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Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant
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Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant (née: Ec. Jonkvrouw Mathilde Marie Christiane Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz), styled HRH The Duchess of Brabant, is the wife of the heir apparent to the Belgian throne, HRH Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant. Of Belgian and Polish ancestry, she is expected to be the first Belgian-born Queen consort of Belgium.
was born Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz in Uccle on 20 January 1973.
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Encyclopedia
Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant (née: Ec. Jonkvrouw Mathilde Marie Christiane Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz), styled HRH The Duchess of Brabant, is the wife of the heir apparent to the Belgian throne, HRH Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant. Of Belgian and Polish ancestry, she is expected to be the first Belgian-born Queen consort of Belgium.
Early life and family
She was born Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz in Uccle on 20 January 1973. Though her grandfather and her uncle were barons, she and her father were members of the untitled nobility. As such, she has right to the honorific Jonkvrouw, which is roughly comparable to the British honorific "Lady".
Mathilde's father was Count (formerly Jonkheer) Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz (April 28, 1936 - September 25, 2008); her mother is the former Countess Anna Maria Komorowska (born September 24, 1947).
Mathilde is the oldest of five children. She has 3 younger sisters and 1 younger brother: Jonkvrouw Marie-Alix d'Udekem d'Acoz (September 16, 1974 - April, 1997), Countess Elisabeth d'Udekem d'Acoz (January 17, 1977), Countess Hélene d'Udekem d'Acoz (September 22, 1979) and Count Charles-Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz (May 13, 1985).
On 29 March, 2008, Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz, Princess Mathilde's uncle, told a Belgian newspaper that his brother, Patrick had been admitted to the Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht, and was dying. The count was in an irreversible coma and in critical condition. Henri stated this his brother had been ill since January, and his illness had gradually put him into the coma. Henri noted that Mathilde had visited her father in the hospital, as had other members of the royal family. On 25 September 2008, it was announced that the Count had passed away, aged 72, in Ottignies.
Maternal Polish - Lithuanian heritage
Her maternal ancestors were Polish - Lithuanian nobility and aristocracy. Her mother, Countess Anna Maria Komorowska of Komorowo, Clan Korczak (born 1946 in Bialogard, Poland) was a daughter of Count Leon Michal Komorowski (1907-1992) and Princess Zofia Sapiezanka-Kodenska (Sapieha-Kodenski) of Krasiczyn, Clan Lis (1919-1997).
Princess Zofia was a daughter of Prince Adam Zygmunt Sapieha-Kodenski (1892-1970), grandson of Count Kazimierz Wojciech Potulicki, Clan Grzymala, Countess Maria Zamoyska, Clan Jelita and Princess Jadwiga Klementyna Sanguszkówna-Kowelska (Sanguszko-Kowelski). He was a great-grandson of Princess Izabela Maria Lubomirska. Princess Mathilde is related to the main Polish - Lithuanian aristocratic and noble families, such as Czartoryski, Lubomirski, Radziwill, Zamoyski, Komorowski, Potulicki, Sanguszko and others, including even The President of Poland (through an ancestor they both share, the famous Modrzewski).
Education
Princess Mathilde attended secondary school at the Institut de la Vierge Fidèle in Brussels. She then studied speech therapy at the Institut Libre Marie Haps in Brussels from 1991 to 1994 and earned a diploma with "grande distinction" (equivalent to magna cum laude).
Mathilde then worked as a speech therapist in her own practice in Brussels from 1995 to 1999. She also studied psychology at the Université catholique de Louvain and earned a diploma in psychology with "distinction" (cum laude) in 2002.
She speaks French, Dutch, English and Italian. Her mother, who spent most of her life outside of Poland, did not teach her Polish, thinking that it would not be necessary. Therefore, Mathilde knows only a few words in Polish.
Marriage and children
The announcement of Mathilde's engagement to the Belgian heir apparent, Prince Philippe, who had never been seriously linked with any woman, came as a surprise to the country. Mathilde married Prince Philippe on 4 December 1999 in Brussels, civilly at the Brussels Town Hall and religiously at the Cathedral of Saint Michel. She was then created on 8 November 1999 (published on 13 November 1999 and effective from 4 December 1999) "Princesse de Belgique".
The couple has four children:
Princess Elisabeth, the couple's eldest child, is the second in line to the throne behind her father and ahead of her brothers, who are third and fourth in line to succeed, owing to a change in Belgian succession laws in 1991.
Mathilde is also godmother to two princesses: Princess Alexia of the Netherlands and Princess Isabella of Denmark.
Titles
- Jonkvrouw Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz (1973-1999)
- Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant, Countess d'Udekem d'Acoz (1999-present)
Before the wedding, by means of a Royal Order of 8 November 1999, Mathilde was made a Princess of Belgium in her own right. This Royal Order entered into force on the date of the wedding. The wife of a Belgian prince used to receive this title automatically, but a special creation is now required. In addition, her father and two uncles were elevated to the rank of Count.
She gained the courtesy title Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Brabant, the style that she uses, in addition to her title of Princess of Belgium, conferred upon her before her wedding.
See also
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