After having known each other for 3 years, Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium and Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz got (privately) engaged. The engagement became public when the press got hold of it ...
9 September 1999
Journalist Karel Moors of Het Belang van Limburg had taken up the rumor that Crown Prince Philippe (39) was about to become engaged to "one of the three marriageable daughters" of esquire Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz and Countess Anne Marie Komorowska who lived in the castle of Losange in Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, a small village near Bastogne. Moors: “The d'Udekem family laughed off the rumors. But other sources indicated that one of the sisters was indeed the prince's secret love, one person pointed to Mathilde (26). The palace press office would neither confirm nor deny the news, a very unusual reaction.”
On September 9, the article about the “engagement rumors” appeared in the paper.
The official announcement was made on Friday 10 September 1999.
Mathilde was a complete stranger to the press and the country, Saturday newspapers had only been able to get hold of a few blurry pictures of the woman in question.
The TV news of 10/09/1999 was dedicated to Mathilde.
A few days later a man sold this picture to Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. It was taken a few weeks earlier on Cuba, where the Belgian tourist had recognized the Prince with an unknown young lady. Philippe had approached him and asked him not to share the photos, which he did, until the engagement was announced.
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