Royal Titbits #2

On 25 September 2023 the Royal Crypt was opened to visitors. Occasion was the 40th anniversary of King Leopold III's death. 

A wreath from Philippe & Mathilde was laying at Leopold's tomb, where he is buried alongside both his wives, Princess Astrid of Sweden and Lilian Baels.

Leopold was not only King Philippe's grandfather, but also his godfather. When he died, Philippe was 23 years old.

Meanwhile the renovation works to the façade of the Royal Palace are coming along nicely. The result is a dramatic change from the grey building we were used to seeing!

Before

 

Current look

Did you know that Xavier Moureaux, the Belgian tennis coach to French tennis player Benoît Paire used to give private tennis lessons to Princess Mathilde and her children? 

Moureaux, who's originary from Bastogne like Mathilde, was contacted by Court in 2010 to give private classes to Elisabeth (then 9) and Gabriel (then 7). During three years he trained them during the Christmas holidays. He also trained with Mathilde. He stopped working for Court in 2012, the year he left for the USA.

During her year at the Military Academy Crown Princess Elisabeth wasn't only a very invested pupil, but a very bright one too. Her grades were among the three or four highest of her promotion, one of her professors revealed to newspaper La Libre Belgique.