Princess Maria Laura of Belgium and William Isvy: 10 Sept 2022

[Marengo]

Welcome to the thread about the wedding of Princess Maria Laura of Belgium and William Isvy.

According to media reports the couple will get married in Brussels on September 10th 2022.

The couple announced their engagement in December 2021. The thread about the engagement can be found here.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

According to media reports the couple will get married in Brussels on September 10th 2022.

It was confirmed today at a press conference given by the Mayor of Brussels and the spokesperson for the couple.


A summary from Nieuwsblad's royal correspondent Wim Dehandschutter (first shared by Stefan in the engagement thread):

"[CONFIRMED DATE] Belgian Princess Maria Laura will marry William Isvy on September 10, Brussels mayor @PhilippeClose and couple’s spokesman @HerveVerhoosel said in a press conference.

? Civil marriage at Brussels town hall in the morning.
? Private ceremony, only +/- 35 guests.
? Witnesses: Laura’s sisters Luisa and Laetitia; William’s brother and sister.

? Religious marriage at St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral, Brussels (2:30PM).
? 500 guests, including Belgian royal family.
? Catholic celebration with Jewish influences (William is Jewish)."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1560238445167083520

https://twitter.com/x/status/1560242466829340672

https://twitter.com/x/status/1560242700171055104

Media reports have further details from the press conference. (There are minor differences in the quotes given in various media outlets.)

The civil wedding guests will be welcomed to City Hall by around two dozen police cadets. According to the spokesperson, "the couple plan on organizing the civil ceremony in an intimate circle. Only a small number of family members will be present."

The religious wedding will be officiated by the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels. Per the spokesperson, "five hundred Belgian and foreign guests will be invited to the religious service, including all the members of the royal family". "The couple want songs to play an important role. Both Christian and Jewish songs will be performed."

Following the ceremonies, the parents of the couple will host private receptions in Brussels. "In addition to the parents, the sisters and brothers of the bridal couple and some good friends are assisting with organizing the celebration and receiving the guests."


Regarding the couple's choice of a Brussels wedding even though they live and work in London:

The spokesperson stated: "Even though they live in London, it is important to them to marry here in Belgium. The couple want to strengthen their connection to Brussels in this way. It is a symbolic choice. It's the perfect opportunity for Laura to show off the city of Brussels and our beautiful country to her in-laws, and also because Laura's parents, Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz, were married here at the city hall on 22 September 1984."

The mayor added: "All Belgians also remember the marriage of Philippe and Mathilde at the city hall. When a member of the royal family marries here, it's always moving. It is going to be a joyous moment and a beautiful look for Brussels."


https://www.lesoir.be/460351/articl...laura-de-belgique-epousera-william-isvy-le-10
https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20220811_97563031
https://www.hln.be/royalty/prinses-...-intieme-kring-georganiseerd-worden~a67e7151/


Princess Astrid and later her two brothers also held their civil weddings at the City Hall of Brussels.

Previous religious weddings of the Royal Family at the St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral (Brussels Cathedral) include Prince Leopold and Princess Astrid (1926), Prince Albert and Princess Paola (1959), King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola (1960), Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde (1999), and Prince Laurent and Princess Claire (2003).

Note that the wedding of Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz did not take place there, as the cathedral was in the process of restoration from 1983 to 1999.

https://www.cathedralisbruxellensis.be/en/history/

Were past royal religious weddings likewise officiated by the archbishop of Brussels?

 

[Skippy]

Were past royal religious weddings likewise officiated by the archbishop of Brussels?

Yes, AFAIK all of them, save for Albert I and Elisabeth (they married in Munich).

 

[maria-olivia]

Princess Maria Laura is not known in Belgium .
The Civil Wedding is private and in the afternoon in the Cathedral it is not . I wonder if the whole Government, the Ambassadors etc , will be there ??
I suppose 500 guests for the Wedding Evening at Princess Astrid's home .

