Lorenz, Erzherzog von Österreich-Este

Austria: Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece (House of Habsburg)

Lorenz Otto Carl Amadeus Thadeus Maria Pius Andreas Marcus d'Aviano, Archduke(Erzherzog) von Österreich.

• House of Habsburg-Lorraine.
• Prince de Belgique on 27 November 1995.

Wikipedia:

• English: Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este
• Deutch: Lorenz Erzherzog von Österreich-Este
• Français: Lorenz d'Autriche-Este
• Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 16 December 1955) is a member of the Belgian Royal Family. Since 1996 he is also head of the House of Austria-Este, the branch of the formerly Imperial Austrian House of Habsburg-Lorraine which reigned over the Duchy of Modena until 1859.

Early life and marriage

Prince Lorenz was born in Clinique du Belvédère, 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.

On 22 September 1984 in Brussels, Lorenz married Princess Astrid of Belgium, the only daughter of the then Prince and Princess of Liège, now King Albert II and Queen Paola. They have five children:

1. HI&RH Prince Amedeo Marie Joseph Carl Pierre Philippe Paola Marcus d'Aviano of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (b. 1986)
2. HI&RH Princess Maria Laura Zita Beatrix Gerhard of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria (b. 1988)
3. HI&RH Prince Joachim Karl-Maria Nikolaus Isabelle Marcus d'Aviano of Belgium, Archduke of Austria (b. 1991)
4. HI&RH Princess Luisa Maria Anna Martine Pilar of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria (b. 1995)
5. HI&RH Princess Laetitia Maria Nora Anna Joachim Zita of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria (b. 2003)

Education and career

Lorenz studied economics at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and the University of Innsbruck in Austria. He worked at various banks in London, Paris, and Rome. In 1983 he joined the Gutzwiller private bank in Basel where he eventually became a Managing Partner. In 1993, he spent one year as a consultant to Swift, a company which provides services to the financial industry. In 1995, he became Advisor to the Board of Directors of BNP Paribas Bank in Paris. He is currently a director of UCB, a global pharmaceutical manufacturer. He was formerly a director of Sita (a worldwide waste management company located in France) and of Ondeo Nalco (a water management company in the United States)

Titles and styles

His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary (1955–1995) His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary (1995–1996)

As head of the House of Austria-Este (which reigned over the sovereign Duchy of Modena until its annexation to Italy in 1859) since his father's death on 7 February 1996, Lorenz bears the title Archduke of Austria-Este, which was made hereditary according to male primogeniture by declaration of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 31 October 1914 (following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este) and was confirmed by Imperial Austrian letters patent, both of which conferred it (with the traditional coat-of-arms of the House of Austria-Este) upon Lorenz's father, Archduke Robert, on 16 April 1917, and has been confirmed for Lorenz by specific reference in Article IX.1 of the constitution of the Kingdom of Belgium. In addition he also bears the traditional Austrian titles of "Prince Imperial of Austria" and "Prince Royal of Hungary", "Croatia and Bohemia".

The Este suffix descended by male primogeniture and is borne by Lorenz and his successors as heads of the Austria-Este cadet branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. The title "Prince of Belgium" was granted to him by Royal Decree of 10 November 1995 by his father-in-law, King Albert II of the Belgians. Depending on the situation, Lorenz is thus legally and formally styled HRH Prince Lorenz of Belgium, or internationally otherwise HI&RH Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este or simply HI&RH The Archduke of Austria-Este.

His children by Princess Astrid bear the titles "Prince(ss) of Belgium – by Belgian decree of 2 December 1991, in addition to their traditional Austrian titles -, Archduke/Archduchess of Austria, Prince(ss) Imperial of Austria, Prince(ss) Royal of Hungary".