Royal Titbits #12

In February 2026, Mathilde's cousin Martin de Brabant became the mayor of Schaerbeek, one of the 11 localities that constitute Brussels. Martin is a member of the MR. He replaces Audrey Henry who's become secretary of state for the Brussels region.

During her time at the Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege Elisabeth van België was part of the schoolpaper team. In December 2014, when she was in the second year of highschool, she interviewed a new teacher for school newspaper "Pandora". 

A few months ago: Mathilde's lady-in-waiting Countess Véronique de Limburg Stirum & husband Count Maximilien de Limburg Stirum at an event of the Queen Paola Foundation, hosted by Princess Claire, Prince Laurent and their children.

In January 2026 at art fair BRAFA: Mathilde's lady-in-waiting Clotilde Boël & husband Harold Boël with Baron & Baroness Marnix Galle, current neighbours of Mathilde at the castle of Stuyvenberg. 

Flashback: Fed Cup

22 Aoril 2006

Prince Philippe & Princess Mathilde of Belgium watched the quarter final tennis Fed Cup game Belgium vs Russia in Liège.

Queen Mathilde Award + Baillet Latour Biomedical Award 2026

21 April 2026

In the morning Queen Mathilde handed out the annual award of her own Queen Mathilde Foundation, at the royal palace in Brussels.

From its establishment in 2000, Mathilde's Foundation has been supporting and awarding initiatives that help children and young people. In doing so she and her team have always used the principle "By young people, for young people", letting the new generations be part of the decision process. 

This year, the Queen Mathilde Foundation launched a new three-year cycle entitled “Let's Breathe!” to support projects related to early parenthood. In other words: giving (very) young parents breathing space by helping them with their challenges. 

Prior to the award ceremony, the Queen spoke with representatives of the selected projects, together with the chairpersons of the youth jury, who designated the laureate, Service d'accompagnement Périnatal "Pré-en-bulles".

In the afternoon a second award ceremony took place in Mathilde's presence.

At the Palais des académies in Brussels she presented the Baillet Latour Biomedical Award to Professor Charlotte Scott for her valuable contributions to the research on metabolism and the gastrointestinal system.

The Baillet Latour Biomedical Award aims to support the careers of promising young researchers in Belgium within the biomedical sciences. The support spans a period of 5 years and amounts to 1 million euros. 

Flashback: Dementia

20 April 2001

For the 20th anniversary of care home De Wingerd in Leuven, Princess Mathilde attended a symposium at KU Leuven university on dementia among the elderly population.

Happy 18th Birthday, Eléonore!

16 April 2026

Today Belgium's youngest princess turns 18! To mark the occasion, court published these gorgeous new photos of her by Vlad VDK. 

And there's this series made by Loan Silvestre.

A series of cute pictures from when she was a baby until today were also shared on the Monarchy's social media.

Ten Years Later: Eléonore Turns 18!

13 April 2026

Today the superb Belgian royal communications team published this:

Les enfants aussi deviennent grands… 

Pour marquer les 66 ans du Roi, et surtout les 18 ans de sa fille cadette, la Princesse Eléonore, voici le remake d’une photo iconique qui les réunissait en 2016 à l’occasion de leurs anniversaires. 

The new portrait was made by Vlad VDK.

Private: Shopping with Eléonore

11 April 2026

Posted on a royal forum: 

This afternoon I saw Queen Mathilde with her daughter Eleonore at the Massimo Dutti store on Toison d'Or in Brussels. They were leaving the store with only one escort. Eleonore is very tall, and Mathilde's hair was styled in a backcombed way, though not very voluminous. Mathilde was wearing a plaid blazer, jeans (I think), and heels. I didn't have much time to look closely. Eleonore was wearing slightly baggy jeans and a red t-shirt.

Gabriel at Shooting Championship

Military personnel from across Defence, including the RMA, gathered in Marche en Famenne from 31 March to 3 April to test their marksmanship during the National Championship Defence (NCD) Shooting 2026. A squad from the RMA Shooting Team, which included Prince Gabriel, managed to finish in 4th place. 

Jewels: Hearts Bracelet

Queen Mathilde has been wearing this gold, diamond and gemstone bracelet for many years.

Since the spring of 2018, she's been wearing it with a heart shaped pendant attached to it.

It seems to be some kind of amulet. It's no doubt a jewel with a personal significance for the Queen.

In the first years of her marriage Mathilde used to wear a similar bracelet which also has a matching necklace.

Since the 1980s this kind of bracelet has been a real classic among many royal and noble ladies.

Princess Marie of Liechtenstein

Princess Felicitas of Liechtenstein

Duchess Katharina von Oldenburg