgian monarch's education has begun in Dutch. Elisabeth also attends dance classes conducted in Dutch at the Municipal Music Academy in Asse
Asse
Asse is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Asse proper, Bekkerzeel, Kobbegem, Mollem, Relegem and Zellik. On January 1, 2006 Asse had a total population of 29,191...
, in Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
.
The princess attended her first official royal duty in 2006 when she was present at the Te Deum
Te Deum
The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....
in honour of Belgian National Day. In 2007, she accompanied her father to the opening of a Science Museum. She also attended the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, a founding member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions has been, since its foundation, considered the world over to be one of the most prestigious and most difficult. It is devoted to violin , piano , to composition and to singing...
and the presentation at the Royal Palace of a model of the Belgian Antarctic station which bears her name, the Princess Elisabeth Base
Princess Elisabeth Base
Princess Elisabeth Base, located on Utsteinen Nunatak in Dronning Maud Land is a Belgian polar station, taken into use on February 15, 2009. The station is the first polar base that combines eco-friendly construction materials, clean and efficient energy use, optimization of the station's energy...
.
Arms
Dr. Gustaaf Janssens, Archivist of the Royal Palace, confirms that HRH Princess Elisabeth's coat of arms as Princess of Belgium consist of the gold lion on a black background on a lozenge ensigned with the royal crown.Ancestry
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