Royal Births (part 2)
23 August 1954: Haakon Lorentzen son of Princess Ragnhild of Norway (Mrs. Lorentzen) and Erling Sven Lorentzen. He married Martha Carvalho de Freitas in Rio de Janeiro in 1982, where he also resides. The couple has three children. His children are in line to the British throne, but Haakon himself is not, due to marrying a Roman Catholic.
26 August 1954: Archduke Carl Christian of Austria was born at the Château de Belœil in Belgium. His parents are Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria and Princess Yolande of Ligne. He has two sisters and one older brother. Archduke Carl Christian married Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg. The couple have five children. Their eldest daughter, Marie-Christine, married Count Rodolphe de Limbourg-Stirum in December 2008.
2 April 1955: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is the second daughter of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and his wife Queen Sirikit. She is currently third in line to the Thai throne. She holds a position in the Thai Royal family which is similar to that of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, in the British royal family. The Princess has a doctoral degree in philosphy in educational development from the Srinakharinwirot University, along with her Master of Arts in Oriental Epigraphy and her second Master’s degree in Pali and Sanskrit. She is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO.
16 April 1955: Prince Henri of Luxembourg (later Grand Duke Henri) is the eldest son and second child of (then) Prince Jean of Luxembourg and his wife Princess Josephine-Charlotte. He has two younger brothers and two sisters. He went to school in Luxembourg and in France, where he obtained his baccalaureate in 1974. He studied political sciences at the University of Geneva, graduating in 1980. The Grand Duke also followed a military officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, England. He became Hereditary Grand Duke upon the abdication of his grandmother, Grand Duchess Charlotte in 1964. During his studies in Geneva, he met Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista-Falla. They married in 1981. The couple has five children, and two grandchildren by their third son, Louis. In 2000, upon the abdication of his father, Henri became Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
16 December 1955: Prince Lorenz of Belgium, born Archduke of Austria-Este, was born in 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. He studied economics at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and the University of Innsbruck in Austria. On 22 September 1984 he married Princess Astrid of Belgium, only daughter of the then Prince de Liège, Albert, and his wife Paola. He was created Prince of Belgium in 1995. The couple has five children, all of whom bear the title Prince(ss) of Belgium, apart from their Austrian titles. Prince Lorenz works at a private bank in Switzerland, and also holds a number of mandates as Board Memeber of several companies. He is currently the Head of the Ducal Family of Modena, a title given to his father and inherited by him upon his father’s death.
13 February 1956: Princess Alia bint Al Hussein of Jordan is the daughter of King Hussein of Jordan and Sharifa Dina bint ‘Abdu’l-Hamid. She undertook part of her secondary education at schools in the UK. She also graduated from the University of Jordan in 1977, and she holds a Bachelors Degree in English Literature. She married Nasser Wasfi Mirza in 1977, with whom she has one son. The couple divorced in 1988, and Princess Alia married Sayyid Mohammed Al-Saleh in 1988, with whom she has two sons. She is an avid equestrienne and has initiated several events for Arabian pureblood horses.
22 March 1956: Maria Teresa Mestre y Batista-Falla (later Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg) was born in Havana, Cuba, into a family held in high regard in Cuba. During the Revolution in 1959, Maria Teresa and her parents left the island and the family settled in New York City. She also lived in Santander, Spain, and Geneva, Switzerland, where she studied political sciences. She met Hereditary Grand Duke Henri during her studies in Geneva. They married in 1981. The couple has five children, and two grandchildren by their third son, Louis. In 2000, upon the abdication of Grand Duke Jean, Maria Teresa became Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
30 September 1956: Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium is the youngest daughter of King Leopold III of Belgium & Lilian Baels, Princess of Réthy. She has one older sister and one older brother. She has also three half-siblings through her father: Josephine-Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Baudouin I and Albert II of Belgium. She is a journalist, writing under the name Esmeralda de Rethy. She married Salvador Moncada, a pharmacologist, in 1998, and the couple has two children, Alexandra Leopoldine and Leopoldo Daniel. Princess Esmeralda was already pregnant with her first child when she got married. Princess Esmeralda always seemed to have a good relationship with her Laeken siblings. She has published a book with pictures of and taken by her father, King Leopold III.
