by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2019
Prince Gabriel with his father King Philippe
Prince Gabriel of Belgium was born on August 20, 2003, in Erasmus Hospital in Anderlecht, Belgium. He is the elder of the two sons and the second of four children of King Philippe of the Belgians and his wife Queen Mathilde (née Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz).
Gabriel’s mother holding him during his christening; Source: Hello
Gabriel was christened at Ciergnon Castle in Ciergnon, Belgium on October 25, 2003.
His godparents were:
- Baroness Maria Christina von Freyberg, his paternal second cousin
- Count Charles-Henri d’Udekem d’Acoz, his maternal uncle
He was given the names Gabriel Baudouin Charles Marie:
- Gabriel: continued the tradition of El-/-el names of King Philippe’s children
- Baudouin: for his great-uncle, King Baudouin of Belgium
- Charles: for his maternal uncle and godfather, Count Charles-Henri d’Udekem d’Acoz
- Marie: for the Virgin Mary, traditional with Catholic royalty
Prince Gabriel’s family in 2022: Princess Eléonore, Prince Gabriel, Queen Mathilde, King Philippe, Princess Elisabeth, and Prince Emmanuel
Gabriel has three siblings:
- Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant (born 2001)
- Prince Emmanuel (born 2005)
- Princess Eléonore (born 2008)
Belgium changed its succession law in 1991 to absolute primogeniture where the succession passes to the eldest child of the sovereign regardless of gender. Males and females have equal succession rights. This means that Gabriel’s elder sister Elisabeth is the heir apparent and comes first in the line of succession as the eldest child. Following Elisabeth in the line of succession are her three siblings in order of their birth.
Prince Gabriel began his education at Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege, where the instruction is in Dutch, in the Marolles district of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. In 2019, he began to attend the International School of Brussels, an English-language private school in the Brussels commune of Watermael-Boitsfort. Beginning in September 2021, Gabriel was enrolled in one-year preparatory A-Level courses in mathematics, higher mathematics, and physics at the National Mathematics and Science College, a STEM-oriented sixth-form college in Warwickshire, England. From August to September 2022, Gabriel participated in military training at the Royal Military Academy, the military university of Belgium, in Brussels, Belgium.
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