On December 11, 2025, the Belgian royal palace announced that Princess Astrid, younger sister of King Philippe, would no longer head the country's foreign economic missions. The announcement stated that the Princess was stepping down due to health issues.
For the time being, Queen Mathilde will take over the role temporarily until Princess Elisabeth is "ready to assume the position."
Princess Astrid represented Belgium for twelve years. The palace did not identify the Princess's health issues, except to state that her health no longer "allows her to meet the demands of the job."
The King accepted her resignation and expressed his appreciation for her long-standing commitment to Belgian trade.
Her final economic mission was in October 2025 when she visited California.
Queen Mathilde's first assignment will be in May, when she travels to Turkey. The Duchess of Brabant is a student at Harvard and will begin her stint after completing her education.
Several weeks earlier, in an interview with the Flemish magazine Story, Princess Astrid lamented the fact that she cannot see her four grandchildren as often as she would like.
The Princess is married to Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, who is styled as Prince Lorenz of Belgium. They have five children: Prince Amedeo, Princess Maria Laura, Prince Joachim, Princess Luisa Maria, and Princess Laetitia Maria.
Princess Astrid said, "Only Joachim still lives in Belgium. Fortunately, they come back regularly. They are doing well, but I miss them. I don't see them enough. Luckily, there's the internet and WhatsApp, but it's not the same as being there in person.
Prince Amedelo is a private banker at E. Gutzwiller & Cie. Banquiers. He and his wife, Elisabetta, and their three children: Archduchess Anna-Astrid, 9; Archduke Maximilian, 6; and two-year-old Archduchess Alix of Austria-Este, live in Switzerland.
Maria Laura and her husband, William Isvy, live in London with their son, Albert, who will celebrate his first birthday on January 26.
Maria Luisa is the Vice President of Innesto Partners, which her brother, Prince Joachim, co-founded. She is presently in the United States at Wharton, where she will earn her MBA in 2027. She is also a registered Solicitor in the United Kingdom.
Maria Laetitia is working on her MA in economics and modern history at the University of St. Andrews. She is also expected to graduate in 2027.
The fourth time is the charm for Porsche's supervisory board chairman, Wolfgang Porsche, who married Gabriele Prinzessin zu Leiningen in Salzburg, Austria, on December 6, 2025.
Gabriele was born Gabriele Renate Homey and adopted the surname, Thyssen, from her then stepfather, Bodo Thyssen. This is her third marriage. In May 1991, she married Hereditary Prince Karl Emich zu Leiningen. This marriage did not meet Karl Emich's father's approval. Shortly before Emich, 7th Prince of Leiningen's death in October 1991, he disinherited his eldest son. Karl-Emich was briefly styled as the 8th Prince, but it took several years of court rulings in favor of his younger brother, Andreas, before he accepted defeat. Andreas is the 8th Prince of Leiningen.
Gabriele, who was baptized as a Roman Catholic, became a Lutheran when she married Karl Emich. They were divorced in early 1998. Within weeks of their divorce came the announcement that Gabriele was converting to Islam as she was going to marry Karim Aga Khan, the IV Aga Khan. They married in October 1998. Gabriele was styled as Inaara Begum Khan. Within six years, the couple announced they were divorcing. In 2011, a settlement was reached, and Inaara was expected to receive £50 million. The Aga Khan challenged the British court's settlement.
The divorce was finally official with a new financial settlement that was not made public. One expects it was less than £50 million.
After the divorce, Gabriele, 62, assumed her previous marital surname, Prinzessin zu Leiningen.
Porsche, 82, has five children from his three earlier marriages, all of which ended in divorce. Gabriele has two children, Princess Theresa zu Leiningen and Prince Aly Aga Muhammed Aga Khan.
The Porsche family is the 7th richest in Germany.
Gabriele is now Dr. Gabriele Porsche, having earned a doctorate in international law.
On December 31, 2025, Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia became the sole owner of Burg Hohenzollern. Since the mid-19th century, the castle has been jointly owned by the heads of the houses of Prussia and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The Prince of Hohenzollern owned one-third of the castle, and the other two-thirds belonged to the German Emperor and his successors.
The current owners were Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia and Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern. Now, Prince Georg Friedrich is the sole owner, which means he is responsible for the castle's operation, preservation, and development.
Karl Friedrich plans to focus on "the preservation and further development" of Schloss Sigmaringen, which is open to the public and also serves as the office for the Sigmaringen estate.
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| Burg Hohenzollern |
Burg Hohenzollern is also open to the public.
https://burg-hohenzollern.com/en/
https://hohenzollern-schloss.de/
