Princess Astrid & Prince Lorenz of Belgium Current Events 4, April 2019- present


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Thankfully the Palace shared some photos and information as well today (which should happen more often concerning Astrid's engagements):


 
Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this Sunday.
On the occasion of this major milestone, they gave a rare interview (filmed at their residence, Villa Schonenberg in Laeken) to Alix Battard of the RTL program Place Royale, which will air this Saturday, and also to Wim Dehandschutter of HLN.
Some tidbits from this week's Soir Mag:

The couple recalls their first meeting and how they fell in love. Astrid: "We first met on a cruise in Greece organised by one of my first cousins on my mother's side, who loved me very much. He also knew Lorenz well, so we were both invited with other friends. There were nine of us on a 12-meter yacht, so it was a great chance to get to know each other well".
Lorenz: "When I met Astrid, I immediately appreciated her kindness, her sweetness, her sensitivity and her common sense. She was very spontaneous and at the same time there was something really special about her, she was very different from anyone I had ever met before. I already knew in that moment that she would be the woman of my life. Over the past forty years (plus the years of dating and the engagement), I've never changed my mind. I'm thankful for each day I get to spend with her".

Astrid: "Over the years, our love has grown and has strenghtened throughout the joys and the difficulties that we inevitably face in life. We're on the same wavelenght and we complete each other. We have a great complicity". She thinks they were made for each other and quotes French philosopher Montaigne, who, when asked why he was friends with writer Etienne de La Boétie, answered "Parce que c'était lui, parce que c'était moi" (Because it was him, because it was me). "It is the same thing for us", says Astrid.

Astrid and Lorenz are parents to five adult children and are now the proud grandparents to three grandchildren, Anna Astrid (8), Maximilian (5) and Alix (1) of Austria-Este.They try to see them as much as possible. They say that they've just come back from Basel, where they've spent time with their eldest son Amedeo and his family. The little ones call Astrid Ninou and Lorenz Nonno (grandfather in Italian)
 
Two new adorable photos of the happy couple have been released.



Same photos
 
Lovely photos and congratulations to the couple on the ruby wedding! They are celebrating it in Italy, says their friend Herve Verhoosel to Belga press agency. The trip was organised by their children.

I am surprised the interview is with commercial RTL rather than the state channel RTBF.
 
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Beautiful pictures of the couple! I love the way they look at each other in the first one.
Here's the nice interview to Wim Dehandschutter, published today (archived here):
EXCLUSIEF. “Na 40 jaar doe je me nog steeds blozen”: thuis bij prinses Astrid en prins Lorenz, nog even verliefd als op hun huwelijk

Astrid about Lorenz: "My husband has many qualities. He's intellgent, sensitive, he's really unique. And he has a great sense of humour, just like my father. I felt honoured that he was interested in me when we first met". Lorenz: "After 40 years, you still make me blush!"
They recall their wedding day, 22 September 1984, which was "marvelous", even if there were a few obstacles along the way. Astrid: "My beloved uncle King Baudouin had mumps that day, but he came anyway. And my dear father had a nasty fall from his motorbike just days before our wedding. It was terrible, he was really suffering as he had several fractures. He had his arm in a sling when he walked me down the aisle".

They then talk about their children and grandchildren. Astrid always wanted a large family and already at around 10 years old she knew she wanted five children. She says that the one who takes most after her in character is the youngest, Laetitia, who is "sensitive and perfectionist as I am".
Their grandchildren are lively and curious, and they call their grandparents Nonno and Ninou. Lorenz is called Nonno as a reference to the children's Italian origins, while Astrid explains that her nickname Ninou is a nod to both her parents. "My children called my mother Paola-their grandmother- Nouni when they were little, and it was also the name used by my father for his own maternal grandmother (Princess Ingeborg, Queen Astid's mother), so I just changed the syllables and I became Ninou".

They have already celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, with a holiday to Sicily which was a gift from their children. "We couldn't have asked for a better wedding anniversary", they say.
 
How adorable!



Beautiful pictures of the couple! I love the way they look at each other in the first one.
Here's the nice interview to Wim Dehandschutter, published today (archived here):
EXCLUSIEF. “Na 40 jaar doe je me nog steeds blozen”: thuis bij prinses Astrid en prins Lorenz, nog even verliefd als op hun huwelijk

Astrid about Lorenz: "My husband has many qualities. He's intellgent, sensitive, he's really unique. And he has a great sense of humour, just like my father. I felt honoured that he was interested in me when we first met". Lorenz: "After 40 years, you still make me blush!"
They recall their wedding day, 22 September 1984, which was "marvelous", even if there were a few obstacles along the way. Astrid: "My beloved uncle King Baudouin had mumps that day, but he came anyway. And my dear father had a nasty fall from his motorbike just days before our wedding. It was terrible, he was really suffering as he had several fractures. He had his arm in a sling when he walked me down the aisle".

They then talk about their children and grandchildren. Astrid always wanted a large family and already at around 10 years old she knew she wanted five children. She says that the one who takes most after her in character is the youngest, Laetitia, who is "sensitive and perfectionist as I am".
Their grandchildren are lively and curious, and they call their grandparents Nonno and Ninou. Lorenz is called Nonno as a reference to the children's Italian origins, while Astrid explains that her nickname Ninou is a nod to both her parents. "My children called my mother Paola-their grandmother- Nouni when they were little, and it was also the name used by my father for his own maternal grandmother (Princess Ingeborg, Queen Astid's mother), so I just changed the syllables and I became Ninou".

They have already celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, with a holiday to Sicily which was a gift from their children. "We couldn't have asked for a better wedding anniversary", they say.
Thank you very much for sharing! The interview is priceless.

The fact that the whole family had a WhatsApp group called "Anna Astrid Fanclub", that now has become the ‘AA + A + Maximilian Fanclub’ is just so precious. Little Maximilian being concerned about the atomic bomb was nothing short of hilarious.. already a brilliant little chap he is.

Finally, Ninou and Nonno are indeed lucky to have such a big garden.

I was a fan already, now I'm a die-hard fan of the Austria-Estes!
 
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They could at least post a new family photo or a photo with the grandchildren.
Wonder what f.i. ML and William are up to.
 
The interview is priceless.

The fact that the whole family had a WhatsApp group called "Anna Astrid Fanclub", that now has become the ‘AA + A + Maximilian Fanclub’ is just so precious. Little Maximilian being concerned about the atomic bomb was nothing short of hilarious.. already a brilliant little chap he is.

Finally, Ninou and Nonno are indeed lucky to have such a big garden.

I was a fan already, now I'm a die-hard fan of the Austria-Estes
The interview was really nice, and I also enjoyed very much the short videos shared by Wim Dehandschutter on X. Both Astrid and Lorenz come across as very likeable and spontaneous, and they are certainly a lovely couple. I wish them many more years together!
 
It was not only about them. We saw Elisabeth, the Royals of Spain, the Wedding of Prince Albert etc..
 
The interview was wonderful ,it was my first time to hear the Princess-Archduchess speak!
 
Princess Astrid participated in the celebration of CERN's 70th anniversary at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Meyrin near Geneva, Switzerland today, October 1:


** rex gallery **
 
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