Princess Marie-Esméralda, Lady Moncada

Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium, Lady Moncada (born 30 September 1956), is a member of the Belgian royal family. She is the half-aunt of King Philippe of Belgium and Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Princess Marie-Esméralda is a journalist, author, documentary-maker, environmental activist and a campaigner for the rights of women and indigenous people.

Family Princess Marie-Esméralda is the youngest child of the late Leopold III of Belgium and his second wife, Lilian Baels, Princess of Réthy. Her full siblings are the late Prince Alexandre of Belgium and Princess Marie-Christine of Belgium. Her half-siblings include the late King Baudouin of Belgium, former King Albert II of Belgium (who is also Marie-Esméralda's godfather), and the late Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg from her father's marriage to his first wife, Queen Astrid.

Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium married Sir Salvador Moncada, a Honduran-British pharmacologist, in London on 5 April 1998. They have a daughter, Alexandra Léopoldine Moncada (born in London on 4 August 1998), and a son, Leopoldo Daniel Moncada (born in London on 21 May 2001). Esmeralda then went on to write several books about her late father King Leopold III using archival material such as letters and photos. Her book Léopold III, mon père was published in 2001, followed in 2006 by Leopold III photographe, both published by Racine. In these books she writes about her father's expeditions, and his passion for nature, science and photography, rather than the Belgian royal family (Racine). One year later, her mother Lilian was the subject of "Lilian, une princesse entre ombres et lumière", which she co-wrote with Patrick Weber (Racine). In the same year, Esméralda published a book about female Nobel Peace Prize winners called "Femmes prix Nobel de la Paix" (Avant-Propos).

Documentaries She has produced three documentary films directed by Nicolas Delvaulx and broadcast by the Belgian channel RTBF "Leopold III, my father", "In the footsteps of King Albert and Queen Elizabeth, my grandparents" (2014), and "Virunga" (2016).

Activism

Environmental issues

Princess Marie-Esméralda dedicates time to environmental issues. She has given many talks and written many articles as well as a book called "Terre, agissons pour la planete, il n’est pas trop tard" (Earth – Act Now to Save our Planet. It's not too Late) which discussed the importance of protecting the environment. She has taken part in high-profile campaigns such as the Antarctica Greenpeace one in 2015. In her documentary "Virunga" with Nicolas Delvaulx in 2016,

Women's rights Marie-Esméralda takes part in many women's rights' conferences. In December 2013, she participated in a feminist play in Brussels called "Blessées à mort" ("Wounded to Death") written by Italian author Serena Dandini. She read a monologue on stage called "Fleur de Lotus" (Lotus Flower). In March 2015, alongside Eve Ensler, she took part in a forum called "Jump" to promote gender equality internationally. In July 2019, Marie-Esméralda and her daughter Alexandra hiking Kilimanjaro to raise money for Hero Women Rising, an organization that is committed to education for girls in Congo.

Indigenous people's rights In 1989, she supported Chief Raoni's campaign to protect the Amazonian forest with the help of internationally renowned singer Sting. King Leopold had met Raoni in 1964. In December 2015 at the Cop21 in Paris, Marie-Esméralda met members of the Kichwa tribe from Sarayaku in Ecuador. The Leopold III Fund has financed one of their projects. In Brasilia, she officially opened an exhibition of her father's photographs. She gave a speech highlighting the importance of protecting and promoting indigenous rights in the presence of the famous Indian Chief Alvaro Tukano. In December 2016, at the COP22 in Marrakesh, she took part in some events organised by the WECAN International Association. Their aim is to support indigenous women who are protecting the environment. In September 2017, Marie-Esméralda became the patron of the Campaign for the Amazonian Forest launched by the Association Movement Actions across the World.

Health-related issues She is also a patron of The Princess Lilian Foundation which was established in 1958 by her late mother. Its initial objective was to send Belgian children to the United States if they had a serious heart condition and needed surgery. In the seventies, the foundation focused on organising high-level scientific meetings. Since the death of Princess Lilian, the foundation has created a visiting professorship.

In 2008, she spoke at a conference on mental health and well-being at the European community in Brussels.

Maria-Esmeralda is the honorary president of Care Belgium. She was the honorary president of Delphus until 2017, an association offering autistic children a week of assisted therapy with dolphins every year.

Author Christian Dior, the early years 1947-1957. Vendome Press, New York, 2001. Léopold III, mon père. Editions Racine, 2001. Léopold III photographe. Editions Racine, 2006. Terre. Editions Racine, 2011. With Patrick Weber. Lilian, une princesse entre ombre et lumière. Editions Racine, 2012. With Christophe Vachaudez. Albert et Elisabeth. Editions Racine, 2014. Femmes prix Nobel de la Paix. Editions Avant-Propos, 2014.

Filmography Léopold III mon père. 90 minute documentary by Nicolas Delvaulx for RTBF. Sur les pas du roi Albert Ier et de la reine Elisabeth mes grands-parents (2014) 140 minute documentary by Nicolas Delvaulx for RTBF. Virunga, de l’espoir pour tout un peuple by Nicolas Delvaulx.