Archduchess Marie-Christine is betrothed to fellow aristocrat

25 JUNE 2008
One of the European society weddings of 2008 will take place later this year when Archduchess Marie-Christine of Austria marries Count Rodolphe of Limburg Stirum. The 23-year-old daughter of Archduke Carl Christian, a descendant of the deposed Hapsburg dynasty, marked her engagement with a photo call in Belgium where the family is now based.

The happy couple have opted for a winter wedding, with the date set for December 6. And there's likely to be a glittering gathering when the English boarding school-educated archduchess exchanges vows with her count.

Her fiancé is from an illustrious dynasty dating back to the ninth century, while Marie-Christine's mother, Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg, is the sister of the ruling Grand Duke Henri.