King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians

July 4, 2013

The Belgian royal family were photographed enjoying a day out at Laeken, a suburb of Brussels, in 1953. Among the party were King Leopold III (1901-1983), Prince Albert (later King Albert II) and Prince Baudouin (1930-1993) who would later become king. They were joined by King Leopald's second wife Princess Lilian (1916-2002) and their children Marie-Christine (born 1951) and son Prince Alexander (1942-2009).

Queen Fabiola with her late husband King Baudouin of Belgium. The royal couple had no children and the Queen lost five babies through miscarriage. King Albert II of Belgium is the younger brother of King Baudouin, and took to the throne after his brother's unexpected death in 1993.

King Albert II of Belgium pictured sharing a tender moment with his wife Queen Paola. The King’s announcement to abdicate comes one day after the royal couple celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary.

King Albert II was pictured saluting the monument of the Unknown Soldier in Brussels during an armistice ceremony, commemorating the end World War I

King Albert and Queen Paola were were honoured to meet Pope Benedict at the end of a canonisation ceremony at St Peter's Basilica in 2009. The couple first met in Rome in 1958. The then Prince Albert went to the Vatican to witness the inauguration of Pope John XXIII where he met Italian Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria at a reception at the Belgium embassy. According to the King, they were both shy and didn’t speak much.

The baptism of Albert and Paola's son Prince Laurent in 1963. The family were joined by Prince Albert's brother and sister-in-law, Queen Fabiola and King Baudouin of Belgium, and the Queen Mother, Elisabeth of Bavaria.

Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde have four children together. Mathilde is also godmother to two princesses: Princess Alexia of the Netherlands and Princess Isabella of Denmark. The couple's lives will change forever on 21 July, when Philippe becomes King of Belgium.

A family moment: King Albert II with his son Prince Philippe and his granddaughter, Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, 11

July 4, 2013

legendarily beautiful Paola de Bélgica

Paola Ruffo di Calabria (11 de septiembre de 1937, Forte dei Marmi, Italia)

July 4, 2013

July 4, 2013

July 4, 2013

10 important facts about the Belgian Monarchy

3 July 2013 10:22 pm

With the Belgian Abdication just announced (and happening in just a few weeks’ time), we thought we’d give you 10 of the most need-to-know facts about the Belgian Monarchy.

1. The Belgian Kings and Queens are known as ‘King/Queen of the Belgians’ rather than King/Queen of Belgium – this title convention is mean to show that the Monarch of Belgium has a personal/close connection to the people of Belgium rather than just the territory of Belgium.

2. The Belgian throne and British throne (and their respective royal families) are closely related. The Belgian Royal House bears the same name as the House of Windsor formerly did before 1917 (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha).

3. Prince Philippe is also approximately 1080th in line to the British throne.

4. The first King of the Belgians was also Queen Victoria’s uncle. King Leopold was married to the heir to the throne of England, Princess Charlotte, until she tragically died in childbirth – after the death of Princess Charlotte, Leopold was offered the chance to be the first King of the Belgians in 1831. He remained in close contact with Princess Victoria, becoming a close advisor to her even after she became Queen of England.

5. With the accession of the new King on 21st July, his wife will also become Queen of the Belgians, meaning there will be three living Belgian Queens. The current outgoing King’s brother’s wife, Queen Fabiola; the current Queen, Queen Paola and the new Queen (wife of Prince Philippe), Queen Mathilde.

6. Belgium introduced absolute primogeniture in 1991, meaning the eldest child of the Sovereign becomes Monarch, regardless of gender. The heir apparent to the Belgian throne after Prince Philippe succeeds will be the 12-year-old daughter of Philippe, Princess Elisabeth, who will become Duchess of Brabant.

7. The new King will reign as King Philippe, but he will not have a regnal number (e.g. Philippe I) as he’ll be the only Belgian King called Philippe.

8. King Albert II will become only the second Monarch in Belgian history to abdicate. King Leopold III abdicated the Belgian throne in 1951 in favour of his son, who became King Baudouin. Overall, there have been 6 Belgian Kings (yet no Queens regnant), Prince Philippe will number as 7.

9. King Albert II played a vital role in mediating Belgian Parliament in 2010-2011 when he stepped in after Parliament couldn’t form a government. He is much praised for his role in refereeing this constitutional crisis and it is a good example of the importance of Monarchy in this day and age.

