Baby Boy For Philippe And Mathilde 20 August 2003

[Alexandria]

Just heard on the Benelux Royals message board, a boy named Gabriel for Phillippe and Mathilde.



Congrats to the Crown Prince couple and big sister Elisabeth!

[samitude]

Prince Philippe and the Mathilde Princess are happy to be able to announce to the birth of a little brother for the Princess Elisabeth, Wednesday 20 August 2003 at 01. 14 at the hospital Erasme in Anderlecht. He will carry the first names of Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie. The Princess and her son are well. The weight of the child is 4 kg, it measures 52 cm, has the blue eyes and the fair hair. The godmother of Gabriel will be Baronne Hans-Ulrich von Freyberg, born Maria Christina Rossi di Montelera, small-niece of Prince Philippe. The godfather will be the Count Charles-Henri d' Udekem d' Acoz, brother of Princess Mathilde.

[Alexandria]

Here is the official announcement from the royal family's web page:

20/8/2003
Le Prince Philippe , La Princesse Mathilde

Naissance

Le Prince Philippe et la Princesse Mathilde sont heureux de pouvoir annoncer la naissance d’un petit frère pour la Princesse Elisabeth, le mercredi 20 août 2003 à 01 h 14 à l’hôpital Erasme à Anderlecht. Il portera les prénoms de Gabriel, Baudouin, Charles, Marie. La Princesse et son fils se portent bien. Le poids de l'enfant est de 4 kg, il mesure 52 cm, a les yeux bleus et les cheveux blonds. La marraine de Gabriel sera la Baronne Hans-Ulrich von Freyberg, née Maria Christina Rossi di Montelera, petite-nièce du Prince Philippe. Le parrain sera le Comte Charles-Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz, frère de la Princesse Mathilde.

[Alexandria]

Originally posted by samitude@Aug 19th, 2003 - 9:48 pm
The godmother of Gabriel will be Baronne Hans-Ulrich von Freyberg, born Maria Christina Rossi di Montelera, small-niece of Prince Philippe.

I don't think any of us saw the name Gabriel coming! But beautiful name, I think. Is it common in Belgium? It's a popular French name however.

Not to dampen the wonderful news, but who is Phillippe's small-niece Maria Christina Rossi di Montelera, Baronne Hans-Ulrich von Freyberg? I though his only nieces were Astrid's children, Maria Luisa, Laura Maria and Laeticia Maria?

[sara1981]

Im so happy for her to have baby boy!

im not sure she had second section? she had first section when she had daughter was born i think she had previous c-section experience when she become pregnant with her daughter before.

Sara Boyce

YAY! I'm so happy they had a healthy baby! I'm sure Prince Phillipe is glad to have a baby boy to play with. Congrats to the entire Belgium Royal family. They've had a great year, with two healthy babies.

:flower: HB

P.S. I think Gabriel is a beatiful name though I didn't see that one coming. :stuart: :sideways:

[mybags]

Congratulations to the Royal couple!

[Brenda]

Alexandria, I found an excerpt at pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff, and it implies there that Maria Christina Rossi di Montelera is a small-niece of Queen Paolo instead, so then that would make her Prince Philippe's second cousin. How that can be so very confusing . I do hope that everything went well for Princess Mathilde, sara1981. Congratulations to them on the birth of their little boy :flower:.

WALDBURG-ZEIL-HOHENEMS

The engagement was announced between Alois Graf von Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems (son of Josef Graf von Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems and of his wife, née Maria Benedikta Freiin von Redwitz) and "A. Rossi di Montelera" (apparently Antonella Rossi di Montelera, b.13 May 1970, fourth and last daughter of Count Ernesto Rossi di Montelera and of his wife, née Emanuela San Martino d'Agliè dei Marchesi di Fontanetto, a niece of Queen Paolo of the Belgians).
[Alois was married firstly in 1994 to Maria Christina Gräfin Deym von Stritetz. She was killed in a traffic accident in 2000, along with their second son, Ludwig. Antonella's sisters Lidia et Cristina married respectively Maximilian Graf von Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg and Hans-Ulrich Freiherr von Freyberg-Eisenberg.] (added 4 Jul 2003)

[Tina]

Originally posted by samitude@Aug 20th, 2003 - 3:48 am
Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie

Gabriel is a very nice name


:flower:

can't wait to see the first pictures

[ravenprincess]

Gabriel is a very nice name

I agree, it's different but still an excellent name, I'm sure Elisabeth is excited about her new baby brother.

