P. Maria Laura, P. Joachim, P. Luisa Maria and P. Laetitia Maria FAQ

[Alisa]

Does Astrid and the Archduke live full-time in London since the children are all there?

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Does Astrid and the Archduke live full-time in London since the children are all there?

Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz have never lived in London. Following their marriage in 1984, they resided in Basel, Switzerland, although Princess Astrid returned to Belgium to give birth to their children. The couple returned in 1993 to live in Belgium and take up their roles as working members of the Royal Family.

https://familleroyalebelge.blogspot.com/2016/06/les-54-ans-de-la-princesse-astrid-de.html

Prince Lorenz spends part of his time in Basel, where he is a managing partner at the Gutzwiller investment bank, which also employs his son Prince Amedeo.

 

[Somebody]

Does Astrid and the Archduke live full-time in London since the children are all there?

No, they live in Brussels. Close to Philippe and Mathilde. Although Lorenz spends quite some time in Switzerland for work.

Amedeo and Elisabetta don't live in the UK either - after living in Belgium for a while they moved to Switzerland (Basel); and Harvard is in the USA, so if Joachim has classes at Harvard (instead of everything online; not sure what the school decided on) he would need to be in Boston. Laetitia's school is close to Birmingham, about 2-2 1/2 hours drive from Central London.

All in all, it seems only Laura and Luisa currently live in London; and they are old enough not to need their parents around.

 

[maria-olivia]

Thank you for your informations , we Belgians don't know ! I am impresssed
We should meet them on the Street without knowing who they are !

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Thank you for your informations , we Belgians don't know ! I am impresssed
We should meet them on the Street without knowing who they are !

And for that reason I am curious as to why all of Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz's children decided to make their home abroad. It was obviously not necessary to escape the limelight.

 

[maria-olivia]

It is known that Prince Amadeo's wife did not like living in Belgium.

 

[Duchess Sophie]

I didn't know that? I didn't read anything about that in the papers?

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Just like Elisabetta, Princess Paola,( now queen) is Italian and she had a difficult time adjusting to life in Belgium at first.

Perhaps it is the climate? Or that the cuisine is so different than that of Italy?

 

[kathia_sophia]

Just like Elisabetta, Princess Paola,( now queen) is Italian and she had a difficult time adjusting to life in Belgium at first.

Perhaps it is the climate? Or that the cuisine is so different than that of Italy?

Perhaps, both...The climate and cuisine from the Southern European countries are vastly different from the north. My brother lives in northeast France, and I dislike it there (every time I go visit him, I miss my country, food and warm climate). I confess that when I visited Belgium, I did not like it that much. I prefer Italy and Greece by a mile.

 

[stephanievl]

Prince Joachim graduated today from the Harvard Business School in Boston.
https://m.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20210527_96053838

 

[Blog Real]

Prince Joachim received a master's degree in business administration.
Where is Joachim living? in Belgium?

 

[Tatiana Maria]

And Laura ended up in the banking world just like her father and older brother - I didn't expect that based on her studies. Although it is a very specific type of bank that seems to have a social purpose.

Her career first in political science and later in banking also surprised me a bit, considering her traditional family. Both the Belgian royals and, from the little I know of them, the Habsburgs generally seem to follow the old ways, with the men having lucrative careers in finance or business while the women work in fields such as the arts or communications or resigning their careers to focus on motherhood and charity work after marriage, and that was the path followed by Laura's parents, especially during their time in Switzerland. Yet Laura and Luisa both studied political science and followed in their father's footsteps as investment bankers (though it remains to be seen what they will do if and when they marry).

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Prince Joachim graduated today from the Harvard Business School in Boston.
https://m.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20210527_96053838

Wow...that's Harvard Business is nothing to sneeze at. Good on Joachim!?

 

[Blog Real]

According to this HoLA article, Princess Luisa Maria has had a relationship with Prince Karl-Ilias von Auersperg-Bruenner since 2016.
https://www.hola.com/realeza/casa_belga/20211227201970/princesa-maria-laura-belgica-compromiso/

Another articles:
Royal Musings: A romance for Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium

Bright & Beautiful: Who is Karl-Ilias von Auersperg?

Are there any pictures of the two together?

 

[Blog Real]

I'm not sure when this photo was taken. But here we can see the whole family.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.c...eken-royal-palace-in-brussels-june-17-200.jpg

 

[iceflower]

It was taken during a photo session at the Laeken Palace gardens in June 2008

 

[Blog Real]

It was taken during a photo session at the Laeken Palace gardens in June 2008

Thank you. I didn't remember seeing this photo before.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

It is known that Prince Amadeo's wife did not like living in Belgium.

Just like Elisabetta, Princess Paola,( now queen) is Italian and she had a difficult time adjusting to life in Belgium at first.

