zondag 20 december 2020

Christmas Concert 2020

With the pandemic making it impossible to host a traditional Christmas Concert at the royal palace this year, the Belgian royals have come up with an original alternative.



The Belgian teenage girl choir Scala, who bring covers of pop and rock songs have performed a Christmas Concert at the royal palace, bringing classics like "Holy Night" but also Linkin Park & Coldplay repertoire. They were performing for Philippe & Mathilde and their 4 children only but everyone will be able to enjoy the concert on Christmas Day when it will be broadcast on Belgian television.

videos: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2020/12/17/ongewoon-kerstconcert-op-het-paleis-prins-emmanuel-en-prinses-e/

By the way ... Mathilde is a longtime fan of this particular choir, as you can see here and here. The choir also sang at crown princess Elisabeth's baptism in 2001.

Before the start of the concert all royal family members addressed the public.

King Philippe: C'est une joie de partager ensemble ce beau concert de Noël que nous souhaitons dédier aux personnes les plus affectées par la pandémie.

Princess Eléonore: En particulier les personnes âgées et les personnes isolées qui souffrent beaucoup de ne pas voir leurs proches et leurs petits enfants.

Prince Emmanuel: Les enseignants qui s'investissent avec beaucoup de créativité pour donner cours.

Prince Gabriel: Les adolescents, les jeunes adultes et les étudiants qui ne peuvent pas voir leurs amis et doivent rester chez eux.

Crown Princess Elisabeth: Le personnel soignant qui se donne sans compter pour entourer les malades.

Queen Mathilde: Malgré la distance physique qui nous sépare des êtres qui nous sont chers, trouvons les gestes symboliques pour leur montrer notre affection. Nous vous souhaitons à tous d'excellentes fêtes de Noël et de fin d'année.

To top it all princess Eléonore and prince Emmanuel added to the Christmas vibe by playing Christmas classics on the violin and the saxophone! 












vrijdag 18 december 2020

Corona: Christmas Greetings for the Hospital

18 December 2020

Like every year Queen Mathilde made a private Christmas visit to the parents & children at the Koningin Mathilde Moeder en Kind Centrum in Edegem.



This year, because of Corona, she talked to the children and read them a story via a video call.


Jewels: Cartier Diamond Earrings

Queen Mathilde owns these diamond earrings by Cartier.






In December 2020 Crown Princess Elisabeth wore these earrings at a photo shoot for the annual Christmas card.

Christmas Card 2020

18 December 2020

A new portrait by Michel Gronemberger. It was made in his studio in October 2020.

donderdag 17 december 2020

Flashback: Council of Religious Leaders

17 December 2009

Princess Mathilde attended the opening of the Belgian Council of Religious Leaders at the Federal Parliament in Brussels.




dinsdag 15 december 2020

Christmas Visit 2020: Sans Souci

15 December 2020

Queen Mathilde visited psychiatric hospital Sans Souci in Jette (Brussels) to attend a Christmas concert by the musicians of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.


The concert was part of their project "Sharing Christmas on Tour": an idea of Mathilde's to bring music to safe spaces (like a courtyard or a garden) of medical institutions during the corona pandemic. 




video: https://bx1.be/news/la-reine-mathilde-assiste-a-un-concert-donne-par-la-chapelle-musicale-a-la-clinique-sans-souci/

Students & Corona

14 December 2020

Queen Mathilde had video calls with several students from various Belgian universities.


They discussed the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic poses to their student life and their more general mental health and well being.

zaterdag 12 december 2020

Christmas Tree 2020

11 December 2020

The Christmas tree, donated this year by the town of Libramont, was placed in place in front of the royal palace.

vrijdag 11 december 2020

Christmas Visit Bis 2020: Care Homes

11 December 2020

Court published photos of Queen Mathilde at various unannounced and so far uncovered visits the Queen made to Belgian care homes for the elderly. The first one was Vulpia Résidence Palmyra in Drogenbos.





Mathilde wishes to thank the more than 10.000 volunteers who've been stepping in to help the Red Cross in care homes since the start of the pandemic.


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