10. King Albert will continue to be known as King even after abdication according to Belgian news sources, meaning Belgium will be the only country in the world with two living Kings.

http://www.royalcentral.co.uk/europe/10-important-facts-about-the-belgian-monarchy-10851

July 5, 2013

July 5, 2013

July 6, 2013

Concern in Belgium for a King Philippe
July 3, 2013

By: Megan Knight

With King Albert’s abdication announced today, July 3, it is known in Belgium that by the end of the month there will be a King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. According to RTL, outside the royal palace crowds gathered and sung the national anthem, paying tribute to their King. But right away the questions started about Prince Philippe, is he ready? Can he handle the job? The concerns about what will happen to the united Belgium without the King who has held the country together. One local citizen said: "He kept our country standing for 20 years. So isn't it a bit `Goodbye Belgium' now?" Whether Prince Philippe has the stature to hold together Flanders and Wallonia is the very serious question at hand.

Prince Philippe regularly suffers very low approval ratings because of his shy nature. The press labels him “awkward” and “reclusive” which certainly doesn’t help matters. Lucky for him, however, his wife Princess Mathilde is quite the opposite, very popular and set to become the first Queen born in Belgium. Members of government moved quickly to assure the public that they had faith in their future monarch. The Minister of Economy said the Prince would step up to duty: "There is no doubting his ability to rule. King Philippe will become another man. Function makes the man, do not forget." The Prime Minister’s comments just moments after the abdication announcement seemed to want to shore up support for the heir as well saying he had prepared "with great seriousness and a sense of responsibility to his new position." What remains to be seen is if the Prince’s shy nature was just his way of being deferential to his father. If that is the case, once taking the throne, the Prince will hopefully stand tall for a united Belgium. If he doesn’t, calls will likely resume for his sister, HI&RH Princess Astrid, to take the throne or worse, Belgium will split apart.

http://www.examiner.com/article/concern-belgium-for-a-king-philippe

July 7, 2013

July 7, 2013

July 9, 2013

İN NATAN

July 9, 2013

08 July 2013

July 9, 2013

Belgium to have 2 kings and 3 queens

04/07/2013

Which title will be bestowed upon the present King Albert and Queen Paola after King Albert's "retirement" on 21 July? An answer to this and other questions is provided by Professor Paul Van Orshoven and royalty watcher Jan Van den Berghe.

"King Albert will retain the title of king", explains Paul Van Orshoven, a Public Law Professor at Leuven University (K.U.Leuven). "However, he is no longer king from a constitutional point of view, which means he won't exercise the duties."

The conclusion is that Belgium will have two kings as from 21 July. "We will be stuck with more than one king for a while", Paul Van Orshoven. And that's not all: we will have three queens at the same time: Queen Mathilde, Queen Paola and Dowager Queen Fabiola.

"King of the Belgians" versus "king"

Belgium may have two kings from 21 July, they will not have the same title. Filip will be dubbed "King of the Belgians" and Albert "king", says Jan Van den Berghe. This is contrary to the Netherlands, where Queen Beatrix returned to being a princess after her abdication. In Belgium, however, the principle is: "Once king, always king."

After being sworn in, Filip will be called King Filip, and not Filip I with a number behind his name. This so-called "serial number" will only be introduced once there is a second king with the same name as Filip. For the moment, this does not seem very likely. The next in line to the throne will be Elisabeth, the eldest daughter of Filip and Mathilde, who turns 12 on 25 October.

http://www.expatica.com/be/news/belgian-news/Belgium-to-have-2-kings-and-3-queens_268976.html

July 11, 2013

July 13, 2013

July 19, 2013

Be on the first row for the abdication!

On Sunday King Albert of the Belgians will abdicate in favour of his son, Crown Prince Filip, who will become the seventh King of the Belgians.

It's a day on which history is being made. Flandersnews will be reporting on all the key events and you will also be able to watch uninterrupted coverage of the events as they unfold in Brussels on this rather special National Holiday.

King Albert has chosen to abdicate on 21 July, the National Holiday. Events kick off with a Roman Catholic Te Deum mass in Brussels Cathedral at 9am.

At 10:30am all eyes will be on the royal palace of Brussels where King Albert will sign the abdication act. Barely an hour and a half later at noon our new monarch King Filip will swear his oath of allegiance to the Belgian Constitution and become King of the Belgians.

At 1pm the new king and queen are expected on the balcony of the royal palace of Brussels. King Filip will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Brussels at 2:10pm. At 4:05 King Filip will inspect the troops. This will be followed at 5pm by a military march-past as is customary on the National Holiday.

At 7pm the new king and queen will attend festivities in the Park of Brussels.