Perhaps it is the climate? Or that the cuisine is so different than that of Italy?

Perhaps, both...The climate and cuisine from the Southern European countries are vastly different from the north. My brother lives in northeast France, and I dislike it there (every time I go visit him, I miss my country, food and warm climate). I confess that when I visited Belgium, I did not like it that much. I prefer Italy and Greece by a mile.

But they settled in Basel, instead of Italy. Are there such major differences between living in Basel/Switzerland and Brussels/Belgium?

 

[Tatiana Maria]

And Laura ended up in the banking world just like her father and older brother - I didn't expect that based on her studies. Although it is a very specific type of bank that seems to have a social purpose.

And it could be compared to her current position (which, per the biographical information given by the Palace with the announcement of her engagement, she took up in 2020) as a climate researcher for the Children's Investment Fund Foundation.

https://ciff.org/team/laura-de-belgique/
https://www.theroyalforums.com/foru...m-isvy-27-dec-2021-a-49168-2.html#post2445007

 

[Mbruno]

Just like Elisabetta, Princess Paola,( now queen) is Italian and she had a difficult time adjusting to life in Belgium at first.

Perhaps it is the climate? Or that the cuisine is so different than that of Italy?

The weather in the Low Countries must be really a negative for Southern Europeans. It is never too cold like in Canada or parts of the continental US in the winter, but summers are cool and it rains a lot, whereas in Mediterranean climates like in Italy summers are normally warm and dry.

 

[Princess_Eleanor]

I've got to say it's interesting how history repeated itself with an Italian bride who had a difficult time adjusting to Belgium. I can see how it would be difficult to leave Southern Europe for another part of Europe. Despite being used to it, I also frequently feel cold here in Central Europe.
Add to that the wonderful Mediterranean cuisine - if I was from the area, I don't think I'd ever want to leave either.

The weather in the Low Countries must be really a negative for Southern Europeans. It is never too cold like in Canada or parts of the continental US in the winter, but summers are cool and it rains a lot, whereas in Mediterranean climates like in Italy summers are normally warm and dry.

As someone who has spent quite some time in Lille (Northern France, but about as close to Belgium as you can get ) I think that is such a great description! There's just a lot of rain and wind all year long. The sky was often grey, I found. Not that I don't know that at all, but I feel like we've got more sun and less grey, even in winter here in Austria - though it gets colder in terms of actual temperature.
It's just quite a wet climate, which can be an adjustment. They must have missed those long and warm Italian summers quite a lot!

But they settled in Basel, instead of Italy. Are there such major differences between living in Basel/Switzerland and Brussels/Belgium?

I do think that Basel and Brussels are very different places, though Basel doesn't have that Italian/ Southern European atmosphere either. For one thing, Basel is a lot smaller than Brussels. Brussels certainly offers a lot more events and activities, but in Basel they undoubtedly enjoy great privacy - perhaps that is a draw.

If Elisabetta missed her homeland, I would imagine that Basel was not her first choice either. Perhaps it is a compromise... And it's where that bank is - the one where Prince Lorenz is a partner and Amedeo works. Between Brussels and Basel, Elisabetta may prefer Basel, but if it's Italy and Southern Europe that she misses, she would probably choose something else entirely if she could choose any city.

 

[Adda]

Princess Luisa María at this year's Feria de Sevilla.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1658123479873470466

 

[An Ard Ri]

Princess Luisa María was really getting into the spirit of the Feria de Sevilla

 

[Blog Real]

Who is this young man who accompanied Princess Luisa Maria?

 

[Iza Borowiec]

Who is this young man who accompanied Princess Luisa Maria?

It's probably her boyfriend Prince Karl-Ilias von Auersperg but I'm not sure.

 

[Linda_26]

It's probably her boyfriend Prince Karl-Ilias von Auersperg but I'm not sure.

It's not Karl-Ilias von Auersperg. In the photogallery you can find at the following link (from a Spanish website), the young man with Luisa is mentioned as Edouard Brochet. No idea if he's a friend or if he might be her new boyfriend, of course
https://www.google.com/amp/s/sevill...e-puebla-cayetano-20230429223928-gas_amp.html

 

[Adda]

Princess Maria Laura is one of the five godparents to little Prince Louis Napoléon.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1658908647039148037

 

[maria-olivia]

Yes indeed , I wonder if other Napoléon Baptism took place at the Abbey of Farmborough where Napléon III his great great grandfather , his wife Eugénie and his son are burried. .

 

[SirGyamfi1]

And for that reason I am curious as to why all of Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz's children decided to make their home abroad. It was obviously not necessary to escape the limelight.

I do not think it had anything to do with media

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Princess Maria Laura is one of the five godparents to little Prince Louis Napoléon.

She has been very close friends for a long time with Louis's mother Princess Napoléon (Olympia von Arco), who is also her first cousin.