 

[Mbruno]

Princess Maria Laura is not known in Belgium .
The Civil Wedding is private and in the afternoon in the Cathedral it is not . I wonder if the whole Government, the Ambassadors etc , will be there ??
I suppose 500 guests for the Wedding Evening at Princess Astrid's home .

Princess Maria Laura is 9th in line to the throne. It would be odd to invite ambassadors to her wedding (after all, it is not a state occasion).

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

On itself everyone can request any "pastoral service" like a baptism, a funeral, a wedding, the reading of a Mass, etc. There seems a bit of surprise here over a wedding at the Saints-Michel-et-Gudule. The cathedral would not function as a church anymore without these services.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Princess Maria Laura is 9th in line to the throne. It would be odd to invite ambassadors to her wedding (after all, it is not a state occasion).

They could possibly be invited by the bride’s parents that is if Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz are friends with some officials. But I’m not sure and they come from big families so they will probably prioritize their family and friends over government officials.

 

[maria-olivia]

For the Civil Wedding they will be welcomed in the Court Yard of the City Hall by 24 cadets de la police.
Laura Witnesses are her 2 Sisters and for William his brother and his Sister.
For the Church they will be 500 guests mostly from their families and friends . Monseigneur De Keyzer who just recover from cancer , will celebrate a Mass including both religions and songs will be incorporate.
As they will live in London Laura wanted to show Brussels to her future family in law which is very kind. Receptions of both families will be private

This happy Wedding was not the frontpage of Newspapers .
Part of the Grand Place of Brussels will be closed in the morning and the area of the Cathedral the afternoon.

 

[Skippy]

I rather doubt most people in Belgium spend as much time talking about any facet of royalty as we do here.

Given that this (has suddenly become) the highest-ranking interfaith marriage ever and that's pretty much the most notable thing about it, why should we not discuss it?

I agree. They deserve as much discussion as any other royal wedding. I also think it's notable that she is the first Belgian-born Princess to marry at the Cathedral (since there is no evidence that Princess Charlotte married there). But that's more a trivia thing for royal watchers.

 

[Stefanie]

Some thoughts about the wedding guests:
1. It will be Prince Gabriel of Belgium' s first wedding with morning suit, therefore I' m looking forward to seeing him dressed like that- he is sooo handsome.

2. Hope to see Imre and Katie again.
3. Maybe we finally find out news about Marie-Astrid and Ralph Worthington' s baby.
4. Maybe Luisa brings her Auersberg boyfriend along.
5. (..)
6. Is Joachim still together with Victoria Ortiz?
7. Maybe Josef and Claudia attend.
8. I hope Annunziata and Emanuele attend. They are such a handsome couple. (..)
9. I' m excited to find out about the bride' s hairstyle.
10. Would love to see Charlotte and Leopold Luxemburg.

 

[Blog Real]

My expectations for this wedding:

1. I hope to see the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg complete (The Grand Dukes and their sons and daughters-in-law, and the Grand Duke Henri's brothers with their sons, daughters-in-law and son-in-law).
   
2. The entire Belgian Royal Family. Curious to know if Prince Joachim attends the wedding to Victoria Ortiz.
   
3. Some guests from the Princely Family of Liechtenstein.
   
4. Other foreign royal guests.

 

[iceflower]

Speculative comments concerning pregnancies and infertility and replies to these comments have been removed according to the TRF rules.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

My expectations for this wedding:

1. I hope to see the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg complete (The Grand Dukes and their sons and daughters-in-law, and the Grand Duke Henri's brothers with their sons, daughters-in-law and son-in-law).
   
2. The entire Belgian Royal Family. Curious to know if Prince Joachim attends the wedding to Victoria Ortiz.
   
3. Some guests from the Princely Family of Liechtenstein.
   
4. Other foreign royal guests.

I doubt there will be an attendance from the Dutch royal family. The brothers and sisters-in-law of the King all have lived and worked in Brussels. Their daughters went to school there. But I doubt there were contacts with the Austria-Estes.

