Belgium celebrates royal birth

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The wife of Belgium's crown prince has given birth to a daughter who could become the first queen to ascend to the throne in the country's modern history.

The baby girl, born at Erasmus Hospital in Brussels shortly before 10 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Thursday, has been named Princess Elizabeth Therese Marie Helen, the royal palace said.

She is the first child of Crown Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde and her birth was marked by a 101-gun salute from army artillery outside the palace in Brussels.

The princess is second in line behind her father to succeed King Albert II, after a recent law granted equal inheritance rights to male and female royals.

Prince Philippe said: "I'm very proud of our little daughter. She really is adorable, a real little lady. I hope my daughter will be a great queen, but first of all, a great woman."

Mathilde, 28, married the crown prince in December 1999 at a glittering ceremony that drew huge crowds. The couple announced in May that Mathilde was pregnant.

Under Belgium's constitutional system, the monarch's role is largely ceremonial, but the royal family has been a potent symbol of unity in a country split between Dutch and French speakers.

Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and his government said they had learned "with immense joy" of the birth of the princess.

A statement said: "The national community has always intensely shared the life of the dynasty, their joys and their sorrows."