Royal Titbits #4

First an oldie of Prince Gabriel last December, visiting his school's Christmas Market.

17 January 2024 was a rare day of snowfall in Belgium. Court posted these romantic images of the beautifully renovated Royal Palace in the snow.

By now renovation of the front façade has finished. Other façades are being tackled and renovation work in the palace's interiors is being undertaken.

Easter Holidays in Spain and France

Philippe & Mathilde walked part of the Santiago trail in Galicia, accompanied by a group of about 20 Spanish family members, friends and bodyguards. 

They were staying at four star hotel Alfonso IX in Sarria. 

They ended the pilgrimage with a guided visit to the benedictine monastery of Samos. 

On Thursday 4 April 2024 they were flown from Santiago to Nantes in France, where they travelled on by train and ferry to the Ile d'Yeu where they have a holiday home. 

In a couple of days the Royal Couple will no doubt be back in Belgium, as King Philippe will address the EU Parliament in Brussels on 10 April. 

Docu: "Jung, weiblich, Prinzessin - Europas künftige Königinnen"

A new German documentary on Europe's future queens: Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, Amalia of the Netherlands, Estelle of Sweden, Leonor of Spain and Elisabeth of Belgium.

It was aired on ZDF on 2 April 2024. You can watch it here: https://www.zdf.de/gesellschaft/zdf-royal.

Jung, weiblich, Prinzessin - Europas künftige Königinnen https://t.co/gKLaTLnya3

— Queen Mathilde Blog (@BlogMathilde) April 3, 2024

Flashback: Official Visit to London

1 April 2000

Taking the Eurostar from Brussels to Waterloo Station, London.

Watching the premiere of Paul Cox's film 'Molokai' at the Soho Curzon Theater.

2 April 2000

A visit to Hampton Court Palace.

3 April 2000

A stop at a Belgo Restaurant.

Photo call in front of the Houses of Parliament.

4 April 2000

Meeting Prince Charles at Saint James' Palace.

Visit to Great Ormond Street Childen's Hospital.

5 April 2000

Lunch at Buckingham Palace hosted by Queen Elizabeth II, in presence of the Earl & Countess of Wessex and the Duke of York.

Flashback: Young Global Leader

During the second half of March 2011 Princess Mathilde followed a 10-day course on Leadership at The HarvardKennedy School in Massachusetts, USA. The course dealt with education, health care, international development and safety. 

Mathilde was selected as a Young Global Leader in 2007 by the Economic Forum of Davos. 

In this photo Mathilde poses with fellow student Franklin Cudjoe, founder of African think tank Imani. 

In the autumn of 2012 another Leadership course on international relations, which lasted 4 days, was attended by Mathilde at Yale University in Connecticut.