I can see Carlos Javier and Anne-Marie de Bourbon de Parme, Duke and Duchess of Parma (cousins of the King) attending. Both have lived and worked in Brussels as well and the Duke is related to the former Austrian imperial family. No idea if there are contacts with Astrid, Lorenz and their family.

My guess is that we will see no one from the Northern neighbours.

 

[tommy100]

I think outside of the Belgian RF, attendance will in some way depend on whether the Danish Queen has invited them to her Golden Jubilee celebrations the same weekend or kept it to Scandinavian royals only. If she has invited all European Royal Houses I think we may well see the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess in Denmark while their children attend the wedding.

 

[W.Y.CII]

I don't think there will be foreign royal, except the relatives from Luxembourg and Lichtenstein. There's no other foreign royal in her brother's wedding so I don't even think they had sent out the invitations to them. Wondering will the York sister attend, they are friends with some continental royals and Beatrice attended Amedeo's wedding, plus they are similar ages so I would not be surprised if they know each other personally and receive the invitation as friends.

 

[cdm]

Pierre and Beatrice Casiraghi attended Amedeo’s wedding.
Pierre also attended a birthday party of Amedeo in the past.
Maybe they might attend if they know Maria Laura too.

 

[principessa]

I guess one of the flower girls will be Archduchess Anna Astrid.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Unspecified "friends from other European royal houses" have been invited to the religious wedding.

There will be photographs and camera footage from the religious wedding (as there was from Prince Amedeo's wedding), but not the civil wedding.

https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2022/08/18/prinses-maria-laura-trouwt/

 

[maria-olivia]

Translation
Civil Wedding private 35 persons
No press ,no apparition on the balcony of the City Hall. Even the hour is not known for privacy . They have to say " the yes and some Words " in 4 languages , the 3 languages of belgium and english for William.

Religious Wedding
The press in invited some pictures may be taken and the doors will be closed . The whole Belgian Royal Family will attend and of course the whole famiy of the Groom also and their many friends.
A list of the guests attending will not be communicate.
The doors will be closed and the cameras may enter only for a few pictures.

They will release later pictures of both Weddings

Private and very happy Wedding...

Curious about who the guests will be
You have to wait until the Wedding day..

 

[Skippy]

Translation
Civil Wedding private 35 persons
No press ,no apparition on the balcony of the City Hall. Even the hour is not known for privacy . They have to say " the yes and some Words " in 4 languages , the 3 languages of belgium and english for William.

Religious Wedding
The press in invited some pictures may be taken and the doors will be closed . The whole Belgian Royal Family will attend and of course the whole famiy of the Groom also and their many friends.
A list of the guests attending will not be communicate.
The doors will be closed and the cameras may enter only for a few pictures.

They will release later pictures of both Weddings

Private and very happy Wedding...

And some video footage, according to the VRT website link that Tatiana Maria shared.

Anyway, it indeed sounds like us royal watchers will be satisfied with pictures and some footage.

Curious about who the guests will be
You have to wait until the Wedding day..

I know, it will all unfold on September 10th. But pre-curiosity is also fun

 

[Moonmaiden23]

I know that Beatrice of York is friends with the bride's brother Amadeo and attended his wedding.

I wonder is she also friendly with Maria Laura? Unlike her cousins Beatrice has attended several Continental Royal weddings.

 

[Marengo]

Posts about the religion of the groom have been moved to the engagement thread: here.

Pre-wedding discussions can also be held there.

This thread will be re-opened when we are closer to the wedding date.

 

[Marengo]

According to Herve Verhoosel, ´private spokesperson´ for Pss Astrid and Prince Lorenz, the witnesses at the wedding will be:

Pss Elisabetta of Belgium, Princess Astrid and Prince Joseph of Liechtenstein, Princess Olympia Napoleon and Ferdinand Brunet.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1567094547456442368

Those interested in talking about the appropriate titles of Princess Elisabetta can do so in the Belgian forum, not here. Those interested in the appropriate titles for the Liechtenstein princes can do so in the Liechtenstein forum, not here. Those interested in discussing the Napoleon-Bonaparte titles can do so in the French forum, not here.

