Last Week: Holidays at Ciergnon

Place Royale found out the royal family spent last week's autumn holidays at the castle of Ciergnon where Mathilde was spotted cycling.

video: http://www.rtl.be/tv/rtltvi/replay/05-11-2017-enquete-qui-a-vu-la-famille-royale

Before leaving for the Ardennes, the queen spent 1,5 hour at library Filigranes to pick out books and DVDs.

Entourage: A new Chef de Cabinet

Baron Frans Van Daele, who guided king Philippe through the first 4 years of his reign has been discharged from his duties. Van Daele was clearly appreciated by the king and queen: after receiving a baronial title, he has now been named Minister of State.

The Chief of the King's Cabinet is the king (and queen)'s most senior advisor.

Van Daele made it clear from the start he would only do this job for a few years.

The new Chef de Cabinet at Belgian court is Vincent Houssiau, former advisor of Koen Geens, Minister of Justice.

New Portrait of the Royal Couple

27 October 2017

Funeral: Bhumibol of Thailand (1927-2016)

26 October 2017

Queen Mathilde represented King Philippe at the cremation ceremony of King Bhumibol of Thailand in Bangkok, Thailand.

Arrival of the royals and VIP Guests.

Queen Mathilde of the Belgians.

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway.

Queen Sofia of Spain.

Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Prince Andrew of England.

King Jigme Namgyel & Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan with their son, Prince Jigme.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa of Bahrain

Sheikh Thani Bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani of Qatar.

Hereditary Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg.

King Tupou & Queen Nansipau'u of Tonga.

Prince Akishino & Princess Kiko of Japan.

The Sultan of Perak (Malaysia), Nazrin Shah and his wife, Zara Salim.

Sir Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General of Asutralia.

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.

King Letsie & Queen Masenate of Lesotho.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.

The Official Ceremony.

Royals paying their respects.

The guests pay their respects to King Maha of Thailand and his family members.

Crown Princess Elisabeth turns 16 Today

25 October 2017

These new photos were shared on social media. 

Elisabeth & family dog Jeep.

Also, the website of the Belgian Monarchy gave her biography an update:

Elisabeth's very sportive. She skies regularly, she plays tennis, she sails and practices deep sea diving. She loves being in nature and likes hiking. She also meets up with friends very often.

For several years, Elisabeth has been learning to play the piano, but she also likes various other music styles. She enjoys cooking and likes to discover new recipes. She's an avid reader who wants to be inspired by books.

After school, Elisabeth sometimes volunteers to help children with learning difficulties. In the past she also volunteered in a care home for the elderly, in a homeless centre and among disabled persons.

After lunch with the birthday girl, Queen Mathilde had to leave for Thailand to attend the late King Bhumibol's cremation ceremony.

Expo "Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Urban Projects"

24 October 2017

Queen Mathilde was accompanied by the artist Christo when she visited his exhibition at the ING Art Center in Brussels.

Clotilde Boël acted as lady-in-waiting.