Flashback: International Conference on Vulnerable Children

As President of Child Focus, Queen Paola hosted an international conference on vulnerable unaccompanied minors, at the Royal Palace in Brussels. She had invited an array of high profile guests, mainly women.

16 November 2010

On the eve before the conference the guests at attended a concert.

Among the guests were Princess Mathilde, Princess Claire, Princess Astrid, Queen Silvia of Sweden, Infanta Cristina of Spain, the Duchess of Gloucester, Geertrui Windels (wife of then EU President Herman Van Rompuy), Neelie Kroes, Bernadette Chirac and former Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.

17 November 2010

18 November 2010

Reception.

Eléonore at the Match

13 November 2021

King Philippe & his youngest, Princess Eléonore (13) watched the Red Devils win their match against Estonia (3-1), thus qualifying for the world cup of 2022.

Flashback: Sonia Gandhi

11 November 2006

King Albert II & Queen Paola received India's congress party leader Sonia Gandhi at Laeken Castle.

Princess Mathilde was also present at the lunch afterwards.

Filippo Grandi + FratiHa

10 November 2021

In the morning Queen Mathilde, as SDG advocate, had a meeting with UN High Representative for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. 

Later in the day she visited FratiHa, a support network for family members of disabled persons.

Mathilde read out loud to a group of young children who have a handicapped brother or sister. The book she chose was "La petite casserole d'Anatole" by Isabelle Carrier. It's written especially for young caretakers.  

Expo "Knal! Stadsfestival van de Big Bang"

9 November 2021

Queen Mathilde visited the exhibitions "De verbeelding van het universum" at Museum M and "De oerknal voorbij" at Leuven's University Library.

The exhibitions are part of a science festival, an ode to Belgian professor Georges Lemaître, the founder of modern cosmology and the "father" of the big bang theory. 

video: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/fr/2021/11/10/la-reine-mathilde-visite-deux-expositions-du-festival-knal-a-lo/

Entourage: New Director of Communications

A few weeks ago Xavier Baert was appointed as Court's new Director of Communications. 

Mr Baert replaces Francis Sobry who has become the number two at the Belgian embassy in Argentina, after three years at Court.

Xavier Baert is a 40 year old diplomat who's previously worked at various liberal cabinets, among them for Maggie De Block and Vincent Van Quickenborne. He's bilingual French-Dutch and has Brussels as home town.

Earlier he performed diplomatic duties at the UN in Geneva, in Argentina and Nigeria. 

Flashback: Oostende

6 November 2000

Crown Prince Philippe & Princess Mathilde visited Oostende.

They also stopped at Museum for Fine Arts Muzee to take a look at an Alechinsky exhibition.

Flashback: Humanitarian Visit to Mali

20-24 February 2005

As representative of the UN Year of the Microcredit, Princess Mathilde visited Mali, at the time the fourth poorest country in the world.

Her visits focused on women's health, education for girls, vaccination and microcredits.

Mathilde was pregnant for the third time. The news hadn't been shared yet at the time of this visit.

video: https://www.sonuma.be/archive/la-princesse-mathilde-au-mali