Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium, Aunt of King Philippe, Turns 65!

Today, Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium celebrates her sixty-fifth birthday!

Lilian with her daughter Marie-Esmeralda, 1956.

Born on 30 September 1956 at Laeken, Princess Marie-Esmeralda Adelaide Lilian Anna Léopoldine of Belgium was the second daughter and last child of King Léopold III of the Belgians and his second wife Lilian, Princess de Réthy. Marie-Esmeralda had two full siblings: Prince Alexandre (1942-2009) and Princess Marie-Christine (b.1951). From her father's first marriage to Princess Astrid of Sweden, Marie-Esmeralda had three half-siblings: Princess Joséphine-Charlotte (1927-2005; married Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg), King Baudouin (1930-1993; married Doña Fabiola Mora y Aragón), and King Albert II (b.1934; married Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria).

On 4 April 1998 at London, Princess Marie-Esmeralda of Belgium married Sir Salvador Moncada (b.1944), a Honduran-British pharmacologist. The couple have two children: Alexandra Leopoldine Moncada (b.1998) and Leopoldo Daniel Moncada (b.2001). Princess Marie-Esmeralda is a journalist and author. She is also the patroness of the The Princess Lilian Foundation.

Our best wishes to Princess Marie-Esmeralda on her birthday!

Princess Claire of Belgium Recovers from Coronavirus

Princess Claire of Belgium

In a recent interview, Prince Laurent of Belgium gave an update about the goings-on in his family. “We do not know how, but the coronavirus has entered our household,” the prince said in an interview published on 6 May, Wednesday, in Le Soir Mag. “For weeks now, we have hardly gone out—only to shop and for recreation.” The next day it was revealed that Laurent's wife Claire was the family member who had been touched by the virus.

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Princess Claire was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus in March. For six months, the princess has been dealing with an undisclosed grave illness, which still lingers and was detected at an early stage. Princess Claire did not require hospitalisation for COVID-19 and was able to recover at home.

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Prince Laurent, Princess Claire, and their three children have been sheltering-in-place at the Villa Clementine at Tervuren. Laurent of Belgium and Claire Coombs married in 2003; the couple's children are Princess Louise (b.2004) and the twins, Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric (b.2005).