A Habsburg Archduke Marries His Bride in a Glittering Ceremony in Belgium

On Saturday, royals and descendants of royals from Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Italy, and Sweden gathered at the Church of Saint Pierre in Beloeil for the wedding of Archduke Alexander of Austria and Natacha Roumiantzoff-Pachkevitch. The bride arrived for the ceremony on the arm of her father, Nicolas. (There are disputed claims that the family is descended from Russian nobility; Marlene Koenig explains the issue here.)

The wedding reception was held at the nearby Chateau de Beloeil, which is the ancient family seat of the Princes of Ligne. The current Prince of Ligne, Michel, is a first cousin to both of Archduke Alexander’s parents. (Michel’s father was the brother of Carl Christian’s mother, and Michel’s mother was the sister of Marie-Astrid’s father. Whew.)

Natacha wore a modern gown with a plunging illusion neckline and floral detailing at the waist. Beneath her veil, she wore a floral headpiece rather than a tiara.

Crystals and pearls were also scattered in the bride’s hair. She added a pair of diamond and pearl drop earrings and a necklace with a matching pendant to complete her jewelry ensemble.

The groom, Archduke Alexander, wore a morning suit for the ceremony.

Archduke Alexander has an impressive royal pedigree. These are his parents, Archduke Carl Christian of Austria and Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg. Carl Christian is the son of Archduke Carl Ludwig of Austria, the fourth son of the last Austrian emperor, and Princess Yolande of Ligne, who recently died at the remarkable age of 100. 

Princess Marie-Astrid is the eldest of the five children of the late Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg and Princess Josephine-Charlotte of Belgium. The reigning Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Henri, is Marie-Astrid’s younger brother. Carl Christian and Marie-Astrid are also second cousins, both great-grandchildren of Robert I, Duke of Parma.

With her floral printed dress for the wedding, Marie-Astrid wore earrings with pearl studs and dark drops, plus a single strand of pearls, a gold necklace with an intricate round pendant, and a pearl bracelet.

The groom’s uncle and aunt, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, were also present for the wedding. (Full disclosure: an enormous number of family members on both sides attended the wedding, but because of the hefty cost of licensing photographs, we’ll be looking just at our familiar friends from Luxembourg in this article.)

With an Alexander McQueen dress (featuring, I believe, shells, flowers, and a strawberry), Maria Teresa wore jewels from the Romanian-French jewelry designer Alina Alamorean. The unique aluminum earrings and gold ring are designed to look like draped, pooling fabric.

All five of Henri and Maria Teresa’s children were present, plus two of their spouses. Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume attended with Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie, who was visiting her native Belgium for the occasion. She wore an orange caftan-style gown for the wedding ceremony.

Her jewels included a gold necklace with a flower charm, plus a pair of crystal earrings from Oscar de la Renta.

The newlyweds of the family, Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg and Nicolas Bagory, were in attendance as well. Alexandra wore a pink and black ensemble for the occasion.

She accessorized with pearl drop earrings and a necklace with several pendants.

Two more of the groom’s Luxembourgish uncles were also there with their wives. Here’s Prince Jean of Luxembourg and his wife, Countess Diane de Nassau.

With her printed dress, Countess Diane wore diamond and pearl drop earrings and a pearl necklace.

And Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, the baby of the family, was there with his wife, Princess Sibilla.

Princess Sibilla wore pearl earrings, a long, sautoir-style necklace with a tassel pendant, and a gorgeous antique diamond and emerald bracelet. (That bracelet might win my award for jewel of the day!)

#NEW Queen Mathilde of Belgium attended the wedding reception of Archduke Alexander and Natacha Roumiantzoff on Saturday! 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/IHIx4fOFYL

— CoutureAndRoyals (@CoutureRoyals) October 1, 2023

And on a bonus note: Queen Mathilde of the Belgians stopped by the reception as well, wearing a gown we previously saw her wear during the 2022 Austrian state visit to Belgium.