INTERVIEW: Mathilde talks about the Queen Elisabeth Competition

In an interview with VRT & RTBF queen Mathilde talks about her patronage, the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

As a student Mathilde already attended the concerts and loved it. After her marriage she was really able to explore the competition deeper. She was often invited by queen Fabiola - who was the competition's previous patron - to join her in the royal box. It are wonderfull memories.

Mathilde says in a very diplomatic way that Fabiola would never stop talking during the performances, she was full of enthousiasm and imagination: "With queen Fabiola it was a challange to stop talking once you were in the royal box".

Now her own children join her, and they're the ones who ask to be there themselves (Note: I'm not sure this also applies to Gabriel ;-)) All of Mathilde's 4 children are music lovers, and they play instruments: piano, saxophone and violin.

Eléonore, who started the violin at the age of 4, really begged her mom to stay all evening, but Mathilde was a strict mom and said: sorry, you have to go to bed in time... So Eléonore had to leave after the first half of the evening. Mathilde adds that her youngest daughter is really talented, and that she follows the competition on tv & on youtube.

video: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2019/05/24/koningin-mathilde-geeft-openhartig-interview-over-de-koningin-el/

The complete interview in Dutch

WONDERFUL interview with queen Mathilde!

https://t.co/Suez5Z25zI

— Queen Mathilde Blog (@BlogMathilde) 27 mei 2019

In the French interview, Mathilde explains how the technical skills of the violinists, combined with their virtuosity really touches her. She gets attached to the musicians as they grow in this competition, through all the hard work and stress. The process of their personal evolution is something that fascinates the queen.

Meeting the laureates at the end of the month is also a special moment for Mathilde: they haven't just been practicing, but they've also bonded as a group and shared a special experience. The queen likes this human side of things.

A Very Busy Day

25 May 2019

Queen Mathilde, as SDG advocate, started her working day by presiding a round table at the royal palace in Brussels. Her guests were representatives of Belgian universities who offer a management formation. They discussed ways to implement the UN's 2030 goals into the formation, and how to incite future managers to opt for sustainable business solutions.

In the afternoon, King Philippe & Queen Mathilde hosted a tea party at the castle of Laeken for the newly accredited foreign ambassadors.

His and Her Majesties Philippe and Mathilde kindly hosted the newly #accredited #Ambassadors to #Belgium for an afternoon #tea at the Castle of #Laeken - enjoying personal discussions with Belgium’s Royals and a sunny Brussels moment with my wife, LT and FI colleagues ☀️🇧🇪🇱🇹🇫🇮🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/Cqu3m7CUU0

— Tamas Ivan Kovacs (@tamasivankovacs) 24 mei 2019

In the evening, Mathilde and her cousin (or rather, her husband's cousin), Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg attended another finale session of the Queen Elisabeth Competition for Violin, one of Mathilde's most cherished patronages.

World Health Organisation

23 May 2019

As SDG advocate, Queen Mathilde made a visit to the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland.

Purpose of the visit was to draw attention to mental health.

Mathilde pronounced a speech in French.

"Sans une bonne santé mentale, ni les personnes, ni les sociétés ne sont en mesure d’atteindre leur plein potentiel. Investir dans le capital humain est une condition essentielle du développement."

"Les problèmes liés à la santé mentale concernent les personnes de tout âge et de toute origine sociale, qui peuvent être affectées par des maladies d’origine génétique ou physique, mais aussi par le stress et par l’anxiété. Nous savons que les jeunes et les personnes âgées sont plus fragiles. Tous les pays - qu’ils soient développés ou en développement - sont concernés."

"La stigmatisation des personnes souffrant de problèmes mentaux et le tabou qui les entoure constituent, partout dans le monde, des freins considérables à leur prise en charge. Il faut poursuivre les efforts pour rompre ce silence, si nous voulons mettre en œuvre l’un des principes fondamentaux de l’Agenda 2030 :  personne ne doit être laissé pour compte."

"Mais même ceux qui cherchent conseil et assistance peuvent se heurter à de nouvelles difficultés.

Trop souvent l’offre médicale et sociale de qualité manque : la santé mentale n’est pas considérée partout comme une priorité. Les moyens mis à la disposition du secteur de la santé mentale demeurent trop modestes. Dans cette perspective, la prise en compte des pathologies mentales dans le cadre de systèmes de couverture de santé universelles devrait être généralisée.  De plus le nombre de professionnels qualifiés demeure insuffisant : il est donc essentiel de susciter des vocations pour ce type de formation."

"Aujourd’hui pourtant des formes nouvelles de prise en charge se développent, pour offrir des alternatives à la médicalisation et à l’institutionnalisation. Elles font davantage intervenir les patients eux-mêmes, les familles et les communautés, mais aussi des volontaires et bien entendu des professionnels, dans une approche plus respectueuse des droits et de la dignité humaine.

