Royal Profile: Princess Marie-Christine of Belgium

Princess Marie-Christine Daphné Astrid Elisabeth Léopoldine of Belgium was born 6 February 1951, the elder daughter of King Leopold III & Princess Lilian of Belgium in Laeken, Belgium. Her godparents were:

• King Baudouin I (her elder half brother)
• Infanta Maria Cristina of Spain 

She has two older half brothers, an older half sister, and two younger siblings, as well as several siblings-in-law and nieces and nephews:

1. Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, Princess of Belgium (1927-2005)
1. Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1921-)
1. Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg, Archduchess of Austria (1954)
1. Archduke Carl Christian of Austria (1954, who her sister married on Marie-Christine's birthday!)
1. Archduchess Marie Christine Anne Astrid Zita Charlotte of Austria, The Countess of Limburg-Stirum (1983)
1. Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum (1979)
1. Count Léopold de Limburg-Stirum (2011)
2. Count Constantin de Limburg-Stirum (2013)
3. Count Gabriel de Limburg-Stirum (2016)
2. Archduke Imre of Austria (1985)
1. Archduchess Kathleen Elizabeth of Austria (1986, m. 2012)
1. Archduchess Maria-Stella of Austria (2013)
2. Archduchess Magdalena of Austria (2016)
3. Archduchess Juliana of Austria (2018)
3. Archduke Christoph of Austria (1988)
1. Archduchess Adélaïde of Austria (1989)
1. Archduchess Katarina of Austria (2014) 
2. Archduchess Sophia of Austria (2017)
4. Archduke Alexander of Austria (1990)
5. Archduchess Gabriella of Austria (1994)
1. Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma (engaged 2017)
1. Victoria Antonia Marie-Astrid Lydia von Österreich de Bourbon-Parma (2017)
2. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg (1955)
1. Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg (1956)
1. Prince Guillaume, The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1981)
1. Princess Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Countess de Lannoy (1984)
2. Prince Félix of Luxembourg (1984)
1. Princess Claire of Luxembourg (1985)
1. Princess Amalia de Nassau (2014)
2. Prince Liam de Nassau (2016)
3. Prince Louis of Luxembourg (1986)
1. Tessy of Luxembourg (1985, m. 2007, separated 2016, div 2017)
1. Prince Gabriel de Nassau (2006)
2. Prince Noah de Nassau (2007)
4. Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg (1991)
5. Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg (1992)
3. Prince Jean of Luxembourg (1957)
1. Hélène Suzanna Vestur (1958)
1. Princess Marie-Gabrielle de Nassau (1986)
1. Antonius Willms (n. 2017)
1. Zeno Philippe Leopold Marcus d'Aviano Willms (2018)
2. Prince Constantin de Nassau (1988)
1. Katie (girlfriend)
1. Felix de Nassau (2018)
3. Prince Wenceslas de Nassau (1990)
4. Prince Carl-Johan de Nassau (1992)
2. Diane, Countess de Nassau (m. 2009)
4. Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg, Princess of Liechtenstein (1957)
1. Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein (1947)
1. Prince Leopold of Liechtenstein (1984-1984, lived two days)
2. Princess Maria-Anunciata of Liechtenstein (1985)
3. Princess Marie-Astrid of Liechtenstein (1987)
4. Prince Josef-Emanuel of Liechtenstein (1989)
5. Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (1963)
1. Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg (1968)
1. Prince Paul Louis de Nassau (1998)
2. Prince Léopold de Nassau (2000, twin)
3. Princess Charlotte de Nassau (2000, twin)
4. Prince Jean André de Nassau (2004)
6. King Baudouin I (1930-1993)
1. Queen Fabiola of Belgium (1928-2014)
7. King Albert II of Belgium (1934)
1. Queen Paola of Belgium (1937)
1. King Philippe (1960)
1. Queen Mathide of Belgium (1973)
1. Princess Elisabeth, The Duchess of Brabant (2001)
2. Prince Gabriel of Belgium (2003)
3. Prince Emmanuel of Belgium (2005)
4. Princess Eléonore of Belgium(2008)
2. Princess Astrid of Belgium, The Archduchess of Austria-Este (1962)
1. Prince Lorenz of Belgium, The Archduke of Austria-Este (1955)
1. Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1986)
1. Archduchess Elisabetta of Austria-Este (1987)
1. Archduchess Anna-Astrid of Austria-Este (2016)
2. Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (1988)
3. Prince Joachim of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1991)
4. Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (1995)
5. Princess Laetitia Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (2003)
3. Prince Laurent of Belgium (1963)
1. Princess Claire of Belgium (1974)
1. Princess Louise Sophia Mary of Belgium (2004)
2. Prince Nicholas of Belgium (2005, twin)
3. Prince Aymeric of Belgium (2005, twin)
2. Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps (1941, never married her but had a brief relationship with her)
1. Jonkvrouw Delphine Michèle Anne Marie Ghislaine Boël (1968, alleged, illegitimate)
1. James O'Hare (partner)
1. Miss Joséphine O'Hare (2003)
2. Master Oscar O'Hare (2008)
8. Prince Alexander of Belgium (1942-2009)
1. Princess Léa of Belgium (1951)
9. Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium, Lady Moncada (1956)
1. Sir Salvador Moncada (1944)
1. Miss Alexandra Leopoldine Moncada (1998)
2. Master Leopoldo Daniel Moncada (1999)

When she was barely 9 years old, she received her 1st Holy Communion and Confirmation in May 1962 {Source}.

She has been married several times. First, she married Paul Drucker in May 1981, and it lasted on 40 days, although they weren't formally divorced until 1985. Her second marriage was to Jean-Paul Gourges in 1989. Presently, she resides in California with her second husband. It is unknown whether or not she has any children.

Of all of King Albert II's family, his younger sister has to be the most controversial. She has previously made claims of being raped and beaten, and has lived a jet-set life. When she was a guest in a Belgian Embassy abroad, Marie-Christine refused to drink to her brother Baudouin saying "He is not my King". In 1993, when her brother Baudouin I died, she did not attend the funeral. On 17 April 2007, in a rare interview, she said “abolishing the monarchy might prove to be of benefit to Belgium”{Source}. The princess did not attend the funeral of her brother Alexander in December 2009.


She shares a birthday with her great niece, daughter of her half-nephew Prince Laurent, Princess Louise of Belgium.

Due to the circumstances of her parents marriage, she is not included in succession for the Belgian throne. If she were to be included, she would be no higher than 18th in succession.