This royal just secretly welcomed a baby boy

Princess Maria Laura of Belgium is a mum!

Whilst British royals tend to be quite forthcoming with their pregnancies, Maria Laura took the world by surprise when she announced that she had welcomed her first child with husband William Isvy.

After keeping her pregnancy under wraps, the Belgian Royal Palace took to X on 29 January to share the happy news.

The original announcement was written in French, with the English translation reading: "Princess Maria Laura and Mr. William Isvy are delighted to announce the birth of their son Albert, born on Sunday 26 January in Brussels. Albert weighs 3.5 kg and is doing well, just like his mother.

"The families of the young parents share in their happiness."

As reported by OK!, the little boy's name is an emotional one, since he was named after his great-grandfather, King Albert II of Belgium. Baby Albert does not have a royal title, but is 11th in line to the throne of his country at the time of writing.

Maria Laura and William tied the knot at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels on 10 September, 2022, and Albert is their first child.

Meanwhile, Maria Laura is not the only royal to have welcomed a child in 2025: Princess Beatrice confirmed to the world that her little girl had arrived safely on 22 January. The baby, sweetly named Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi, is Beatrice's second child with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. The two also share daughter Sienna, who is 3, while Edo is also dad to 8-year-old Wolfie, whom he shares with his ex Dara Huang.

The happy parents shared with royal fans that Athena had arrived via an Instagram post on the Royal Family's official account. The post consisted of the absolute most adorable picture of the baby wrapped in a pink blanket and hiding her little face with her little hand. Sigh, too cute.