Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant
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nl:Prinses Mathilde
Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant (Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine Wettin, née d'Udekem d'Acoz, 1973 - ), styled HRH The Duchess of Brabant, is the wife of the heir apparent to the Belgian throne, HRH The Duke of Brabant. Of Belgian and Polish ancestry, she is expected to be the first Belgian-born Queen Consort.
She was born Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz. Though her grandfather and her uncle were barons, she and her father were members of the untitled nobility. As such, she has a right to the Dutch predicate Jonkvrouw. Her father is Count (formerly Jonkheer) Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz; her mother is the former Countess Anna Maria Komorowska. Her maternal grandmother was Polish, a Princess Sapieha-Kodenska.
The announcement of her engagement with the Belgian heir apparent, who had never been seriously linked with any woman, came as a surprise to the country. The intended bride was a speech therapist and had been a student of psychology. One month before the wedding, she was made a Princess of Belgium in her own right by royal decree. (The wife of a Belgian prince used to get this title automatically, but now there needs to be a special creation.) In addition, her father was elevated to the rank of Count.
The royal couple has a daughter, Princess Elisabeth, who is second in line to the Belgian throne, due to a change in Belgian succession laws, and a son, Prince Gabriel.
The Duchess of Brabant is expecting her third child in October 2005.