Wedding: Constantijn of the Netherlands & Laurentien Brinkhorst

19 May 2001

Crown Prince Philippe & Princess Mathilde were among the guests at the religious wedding of Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands (31) and Miss Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst (34). 

The Count & Countess of Wessex.

Princess Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg & Count Jefferson von Pfeil und Klein-Elgutt. 

Prince Hassan & Princess Sarvath of Jordan.

Prince Guillaume & Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg.

Prince Laurent of Belgium with Prince Kardam & Princess Miriam of Bulgaria.

Prince Akishino & Princess Kiko of Japan.

Princess Märtha Louise of Norway.

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway & his fiancee, Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

Crown Prince Philippe & Princess Mathilde who was expecting her first child. 

Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his fiancee, Máxima Zorreguieta.

Princess Margriet & Pieter van Vollenhove accompanied Prince Bernhard.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and her husband, Prince Claus who died a year later, in 2002.

Laurentien's gown was designed by Natan.

Flashback: European Conference on Development Goals

18 May 2005

The purpose of this conference was to exchange views on best practices and to prompt all EU Member States, and in particular the new Member States and those engaged in the accession process, to organize campaigns.

Jewels: Wedding Earrings

As a gift from her future husband Crown Prince Philippe, Mathilde received these beautiful gold, diamond and pearl earrings in the shape of a knot. She wore them for the first time in public when they actually tied the knot, on 4 December 1999.

Some of the other occasions where Mathilde wore these earrings:

Queen Elisabeth Competition 2026: Cello

This year's Queen Elisabeth Competition is dedicated to cello. It's a special edition since the world renowned music competition celebrates its 75th edition, a 150 years after the birth of its namesake and founder, Queen Elisabeth and of Pablo Casals, the famous Spanish cellist who is considered one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century.

The winner of the 2026 edition of the Queen Elisabeth Competition will therefore receive Casals’ legendary “Gofriller” cello on loan for four years.

Queen  Elisabeth of the Belgians and Pablo Casals, 1961

First round: Monday 4 May to Saturday 9 May 2026 at Flagey.

4 May 2026: After visiting the exhibition "The Belgian royal family and the cello", Mathilde attended a session.

Semi Finals: Monday 11 May to Saturday 16 May 2026 at Flagey.

13 May 2026: King Philippe & Queen Mathilde had a meeting at the royal palace with the jury members of this year's competition, presided by Gilles Ledure.

Afterwards Queen Mathilde attended a session at Flagey.

The same day, Mathilde also visited violin makers Jan & Matthijs Strick, the father & son who run Maison Bernard. They are responsible for the maintenance, tuning, and repair of the cellos during the competition.

16 May 2026: Queen Mathilde attended a session and the naming of the twelve finalists.

Finals: Monday 25 May to Saturday 30 May 2026 at Bozar.

25 May 2026: King Philippe & Queen Mathilde attend a session.

29 May 2026: Prince Gabriel (22) attends a session. 

30 May 2026: Queen Mathilde attends the final session of the finale week, and the announcement of the winner.

2 June 2026: Queen Mathilde attends the award ceremony at the Queen Elisabeth chapel in Waterloo.

Laureate Recitals (by the 6 non classified laureates) on 3 June and 4 June 2026 at Flagey.

Laureate Concerts (by numbers 6, 5 and 4) on 8 June 2026 at Bozar.

8 June 2026: Queen Mathilde attends the laureate concert.

Final Concert (By numbers 3 and 2 and the winner) on 10 June 2026 at Bozar, attended by King Philippe & Queen Mathilde.