Prince Laurent of Belgium

Who is Prince Laurent of Belgium?

Prince Laurent of Belgium is the son of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and is the brother of the current Belgian monarch, King Philippe of the Belgians.

Born in Château de Belvédère, near Laeken, Belgium, he was educated at the Royal Cadet High School and at the Royal Military Academy. He was promoted to the rank of Ship-of-the-Line Captain on 26 June 2004.

Prince Laurent is president of the Royal Institute for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and the Promotion of Clean Technologies and president of the Prince Laurent Foundation for the Welfare of Domestic and Wild Animals. As of 2008, Prince Laurent is an ambassador for Future Harvest, a Washington, D.C., based agricultural research association. His involvement with animal welfare and the environment, together with a relative lack of interest in protocol, has caused him to be dubbed by elements of the popular Belgian press as 'écolo-gaffeur'.

At this time he is 11th in the line of succession to the throne of Belgium.