Funeral of Prince Alexandre of Belgium

The funeral of Prince Alexandre of Belgium, who died suddenly last Sunday, was held at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken today. Among the mourners were his widow Léa with her children Renaud Bichara and Laetitia Spetchinsky, the latter’s husband Didier Nagant de Deuxchaisnes, King Albert II and Queen Paola, a frail Queen Fabiola, Princess Esmeralda with her husband Salvador Moncada and children Alexandra and Leopoldo, Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde (whose tenth wedding anniversary falls on this date), Prince Laurent and Princess Claire, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, Archduchess Marie-Astrid and Archduke Christian of Austria-Hungary, Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein and Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy. Prince Alexandre’s sister, Princess Marie Christine, was absent, as from the funerals of her parents. The Prince was laid to rest in the vault of the church, which has been the burial place of the Belgian royals since the days of Léopold I.