 

[An Ard Ri]

I wonder if there will be many royal guests or will it be just limited to the extended Belgian RF and Archducal House of Austria-Este?

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Just as a clarification: It was earlier announced that the witnesses for the civil wedding would be the bride's two sisters and the groom's two siblings. Mr. Verhoosel is naming the witnesses for the religious wedding. His tweet states:

"Wedding of HRH Princess Maria-Laura of Belgium & William Isvy :the witnesses of the ceremony at the Cathedral in Brussels on Sept 10 will be Elisabetta de Belgique (Lili), Ferdinand Brunet, Astrid and Joseph von Liechtenstein and Olympia Napoleon-Bonaparte."​

Note that Princess Elisabetta Rosboch von Wolkenstein (Lili) and Princess Napoléon (Olympia) are not only family members (Olympia is her first cousin), but very close friends of Princess Maria Laura (she is said to have introduced Lili to her brother Amedeo). I am not sure about the others.

Those interested in talking about the appropriate titles of Princess Elisabetta can do so in the Belgian forum, not here. Those interested in the appropriate titles for the Liechtenstein princes can do so in the Liechtenstein forum, not here. Those interested in discussing the Napoleon-Bonaparte titles can do so in the French forum, not here.

I hope it is alright to link to the Titles of the Belgian Royal Family thread where I included links to information about the titles of Princess Elisabetta Rosboch von Wolkenstein, as the royal court called her. Discussion can take place there:

William Isvy will not acquire any legal titles; Prince Amedeo's wife Lili Rosboch did not.

However, the Royal Palace currently styles Lili by courtesy as Princess Elisabetta Rosboch von Wolkenstein, which is often shortened to Princess Elisabetta.

https://www.lesoir.be/246315/articl...dit-le-prince-amedeo-et-sa-femme-annoncent-la
https://www.theroyalforums.com/foru...elgian-royal-family-38975-17.html#post2186635

I wonder if there will be many royal guests or will it be just limited to the extended Belgian RF and Archducal House of Austria-Este?

It was stated at the August 18 press conference that "friends from other European royal houses" have been invited, so presumably the royal guests will be limited to those who are personally close to the Belgian royal family.

https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2022/08/18/prinses-maria-laura-trouwt/

Another press conference about the wedding was held at the cathedral on September 2, this time by Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz.

Copied from the engagement thread:

Wedding of Princess Laura, September 10 in Brussels:

The bride will be escorted to the altar by her father Lorenz;

Anna Astrid and Maximilian, children of her brother Amedeo, will be the bridesmaids;

After leaving the cathedral, William will drive off with Laura

.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1565632592413691904

Civil wedding ceremony of Princess Laura and William, Sept 10:

In the morning at Brussels City Hall;

Private (so no time communicated) and short (30 min). Reserved for close family;

In French, Dutch, German and in English as part of William’s family speaks English.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1565632395705024513

Religious wedding ceremony of Princess Laura and William, Sept 10:

2:30PM at Brussels Cathedral (first guests will arrive from 1PM);

75-minute celebration with 500 guests;

Catholic ceremony with disparity of worship (William is jewish).

https://twitter.com/x/status/1565632463510114305

"Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz arrive at the Brussels Cathedral to attend a press conference about their daughter’s wedding."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1565632274510610433

"Princess Astrid gets emotional at a press conference at Brussels cathedral about the wedding of Princess Laura, next Saturday. “My husband and I are very excited for our daughter. I might be moved. But it’s a huge event for us, as it was with Amedeo’s wedding.”"

https://twitter.com/x/status/1565637517432573952

https://twitter.com/i/status/1565639045610340352

Additional quotes from the September 2 press conference with the parents of Princess Maria Laura:


HRH Princess Astrid: "I have a feeling I'm going to be very moved. But I would like to say that Laura and William's wedding is an enormous occasion for us. As it was with Amedeo's wedding. But that didn't take place in Belgium. Which adds a whole other dimension this time. But Laura wanted to emphasize her Belgianness. She wanted to marry in Brussels where she was born and educated. She loves her city!"

