Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant
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Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant (Mathilde Marie Christine 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.
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[edit] Early Life and Family
She was born Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz 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 a right to the Dutch predicate Jonkvrouw for which the closest English-language equivalent would probably be the British courtesy title "Honourable".
Mathilde's father is Count (formerly Jonkheer) Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz; her mother is the former Countess Anna Maria Komorowska (September 24, 1947). Her maternal grandmother was Polish, a Princess Sapieha-Kodenska.
Mathilde is the oldest of five children. She has 3 younger sisters and 1 younger brother: Countess 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).
[edit] 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.
[edit] Courtship and Title
The announcement of Mathilde's engagement to the Belgian heir apparent, who had never been seriously linked with any woman, came as a surprise to the country. Before the wedding, by means of a Royal Decree of 8 November 1999, she was made a Princess of Belgium in her own right. 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.
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[edit] Marriage and Children
Mathilde married Prince Philippe on 4 December 1999 in Brussels. She gained the courtesy title HRH The Duchess of Brabant the style that she uses, in addition to her title of Princess of Belgium, conferred upon her before her wedding.
Mathilde and Philippe have three children:
- Princess Elisabeth, b. 25 October 2001
- Prince Gabriel, b.20 August 2003
- Prince Emmanuel, b. 4 October 2005
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.
[edit] Titles
- Jonkvrouw Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz (1973-1999)
- Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde of Belgium (1999)
- Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Brabant (1999-present)
