Flashback: British Royals visit Belgium

12 July 2007

Queen Elizabeth II & the Duke of Edinburgh were on a one day official visit to Belgium, to commemorate the Battle of Passchendaele.

Crown Prince Philippe & Princess Mathilde with the British monarch and the Duke at the Hotel Meridien in Brussels.

They also visited the GlaxoSmithKline Biological research center in Wavre.

Death of Prince Philip (1921-2021)

9 April 2021

King Philippe & Queen Mathilde reacted to the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021) who died today.

Deeply saddened by the passing away of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. We wish to express our deepest condolences to Her Majesty The Queen, the British Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom. 

Philippe and Mathilde

Deeply saddened by the passing away of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. We wish to express our deepest condolences to Her Majesty The Queen, the British Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom. ⁰Philippe and Mathilde pic.twitter.com/Y7WKzNX6bK

— Belgian Royal Palace (@MonarchieBe) April 9, 2021

Flashback: Federal Council for Sustainable Development

10 April 2004

Crown Prince Philippe & Princess Mathilde attended a ceremony marking the tenth Anniversary of the Federal Council for Sustainable Development.

Fourteen years later, in 2018, Queen Mathilde would become Honorary President of the Council.

Flashback: Royal Gathering in Luxembourg

7 April 2001

The younger generation of European royals gathered in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to celebrate the enthronement of Grand Duke Henri which had taken place on 7 December 2000.

Princess Mathilde was nearly three months into her first pregnancy. The news hadn't been shared with the public yet.

8 April 2001

Behind the Scenes: Elisabeth's 18th Birthday

Royal reporter Brigitte Balfoort shared some behind the scene moments of Crown Princess Elisabeth's big day ...

When Elisabeth had her make up done in the morning, Mathilde insisted she was wearing too much and it should be toned down a little, but Elisabeth said "No mum, this is just right" and had it her way.

As a birthday gift she got a big bag of mixed candy from her brothers Gabriel & Emmanuel. She started eating some of it right away even though it was time to head for the throne room for her 18th birthday ceremony which would be broadcast live. Mathilde told her to stop it, now is not the time. Elisabeth answered "Mum, it's my birthday!" and she continued munching candy on her way to the public waiting for her. 

Book: Onze Helden, Prinses Elisabeth

 A charming new publication by Bieke Van Gelder. 

In a romantic combination of facts and fiction the author talks about Belgium's 19 year old Crown Princess. 

"Glitterjurken, bals met knappe prinsen en kikkers kussen zijn niet aan haar besteed: Elisabeth is geen typische prinses. Ze houdt van sport, tekent graag en leest veel. Ze studeerde in het buitenland en volgt momenteel een opleiding aan de Koninklijke Militaire School in Brussel. Dat allemaal om haar voor te bereiden op haar rol als eerste vrouwelijke staatshoofd van België."

The book is aimed at preteen girls and is part of the series "Our Heroes".

La Solidarithèque

31 March 2021

Queen Mathilde visited the Association pour la Solidarité étudiante en Belgique, that manages the Solidarithèque, a social grocery that provides students at the University Campus of Namur with food at very low prices.

Because of the pandemic the financial situation of many students, who otherwise have a side job to support themselves financially, has become particularly precarious.

Flashback: IBIS & Godtschalck

29 March 2004

Princess Mathilde visited Koninklijk Werk IBIS in Bredene, a navy cadet school established in 1906 by Crown Prince Albert as a school & home for young orphan boys who were destined for a life at sea.

Nowadays it is a modern navy boarding school that still reserves places for young boys from a difficult social background. The transition happened with financial support from royal funds.

Mathilde was shown the different classes and stayed for lunch with the boys.

After the visit to IBIS Mathilde joined Crown Prince Philippe for a visit to Zeemanshuis Godtschalck in Ostend, a care and nursing home for former seamen and their families.