Old age has been so kind to King Albert that not only he and Paola have managed to meet four great-grandchildren, but also a namesake one! Truly lovely gesture.
Indeed, it wasn't publicly known that she was expecting, just like it happened with Amedeo and Elisabetta's youngest child, Alix, born in 2023.Lovely news! They sure kept it quiet...I had no idea that Maria Laura was expecting
Yes prior to 1991 Belgium practiced agnatic primogeniture. Only princes and their descendants, so they'd have all had a title. Astrid and her children were the first female/female line heirs to the throne. In 1991 when the laws were changed, Astrid's children were made Prince/ss of Belgium. But even before that change they of course had their titles from their father.
Although Anna Astrid, Maximilian, and Alix are not "Prince/Princess of Belgium" or HRHs under King Philippe's royal decree of 2015, they have nonetheless been referred to in the past using the prefix Prince/Princess. There was a doubt if that is because of their Austrian-Hungarian royal/imperial ancestry in paternal line, or if it is an entitlement, under Article 4 of the said decree, of all legitimate descendants of King Leopold I who are not simultaneously Princes/Princesses of Belgium and HRHs under Articles 1, 2, or 3.
In the announcement of his birth (published on the Royal Palace's website) he's referred to as "Albert", without any title.
The announcement is almost exactly the same for Albert as for his cousin Alix - with just the basic information of who the parents are, the name of the child and the date changed. So, I am not sure that is a good source to know whether he will be titled or not.
Yes, he is. He meets the requirement of being born in Belgium with one of his parents having Belgian nationality at the time of his birth - Belgium also requires the Belgian parent to register the birth.
Hopefully we will. Yes, she looked frail, but I wouldn't jump to conclusions just based on one single pic, taken from a video-message. In any case, I'm sure she's delighted to have a new great-grandson. And Albert even more, of course!
Yes, it's probably not the best source. Btw, I've found an article by Wim Dehandschutter, published today, which also says that Albert Isvy is the first commoner (untitled) person in the line of succession to the Belgian throne:
