Five decades earlier, the groom’s grandparents had seen their dreams of marrying in the Eternal City dashed. But as Prince Amadeo of Belgium and Elisabetta Rosboch wed on July 5th 2014, there were no such problems. The eldest grandchild of King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium enjoyed the fairytale wedding in Rome that they had always dreamed about.
Just like his grandmother, Amadeo’s bride was Italian born. Elisabetta Maria Rosboch von Wolkenstein was born in Rome in 1987, eighteen months after her groom had made his debut in Brussels, the eldest child of Albert and Paola’s only daughter, Princess Astrid, and her husband, Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este. The couple’s engagement had been announced in February 2014.
The setting for the ceremony was Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of the oldest churches in Rome. The whole Belgian Royal Family, apart from Queen Fabiola, was present to see the first wedding of one of Albert and Paola’s grandchildren.
And the bride, always called Lili by her friends and family, took the regal step of wearing a tiara for her marriage, borrowing the Queen Elisabeth bandeau from her groom’s granny for the occasion. It held in place a tulle veil adorned with Chantilly lace which spread out for a full five metres behind her. Her gown, of ivory point d’esprit tulle, was by Valentino Haute Couture.
Lili carried a bouquet of cream and white flowers with green foliage, the same colour scheme used for her attendants. Among her bridesmaids was Princess Elisabeth, heir to the Belgian throne, as well as her cousins, Princess Laetitia and Princess Louise.
Queen Paola, who had hoped to be a Rome bride herself before the Belgian government insisted she wed in Brussels, chose navy for the celebrations while Queen Mathilde, aunt of the groom, opted for royal blue. The Belgian royals were joined by other regal guests, including Princess Beatrice of York, for the celebrations.
Amadeo and Lili are marking their fifth wedding anniversary this year with plenty to look forward to. They are expecting a second child in September, a brother or sister for their little girl, Anna Astrid, who was born in May 2016. And their family will be celebrating with them, remembering the day that Belgian dreams of a Roman royal wedding came true.