23 January 1957: Princess Caroline of Monaco (later Caroline, Princess of Hanover) is the eldest child of Princai Rainier III of Monaco and his wife, Princess Grace. She studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, where she received a degree in philosophy. She was married first to Philippe Junot (from 1978 to 1980), then to Stefano Casiraghi, with whom she has three children. Her second husband died in a speedboat accident in 1990. The Princess later married Ernst August V, Prince of Hannover, and they have one daughter, Princess Alexandra. Because her brother, Prince Albert II of Monaco, has no legitimate heirs, Caroline is Hereditary Princess of Monaco.
27 February 1957: Ingeborg Lorentzen daughter of Princess Ragnhild of Norway, Mrs. Lorentzen and Erling Sven Lorentzen. She married Paulo César Ribeiro Filho in Rio de Janeiro i1982. The couple has one child together, Victoria Ragna Lorentzen Ribeiro. Her daughter is in line of succession to the British throne, but she herself is not due to her marriage to a Catholic.
15 May 1957: Prince Jean of Luxembourg, second son of Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg (then Hereditary Grand Duke). He is the twin brother of Princess Margaretha. He went to school in Luxembourg, Switzerland and France, where he obtained his baccalaureate. He followed a military education at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He also obtained an MBA. He renounced his rights in the Luxembourg line of succession in 1986. He married Hélène Suzanna Vestur in 1987. The couple has four children together, but later divorced. The children have received the titles of Prince(ss) of Luxembourg, but they are not in the line of succession. In 2009, Prince Jean married Diane de Guerre.
15 May 1957: Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg is the second daughter of Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg (then Hereditary Grand Duke). She is the twin sister of Prince Jean. She studied in Luxembourg, Belgium, the United Kingdom and the United States. In 1982, she married Prince Niklaus of Liechtenstein, third son of Prince Franz-Jozef II of Liechtenstein, ambassador of Liechtenstein to Belgium and to the Holy See. The couple has two daughters and one son. The Princess also had a stillborn child in 1984. The couple live in Brussels, Belgium.
4 July 1957: HRH Princess Chulabhorn Walailak is the youngest daughter of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and his wife, Queen Sirikit. She studied at the Faculty of Science of the Kasetsart University, and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science. She continued to study science at Mahidol University, where she received her Doctoratal degree in 1985. She married Royal Thai Air Force Flight Lieutenant Virayudh Didyasarin, a commoner, in 1982. She did not, however, lose her title and style of Royal Highness. The couple has two daughtrs, but eventually divorced 1984.
29 October 1957: Princess Sophie of Romania is the fourth daughter of King Michael I of Romania and Anne of Bourbon-Parma. She was born in Tatoi, Greece. She married Alain Michel Léonce Biarneix in 1998. The couple has one daughter, Elisabeta-Maria Bianca Elena Biarneix. They divorced in 2002.
14 March 1958: Prince Albert of Monaco (later Prince Albert II of Monaco) is the only son and second child of Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his wife, Princess Grace. He studied at Amherst College in Massachusetts, USA, where he obtained a degree in political science. Prince Albert became Sovereign Prince of Monaco upon his father’s death in 2005. He has two illigitimate children with two women. The Prince has participated in many sporting events, including the Olympics. He also travelled to the North Pole. He is currently in a relationship with South African swimmer Charlene Wittstock.
29 June 1958: Archduke Simeon of Austria was born in Katanga, Belgian Congo, as the third child of Archduke Rudolf of Austria and his wife, Countess Xenia Czernichev-Besobrasov. He is a paternal grandson of Charles I of Austria and Zita of Bourbon-Parma. He married Princess María of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the couple has five children.