J’ai eu par exemple l’occasion de constater les effets positifs de projets centrés sur la musique, auxquels prennent part des enfants et des jeunes en difficulté psycho-sociale."

"Comme pour tous les SDG’s, il est urgent de donner une nouvelle impulsion à la mise en œuvre de l’objectif 3 des Nations Unies en matière de santé mentale. Votre débat d’aujourd’hui ainsi que la nouvelle Initiative de l’OMS sur la santé mentale constituent à cet égard des signaux importants. Nul ne peut ignorer que les défis restent immenses, tant pour faire prendre conscience des enjeux de la santé mentale et répondre aux besoins que pour faire changer durablement les habitudes."

She was back home in time to attend the Queen Elisabeth Competition for Violin, with her daughter Eléonore.

Behind the Scenes: the First Picture

Founder Michel De Vinck of Brussels Photo Agency "Photo News" talked in an interview about the very first photo that was published of crown prince Philippe and his unknown girlfriend.

Zijn er bepaalde individuele foto’s die bijblijven?
DE VINCK: De eerste foto van Filip en Mathilde samen is van hieruit vertrokken. Niemand wist dat Filip een relatie had, maar op een dag pakte Het Belang van Limburg uit met het verhaal dat er een romance scheen te zijn van Filip met een onbekende dame. Bij dat artikel stond geen foto, maar op een dag kreeg ik een telefoon van iemand die het artikel had gelezen en zei dat hij een foto had van die twee op Cuba. Of die mij interesseerde. Ik zei ja, maar hij legde meteen weer in, waarschijnlijk om nog andere kandidaat-kopers te zoeken. Uiteindelijk belde hij terug om te vragen hoeveel ik dacht dat de foto waard was. Ik zei 100.000 Belgische frank waarop hij weer inlegde. Toen hij de derde keer belde, wilde ik alleen nog serieus onderhandelen en vooral de foto zien. Voor hij hier aankwam, had ik bij alle hoofdredacties al gepolst wat zij zouden bieden, mocht ik zo’n foto hebben. Iedereen bleek geïnteresseerd. We hebben uiteindelijk 200.000 Belgische frank betaald voor die foto (5.000 euro red.). Ik heb de verkoper nog naar de bank vergezeld met de cheque. De kranten kregen tot 16 uur om een bod te doen. Vooral mijn vriend Paul Daenen van Het Laatste Nieuws is als een wilde tekeergegaan en had de foto de volgende dag op de voorpagina. Waarna het Paleis de relatie vroeger dan gepland heeft bevestigd.​​​

Which photos have left a paticular impression?
DE VINCK: The first picture of Philippe & Mathilde as a couple was distributed from this agency. Nobody knew Philippe was in a relationship, but one day (newspaper) Het Belang van Limburg spread the story that Philippe was having a romance with an unknown lady. The article didn't have a picture, but I got a phone call from someone who'd read the article and who claimed he had a picture of the pair in Cuba. Was I interested? I said I was, but he immediately hung up, probably because he wanted to find other candidate-buyers. Eventually he called back, to ask what the value of such a picture would be. I said: 100.000 Belgian francs. He hung up again. When he rang a third time, I told him I was only interested in having a serious negotiation, and most of all I wanted to see the photo. Before the man arrived at the agency, I'd already done a round of all the editors-in-chief and asked what they were willing to pay. Everyone was interested. In the end we paid 200.000 Belgian francs (5.000 euros) for the photo. I accompanied the seller to the bank, with a cheque. The newspapers were able to make a bid untill 16:00. It was especially my friend Paul Daenen, of (newspaper) Het Laatste Nieuws who went wild and who published the photo on the front page the next morning. Because of this court anounced the relationship earlier than they'd planned.

The entire interview can be found here (in Dutch): https://www.bruzz.be/samenleving/brussels-fotoagentschap-photo-news-bestaat-veertig-jaar-2019-04-19

SDG Visit to UGent

10 May 2019

As SDG advocate, Queen Mathilde visited the University of Ghent to become acquainted with new projects, developed by students to implement the UN's "Agenda 2030" goals.

The Queen gave a speech.

Then she talked to the students and inspected their projects. She stayed for several hours.

 

Queen Mathilde Award 2019

9 May 2019

Queen Mathilde handed out her annual award at the royal palace in Brussels.

For the third year in a row, the theme of the Queen Mathilde Award was "Music Connects": music as a means to improve the lives of young people by emancipating them, alleviating trauma or creating a support network.

The winner, Muzass, was selected from 19 projects who each receive a financial support of € 10,000.  The winner receives an extra € 10,000.

Before the official ceremony took place at the royal palace, the Queen attended a meeting with representatives of the candidate winners and members of the youth jury, at the King Baudouin Foundation.