Laetitia d'Arenberg

Laetitia d'Arenberg was born on September 2, 1941,[1] in Brummana, French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon, now Lebanon.[1] She is a daughter of Henri de Belzunce, Marquis de Belzunce, and Marie-Thérèse de la Poëze d'Harambure, members of the historical French nobility by birth.[1] Her father was an officer in the Moroccan Tirailleurs and died fighting for France at the Battle of Monte Cassino, on May 13, 1944.[2] He belonged to a family of ancient nobility in France, originally from Lower Navarre, who held the seigneurie of Belzunce near Bayonne, where the family was notable since the 12th century, and had received the Honneurs de la Cour at Paris in 1739.[2]

On August 20, 1949, her mother was remarried to Prince Erik Engelbert, 11th Duke of Arenberg. In 1951, she moved with her family to Uruguay because her family feared the expansion of the Korean War to Europe.[3] On February 15, 1956, Laetitia and her brother, Rodrigue, were adopted by her step-father, Prince Erik Engelbert.[2] Although the adoption did not entitle her to use or inherit his family's dynastic titles and styles of prince, duke and Serene Highness, her legal surname became "de Belzunce d'Arenberg", and she became one of the heirs to his personal fortune.

On June 19, 1965, she was married civilly to HIRH Archduke Leopold Franz of Austria-Tuscany at St. Gilgen, Austria, the religious nuptials followed on July 28 at Menetou-Salon, France.[3]

They have two children:

• Archduke Sigismund Otto of Austria, Prince of Tuscany[1][3] (born April 21, 1966, in Lausanne), married on September 11, 1999, in Kensington, Elyssa Juliet Edmonstone (born September 11, 1973, in Glasgow), daughter of Sir Archibald Bruce Charles Edmonstone, 7th Baronet, and Juliet Elizabeth Deakin. They have three children. They divorced June 25, 2013, with annulment in 2016. He is now head of the Tuscan Grand Ducal branch of the Imperial House of Habsburg.
• Archduke Guntram Maria of Austria, Prince of Tuscany[3] (born July 21, 1967, in Punta del Este), married on April 13, 1996, in Cuernavaca, Debora de Sola (born January 21, 1970, in San Salvador), daughter of Orlando de Sola and Marion Liebes. They have two children.

Laetitia and her husband divorced on May 21, 1981, at Salzburg, Austria.[1] Leopold Franz moved to Europe, remarried a commoner in June 1993 (and was again divorced in 1998), renouncing his headship of the House of Tuscany in favor of his and Laetitia's elder son on April 12, 1994, while Laetitia remained in Uruguay. Some years later she was remarried, to John Anson.

She is the owner of many companies, including Las Rosas, Simoca (Lapataia), Liderak (Mondial/Juki motorcycle importer), Bor (Mitsubishi Motors and Great Wall Motor automobiles importer), Nimansur (JAC Motors trucks importer), and others.[4][5]

By decree of the President of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, on April 10, 2009, Laetitia of Arenberg was accorded the medal of the Legion of Honor in the grade of Knight (Chevalier). This distinction was awarded in recognition of her 30 years of professional success which encompassed commitment to numerous social projects in Uruguay, particularly to benefit disadvantaged children and young people addicted to drugs. The official award ceremony occurred on 24 September, sponsored by a French Senate delegation during an official visit to Uruguay, led by Senator Jean-Marc Pastor, accompanied by Senators Rémy Pointereau, François Fortassin, Gérard Miquel and Annie Jarraud-Vergnolle.

• House of Arenberg

• Francia condecora a la Princesa Laetitia d’Arenberg
• Remise de la Légion d'Honneur à SAS Princesse Laetitia d’Arenberg (24 septembre 2009).
• Laetitia D'Aremberg, la princesa gaucha
• El País: Príncipe de Punta