HRH Princess Astrid: (on the involvement of family and friends in organizing the wedding) "The preparations are part of the celebration."

https://soirmag.lesoir.be/463097/ar...et-lorenz-william-est-comme-un-fils-pour-nous
https://www.pointdevue.fr/royal/belgique/les-tendres-confidences-dastrid-et-lorenz-de-belgique

An article with further details from today's press conference with Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz:

https://www.hln.be/royalty/ook-prin...k-prinses-maria-laura-bekendgemaakt~a4bd00fd/

The civil wedding will be officiated by the mayor, who will speak Dutch, French, German and English. The Brussels police honor guard welcoming the guests will be composed of cadets aged 15-18. Princess Delphine will be among the 30 or so guests.

The first guests at the religious wedding will arrive at 13:00, and immediate family at 14:15, followed by the bridal couple. Princess Maria Laura and William personally selected the Catholic and Jewish pieces which will be performed.

Information on the wedding dress, which Princess Maria Laura "carefully selected", will only be released on the wedding day.

William personally selected the car in which the couple will depart the cathedral in. The wedding celebration will continue with a private reception, dinner and evening party.

A comment from spokesman Hervé Verhoosel at the earlier press conference: "This is the opportunity for Laura to help her parents-in-law to further discover Brussels and her beautiful homeland. And it is also in the same city hall that her parents were married on 22 September 1984".


Nieuwsblad reporter Wim Dehandschutter also writes: "International media = “biggest royal wedding of the year”."

 

[Marchesina]

There seems to be a little confusion regarding the witnesses. Some reporters are saying Prince Joseph Wenzel is going to be among them, together with princess Marie Astrid. Some others are saying it's Prince Josef Emanuel. The latter, IMO, makes more sense, given the relation and the friendship (Maria Laura was at his wedding in Cartagena back in March).

 

[SirGyamfi1]

I know that Beatrice of York is friends with the bride's brother Amadeo and attended his wedding.

I wonder is she also friendly with Maria Laura? Unlike her cousins Beatrice has attended several Continental Royal weddings.

Princess Beatrice is friends with Princess Olympia Bonaparte and Prince Jean-Christophe and went for their wedding so it’s quite possible she’ll be there.

 

[Magnolia471]

There seems to be a little confusion regarding the witnesses. Some reporters are saying Prince Joseph Wenzel is going to be among them, together with princess Marie Astrid. Some others are saying it's Prince Josef Emanuel. The latter, IMO, makes more sense, given the relation and the friendship (Maria Laura was at his wedding in Cartagena back in March).

I'm confused as well. Because Prince Joseph Wenzel goes by Prince Wenzel since he was a toddler and Josef Emanuel doesnt use 'Joseph' as his first name. Maybe it's another Liechtenstein prince, there are so many of them. ?
But I would say it's Josef Emanuel as well...

 

[Stefan]

I'm confused as well. Because Prince Joseph Wenzel goes by Prince Wenzel since he was a toddler and Josef Emanuel doesnt use 'Joseph' as his first name. Maybe it's another Liechtenstein prince, there are so many of them. ?
But I would say it's Josef Emanuel as well...

Actually Josef Emanuel mostly uses Josef without Emanuel so likely it is him.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

I wonder if there will be many royal guests or will it be just limited to the extended Belgian RF and Archducal House of Austria-Este?

I’m sure it will include lots of royals and nobles that the bride has personal relations, friendships and connections to. It won’t just be the Belgian royals and the Habsburgs, but probably some Savoy-Aosta’s, Orléans, etc.