Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria
Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg | |||||
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Born | Castle Betzdorf, Betzdorf, Luxembourg | 17 February 1954||||
Spouse | Archduke Carl Christian of Austria
(m. 1982) | ||||
Issue | Marie Christine, countess of Limburg-Stirum Imre Christoph Alexander Gabriella, Princess of Bourbon-Parma | ||||
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House | Nassau-Weilburg (official) Bourbon-Parma (agnatic) | ||||
Father | Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg | ||||
Mother | Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
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The Dowager Countess of Holstein-Ledreborg The Dowager Duchess of Mouchy and Poix
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*Is a prince/ss of Nassau but not a prince/ss of Luxembourg |
Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria[1] (née Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg; born 17 February 1954 at Castle Betzdorf) is the elder daughter and eldest child of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, and the wife of Archduke Carl Christian of Austria.
Biography[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/De_troonwisseling_in_Luxemburg%2C_de_Hertogelijke_familie%2C_Bestanddeelnr_917-1202.jpg/170px-De_troonwisseling_in_Luxemburg%2C_de_Hertogelijke_familie%2C_Bestanddeelnr_917-1202.jpg)
Princess Marie Astrid was born on 17 February, 1954, in Castle Betzdorf, Betzdorf, Luxembourg. She is the eldest child of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Princess Josephine Charlotte of Belgium. Her godparents were King Leopold III of Belgium (her maternal grandfather) and Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg (her paternal grandmother).
In her youth, as one of the few eligible princesses from European reigning houses, she was considered an ideal candidate by match makers for marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales. Media reports in the 1970s speculated about the prospects of such a marriage, the Daily Express claiming in June 1977 that the couple's engagement was imminent.[2] (Unconfirmed media reports in the British press claimed that Pope Paul VI had prevented a marriage by refusing under Ne Temere to accept that the children of the couple could not be brought up Roman Catholic.)[citation needed]
It has been since suggested[by whom?] that the marriage rumours were a result of efforts to detect a leaker in the Privy Council. In reality, a marriage between the British heir and the Roman Catholic princess was unlikely, as the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701 needed to be repealed or modified.[citation needed]
Marie-Astrid studied in Luxembourg and also in Belgium. She received her diploma as a registered nurse in 1974, and finished her education in 1977, with a nursing certificate in tropical medicine from the Prince Leopold Institute.[citation needed]
She has been the president of the Red Cross for Luxembourg Youth since 1970.[citation needed]
Marriage[]
On 6 February 1982 in Luxembourg, she married her second cousin Archduke Carl Christian of Austria, younger son of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria (himself the fourth son of Emperor Charles I of Austria) and his wife Princess Yolande of Ligne, of the prominent Belgian noble family, the House of Ligne.[citation needed]
They have five children:
- Archduchess Marie-Christine Anne Astrid Zita Charlotte (b. 31 July 1983) m. Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum in 2008. They have three sons: Count Leopold Limburg-Stirum (b. 2011), Count Constantin Limburg-Stirum (b. 2013) anch Count Gabriel Limburg-Stirum (b. 2016)
- Archduke Imre Emanuel Simeon Jean Carl Marcus d'Aviano (b. 1985). In 2012 he married Kathleen Elizabeth Walker. They have four daughters: Archduchess Maria-Stella (b. 2013), Archduchess Magdalena (b. 2016), and Archduchess Juliane (b. 2018) and Archduchess Cecilia (b. 2021)
- Archduke Christoph Henri Alexander Maria Marcus d' Aviano, m. Adelaide Drape-Fisch in 2012. They have three children: Archduchess Katarina (b. 2014), Archduchess Sophia (b. 2017) and Archduke Josef (b. 2020).
- Archduke Alexander Hector Marie Karl Leopold Marcus d'Aviano (b. 1990)
- Archduchess Gabriella Maria Pilar Yolande Joséphine-Charlotte (b. 26 March 1994) m. Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma in 2020. They have two daughters: Princess Victoria (b. 2017) and Princess Anastasia (b. 2021)
Archduchess Marie-Astrid and her family live quietly, occasionally appearing at royal weddings and similar events.[citation needed]
Honours[]
National honours[]
As Princess of Luxembourg, at 18 years old :
Luxembourg: Knight Grand Cross of Order of Adolphe of Nassau (by birth, on 18 years old)[3]
Luxembourg : Commemorative Silver Jubilee Medal of His Royal Highness The Grand Duke Jean (12 November 1989).
Foreign honours[]
Iran : Commemorative Medal of the 2500th Anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire (14 October 1971).
Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (8 July 1980).[4][5]
References[]
- ^ Grand Ducal Court of Luxembourg
- ^ "the royals and the press". pbs.org.
- ^ Honorary distinctions of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, publication of the government of Luxembourg : Princes and Princesses of the Grand-Ducal House of Luxembourg are Grand Crosses of the Order by birth but the decoration is worm only after they reach their majority (18 years old).
- ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
- ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado
- 1954 births
- House of Nassau-Weilburg
- Living people
- Luxembourgian princesses
- Princesses of Bourbon-Parma
- People from Betzdorf, Luxembourg
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
- Austrian nurses
- Austrian people of Luxembourgian descent