King Albert IIQueen Paola Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium, Lady Moncada (born 30 September 1956), is a member of the Belgian royal family.

Princess Marie-Esméralda is a journalist, author, documentary-maker, environmental activist and a campaigner for the rights of women and indigenous people.

[3] Esmeralda then went on to write several books about her late father King Leopold III using archival material such as letters and photos.

[6] She has produced three documentary films directed by Nicolas Delvaulx and broadcast by the Belgian channel RTBF "Leopold III, my father",[7] "In the footsteps of King Albert and Queen Elizabeth, my grandparents" (2014),[8] and "Virunga" (2016).

Princess Marie-Esméralda was arrested in London, England on 10 October 2019 after joining an Extinction Rebellion (XR) sit-in protest at Trafalgar Square, but later released without charge.

In December 2013, she participated in a feminist play in Brussels called "Blessées à mort" ("Wounded to Death") written by Italian author Serena Dandini.

[14] 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.

The following year, the Mehinako Indians honoured the memory of the late King Leopold III in Xingu Park in a special ceremony.

She gave a speech highlighting the importance of protecting and promoting indigenous rights in the presence of the famous Indian Chief Alvaro Tukano.

[citation needed] In September 2017, Marie-Esméralda became the patron of the Campaign for the Amazonian Forest launched by the Association Movement Actions across the World.