King Filip and Queen Mathilde conclude the day by joining the people of Brussels in watching a fireworks display.

http://www.expatica.com/be/news/belgian-news/Be-on-the-first-row-for-the-abdication_269954.html

The schedule of events is as follows:

9:30 am: Te Deum ceremony at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels

11:15am: Abdication ceremony of King Albert II at the Royal Palace in Brussels

12:45pm: King Philippe is sworn in before the two chambers of the Belgian federal parliament at the Palace of the Nation

1:00 pm: The new King and Queen and the Royal Family greet the population from the balcony of the Royal Palace on Place des Palais

1:45 pm: The new King pays homage to the Unknown Soldier at the Congress Column

4:05 pm: King Philippe reviews the civil and military troops

5:00 pm: Civil and military parade on Place des Palais

7:00 pm: The new King and Queen attend the celebrations in the Parc de Bruxelles

11:00 pm: The Royal Family watches the firework display that will be launched from the Palace of the Academies on Place des Palais

July 19, 2013

NATAN Edouard Vermeulen

July 19, 2013

Meet Princess Mathilde of Belgium

By Zoe Bauer | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 17 hours ago

With the abdication of King Albert II set for July 21, the country of Belgium is preparing to welcome a brand new king and queen.

Following in the footsteps of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, King Albert will voluntarily give up the throne and pass the crown to his eldest son, Prince Philippe, the Duke of Brabant, and his wife, Princess Mathilde.

For some royal lovers, the inauguration is less about ceremony and tradition and more about seeing their favorite members of the monarchy. In particular, the spotlight will be on the newly minted Queen Mathilde, whose enviable closet holds everything from Armani to Zara.

With Kate Middleton taking a break from the public eye to become a mom, fans of the Duchess of Cambridge could turn to the stylish Duchess of Brabant for their royal fashion fix. Here's a closer look at the fashion-forward, soon-to-be queen of Belgium.

1. Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz was born January 20, 1973, in Uccle, Belgium, the oldest child of Count and Countess Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz. She and her three siblings grew up at their family home, Castle Losenge, which is located in Bastogne.

2. While many of Europe's future queens were born "commoners," such as the Duchess of Cambridge, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Crown Princess Letizia of Spain, and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, Mathilde belongs to the hereditary nobility and comes from an aristocratic family. She will also be the first Belgian-born queen consort.

3. In 1994, Mathilde earned her degree in speech therapy from the Institut Libre Marie Haps, graduating magna cum laude. From 1995-99 she worked as a professional speech therapist, even opening her own practice in Brussels. Meanwhile, Mathilde continued to attend school, earning her master's degree in psychology from the Catholic University of Louvain in 2002.

4. While a student at the University, Mathilde reportedly met Prince Philippe while playing a game of tennis. They announced their engagement in 1999, but the pair had kept their courtship so quiet that the news came as something of a surprise, even prompting rumors of an arranged marriage.

5. The couple silenced their critics on December 4, 1999, saying "I do" in Brussels' Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula and looking very much in love. Appropriately, the bride's coat dress-style wedding gown was created by Belgian designer Edouard Vermeulen of Natan. Mathilde completed her wedding day look with a diamond bandeau tiara and Queen Paola's 1877 heirloom veil.

6. In 2001, the couple welcomed a daughter named Elisabeth, who follows Prince Philippe in line to the throne. Elisabeth has three younger siblings - Prince Gabriel, 9, Prince Emmanuel, 7, and Princess Eléonore, 5.

7. Since becoming a member of the royal family, Princess Mathilde has been involved with a number of charities and a wide variety of humanitarian work. In particular, the Princess has worked extensively with UNICEF and UNAIDS, traveling to such countries as Niger, Mali, Tanzania, China, India, and Senegal.

8. In 2000, she created the "Princess Mathilde Fund," which awards an annual prize of 10,000 Euros "in recognition of a specific initiative focused on strengthening the position of vulnerable people." The project was initially funded with donations the couple received as wedding gifts.

9. Given her country's varied cultures and language groups, Mathilde could be seen as the ideal future queen. In addition to Dutch and French - two of Belgium's three official languages - she is also fluent in English and Italian. Furthermore, she has ties to all three of the country's main regions, as she was born in Brussels, has Flemish ancestors, and was raised in Wallonia.

10. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will be installed on Sunday, July 21, which is National Day in Belgium. The festivities will begin with a concert on Saturday evening, and Sunday's swearing-in will be followed by a military parade, Te Deum, fireworks, and balcony appearance by the new royal family.