Now that the royal couple has a "pair" do you think they will have more children in the future or is this it.????


Raven

[Tina]

Originally posted by ravenprincess@Aug 20th, 2003 - 7:23 am
Now that the royal couple has a "pair" do you think they will have more children in the future?

I hope so

[Alexandria]

Originally posted by ravenprincess@Aug 20th, 2003 - 1:23 am

Mathilde is still a very young woman, I think she and Phillippe will have more children. At least one more.

And Brenda, thank you for explaining who Phillippe's "small-niece" is. Is he close to this cousin that he and Mathilde would choose for her to be the godmother to their son?

[samitude]

If Philippe and Mathilde follow in the footsteps of King Leopold and King Albert the will have a girl and two boys! Well, that't true if you don't count the children of King Leopold and Princess Lilian.

Here's a link to VTM news. If you click on the video that says Woensdag 20/08 it shows what the news reports on the baby are in Belgium. In between short interviews with comentators and the public there are several video clips of Philippe, Mathilde and Elisabeth. There's a short video of Elisabeth's christening also in this particular clip.

Link: VTM Video

[sara1981]

i got news from hello!

http://www.hellomagazine.com/2003/08/20/pr...incessmathilde/

Sara Boyce

[Alexandria]

Originally posted by sara1981@Aug 20th, 2003 - 11:56 am
i got news from hello!

http://www.hellomagazine.com/2003/08/20/pr...incessmathilde/

Sara Boyce

The Hello headline: A Baby Boy for Princess Mathilde of Belgium makes it sound like Mathilde did it all by herself! Like Phillippe had no part in it all, like she found a baby for herself while out for a walk one day!

[Martine]

Originally posted by Alexandria+Aug 20th, 2003 - 8:49 am--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Alexandria @ Aug 20th, 2003 - 8:49 am)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--ravenprincess@Aug 20th, 2003 - 1:23 am

Mathilde is still a very young woman, I think she and Phillippe will have more children. At least one more.

And Brenda, thank you for explaining who Phillippe's "small-niece" is. Is he close to this cousin that he and Mathilde would choose for her to be the godmother to their son? [/b][/quote]
yeh i think they will have some more kids too , i think maybe 4 or so.....like Astrid. at least i think Filip would like that
I think the godmother is very close to Filip and Mathilde. don't think they would have chosen a total stranger. Laeticia's godmother was not very well known too.

anyway , i thought it was absolutely cute when Filip said that little Elisabeth has been a little nervous lately......she probably felt something was going to change......just so cute

[Martine]

by the way , i just LOVE the name Gabriel

[lasu]

Originally posted by Alexandria+Aug 20th, 2003 - 11:43 am--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Alexandria @ Aug 20th, 2003 - 11:43 am)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin--sara1981@Aug 20th, 2003 - 11:56 am
i got news from hello!

http://www.hellomagazine.com/2003/08/20/pr...incessmathilde/

Sara Boyce

The Hello headline: A Baby Boy for Princess Mathilde of Belgium makes it sound like Mathilde did it all by herself! Like Phillippe had no part in it all, like she found a baby for herself while out for a walk one day![/b][/quote]
I had a laugh at that too! But since she was the one to endure labour, I think it is fair to give her sole billing in the title. Besides, Phillipe was mentioned in the first line of article...

[Mandy]

Great news for Philippe & Mathilde. Can't wait to see the baby pictures. I wonder if little Elisabeth will try to play little mother to her little brother. She is so sweet. :)

20 AUGUST 2003

Princess Mathilde of Belgium and her husband Crown Prince Philippe welcomed a new addition to the family on Wednesday, bringing their first child, 22-month-old Princess Elisabeth, a little brother.

Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie came into the world at 1:14am, weighing 8lbs 13oz (four kilos) and measuring 21 inches (53 centimetres), announced the royal palace. "The princess and her son are fine," added the statement.

Gabriel is the seventh grandchild of King Albert II and Queen Paola, who interrupted their vacations in the south of France to jet to Brussels in order to properly greet the new member of the family. The infant will occupy the third place in the line of succession, behind his elder sibling Elisabeth.

Little Gabriel's delivery came a bit early, as his birth wasn't expected until September. When his sister was born in 2001, she arrived two weeks before her due date as well.