Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria


Archduchess Marie-Astrid of Austria is the elder daughter and eldest child of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, and the wife of Archduke Carl Christian of Austria.

Biography

Her godparents were King Leopold III of Belgium and Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg.
In her youth, as one of the few eligible princesses from European reigning houses, she was considered an ideal candidate by match makers for marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales. Media reports in the 1970s speculated about the prospects of such a marriage, the Daily Express claiming in June 1977 that the couple's engagement was imminent.
It has been since suggested that the marriage rumours were a result of efforts to detect a leaker in the Privy Council. In reality, a marriage between the British heir and the Roman Catholic princess was unlikely, as the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701 would have had to have been repealed or modified.
Marie-Astrid studied in Luxembourg and also in Belgium. She received her diploma as a registered nurse in 1974, and finished her education in 1977, with a nursing certificate in tropical medicine from the Prince Leopold Institute.
She has been the president of the Red Cross for Luxembourg Youth since 1970.

Marriage

On 6 February 1982 in Luxembourg she married her second cousin Archduke Carl Christian of Austria, younger son of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria and his wife Princess Yolande of Ligne, of the prominent Belgian noble family, the House of Ligne. They have five children.
Marie-Astrid is also godmother to Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Archduke Joseph of Austria and Anna Maria von Auersperg-Trautson.
Archduchess Marie-Astrid and her family live quietly, occasionally appearing at royal weddings and similar events.

Honours

National honours

As Princess of Luxembourg, at 18 years old :