Start of the Summer Holidays

On 23 July 2026 a group of girl scouts from Hasselt ran into Philippe & Mathilde who had gone for a forest walk, hand in hand, at Han-sur-Lesse.

The girls started screaming and once their initial shock was over, they were able to have a talk with the king & queen who came across as "quite normal and very kind". The surprise encounter ended with this snapshot. 

Han-sur-Lesse is close to Ciergnon where Philippe & Mathilde must have been staying in the days after 21 July (National Day). Normally they leave Belgium for a holiday straight after the 21st, but this year they stayed at Ciergnon for a couple of days before leaving for Vienna, where they attended the wedding of Archduchess Isabel of Austria.

On 26 July 2026 they arrived in Nantes, France, on their way to their holiday home on the Ile d'Yeu.