Prince Laurent of Belgium
Prince Laurent Benoît Baudouin Marie of Belgium (* October 19, 1963 at Château du Belvédère in Brussels, Belgium ) is a member of the Belgian royal family from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He is a member of the Belgian Senate, the second chamber of parliament.
Life
HM King Philippe HM Queen Mathilde
- HRH Crown Princess Elisabeth
- HRH Prince Gabriel
- HRH Prince Emmanuel
- HRH Princess Eléonore
HM King Albert II HM Queen Paola
- IKKH Princess Astrid HRH Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria - D'Este HRH Prince Amadeo
- IKKH Princess Maria Laura
- HRH Prince Joachim
- IKKH Princess Luisa Maria
- IKKH Princess Laetitia Maria
- HRH Princess Louise
- HRH Prince Nicolas
- HRH Prince Aymeric
HM Queen Fabiola
Laurent is the youngest of three children of Belgian King Albert II ( born June 6 1934) and his wife Queen Paola ( born September 11, 1937), youngest daughter of Prince Fulco Ruffo di Calabria and the Countess Luisa Gazelli. Paternal His grandparents were King Leopold III. and the Swedish princess Astrid. He has two older siblings, the reigning King Philippe ( born April 15, 1960) and Princess Astrid ( born June 5, 1962).
Training
Prince Laurent visited the Pius X College in Antwerp ( Dutch Language ) and the Royal Military Academy in Laeken ( French Language ). He then attended the Royal Military Academy, where he received the officers of the armed forces reserved for academic education. After completing his studies he chose as his father before him, to serve in the Navy. In September 1985, the prince was appointed lieutenant and 1994 he was promoted to Commander. After completing his naval training Laurent went through in the United States, a practical training in various private companies in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as the aviation and leisure sector. Later internships were awarded at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations in the context of development and environmental programs (UNDP).
Family
On April 12, 2003 married Prince Laurent in Brussels, the Civil Claire Louise Coombs ( born January 18, 1974 in Bath), daughter of British businessman Nicholas Coombs and his Belgian wife Nicole Mertens. From their marriage three children were born:
- Louise Sophie Mary (born 6 February 2004 in Brussels)
- Nicolas Casimire Marie ( born December 13, 2005 in Brussels )
- Aymeric Auguste Marie ( born December 13, 2005 in Brussels )
Public offices and charity work
Prince Laurent of Belgium, as well as his two siblings by law a member of the Belgian Senate. He has long been committed to environmental and conservation in Belgium. He is also Honorary President of the Belgian National Orchestra, as well as chairman of two foundations. One of them is dedicated to animal welfare.
Scandals
The Belgians gave Prince Laurent in the 1980s, nicknamed the Prince full throttle, based on his passion for fast cars and the numerous speeding tickets, which had been introduced to him his hobby.
2004 wanted to use his friend Cyrus Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, as the godfather of his daughter Louise Prince. Firstly, this was not possible by the canon law, as Pahlavi is Muslim. Secondly, the idea sparked from the Iranian government from rejection, which led to a short-term cooling of diplomatic relations. Finally Pahlavi was not sponsored. At the baptism on 4 September 2004, as godmothers Margaretha of Luxembourg, the daughter of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and wife of Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein, and present Marie- Claude Solvay, born Boulin.
In 2007, the Prince was accused of being involved in an infidelity scandal. 1998 and 1999 had been embezzled 2.2 million euros to the Belgian navy. One of the culprits was an adviser to the princes. 185,000 Euro from the embezzled amount invested in the renovation of the villa Tervuren, who inhabited the Prince and their owner is a royal foundation. The prince had to testify in criminal proceedings as a witness against his financial advisers and claimed to have known nothing of the illegal origin of the money. The adviser to the prince, who had embezzled the money, was sentenced to a prison term. The king paid the money received wrongly returned to the Navy.
Traffic offenses
The Prince came again and again for speeding in the headlines. In Washington, D.C. He received a warning on a Belgian highway he was flashed with 220 km / h. In 1999 and 2000 he was flashed in Brussels, with 146 km / h in a 50 km/h- and 137 km / h in a 70 km / h zone. Him, including the license was removed on 16 February 2011, as he drove in Ixelles with 82 km / h through a 50 -km / h zone.
Succession
Before the Constitution was amended in 1994, Prince Laurent was second in the Belgian throne. Meanwhile, the female members of the royal family enjoy the same right as the male. Thus, he is currently in eleventh place, follow him his three children.