Mataracity.com Honours Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium
(In the picture Princess Astrid is by the Miraculous Statue, in conversation with Rev. Fr. Charles Hewawasam the Parish Priest of St. Mary’s Church, Bishop of Galle Dr .Harold Anthony Perera & H.E Mr. Armand De Decker the Minister)
Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium in her three-day mission to Sri Lanka honoured the people of Matara by her visit on 15th June 2005. The website mataracity.com takes much pleasure in honouring her by publishing her profile which an officer from the Consulate of Belgium was kind enough to present to us.
Princess Astrid of Belgium was born in Brussels on June 5, 1962. The Princess is the second child of King Albert II and Queen Paola. After attending secondary school in Brussels, the Princess studied Art & History in Lei den, Netherlands. She completed her education in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Institute of dEtudes Europeennes, and afterwards in Michigan, USA. Princess Astrid is married to Lorenz, Archduke of Austria –Este – who was to become prince of Belgium in 1995 – in Brussels on September 22, 1984. The Prince was born in Boulogne-sur-Seine, France, on December 16, 1995.
Prince Lorenz graduated in political and social science at the University of Sankt Gallen (Switzerland) and Innsbruck (Austria). He is active in the banking sector. The Prince and the Princess have five children, all of whom were born in Brussels: Amedeo: born on February 21, 1986: Maria Laura on August 26, 1988: Joachim, born on December 9, 1991; Luisa Maria, born on October 11, 1995 and Laetitia Maria, born on April 23, 2003.
Princess Astrid is chairing the Belgian Red Cross Society since 1994, succeeding her father in this function. As such, the Princess chairs meetings of National Executive Board, the National Council and General Assembly, as well as numerous working groups. She heads the delegation of Belgian Red Cross Society at statutory meetings of the International Red Cross Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Princess closely follows the Red Cross activities in Belgium and Belgian Red Cross projects abroad. Princess Astrid is Honorary President of the Medical Foundation Queen Elizabeth and of the European Organization on Research and Treatment of Cancer Foundation. Princess Astrid shows broad interest in all aspects of our society. She supports, by her presence, or her patronage, several initiatives or activities throughout the country in Belgium and abroad. Princess Astrid became Senator by law, on November 22, 1996 and Lieutenant Colonel in the Medical Service of the Belgian Armed Forces on May 22, 1997. She is Colonel in the Medical Component.
