Princess Maria Laura of Belgium

Princess Maria Laura of Belgium (Maria Laura Zita Beatrix Gerhard; born 26 August 1988) is the second child and oldest daughter of Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este, and Princess Astrid of Belgium. She was born at the Saint Luc University Hospital in Woluwe-St-Lambert, Belgium, and is currently ninth in line to the Belgian throne.
Early life
Maria Laura was born on 26 August 1988 at Saint-Luc University Hospital in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. She has one older brother, Amedeo (b. 1986), one younger brother, Joachim (b. 1991), and two younger sisters: Luisa Maria (b. 1995) and Laetitia Maria (b. 2003). Her godparents are her paternal uncle Archduke Gerhard of Austria-Este and her elder paternal aunt Archduchess Maria Beatrix of Austria-Este, Countess von und zu Arco-Zinneberg.
Education
Maria Laura was raised until 1993 in Basel, Switzerland, at which point her parents relocated to Belgium. She was educated, like her siblings and younger cousins, at the Jesuit school College Sint Jan Berchmans in Brussels. She completed her secondary education at the in Waterloo, Belgium, during which time she was involved in a minor accident (see below). She then went to London, and attended SOAS in London, where she studied Chinese. In 2007-2008, she spent time in China as part of her studies. She then enrolled at the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales in Paris in 2008, where she is still studying.
Bus accident
On 9 September 2005, Maria Laura, along with six other students, was riding home from in Waterloo when the bus collided into three cars and rolled over several times. All of the students managed to escape before the bus burst into flames. Maria Laura was unharmed but was taken to the hospital for observation and released to her parents after a few hours.

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