HRH Prince Laurent of Belgium is really a remarkable person...
He was guest of honour at the Concours Reine Elisabeth 2017. This year´s concours was dedicated to the cello. The Prince was well-prepared: he took two yellow noise dempers with him, put it in his ears and had a good sleep in the royal loge...
Picture
Prince Laurent has done it again...
Without informing the Government he went to a reception at the Chinese Embassy, dressed in his uniform of Captain of the Belgian Navy. The reception was for the 90th anniversary of the Chinese People's Army.
The Belgian Government was "not amused" and Premier Charles Michel has announced he wants to cut the Prince's apanage for 2017 as a punishment. (The Prince has been warned before not to attend official events without notice to the Government, with a reduction of his apanage as a possible measure).
Picture of the Prince at the Chinese Embassy in Brussels
Link: http://www.lesoir.be/108192/article...ourrait-perdre-une-partie-de-sa-dotation-2017
Again it's not the prince's job to notice the Government it's the job of his staff to to do that.
No way. The Prince, and not his Household, is accountable to the Government.
He is the one who is accountable to the Government but it is the job of his Household to notice the Government not his i wouldn't imagine the princess royal would herself go ask permission from the Government when ever she have an event with foreign officials or attending official events.
The Prince is responsible for his Household. It is not the secretary, or the maid, or the cook who gets the slap on the fingers. They are not the ones in a "contract with the State" and they are not the ones which receive the annual payments.
Read more: Belgian prince defies ban to attend Chinese army event – POLITICOBelgium’s Prince Laurent, brother of King Philippe, sparked criticism for attending an event to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of China’s People’s Liberation Army — despite being told by the government not to take part in diplomatic meetings without its permission.
Prime Minister Charles Michel forbade the prince last December from talks with senior foreign officials without informing the government after a series of controversial meetings, including one with the prime minister of Sri Lanka. Michel warned Prince Laurent his annual salary of €308,000 was at risk.
Laurent, who posted a picture of the event at the Chinese embassy on Twitter last week, said he attended after receiving a personal invitation.
Hendrik Vuye, an independent MP, pledged to ask parliamentary questions. “The king needs parliamentary approval for all meetings with foreign officials, but the rules for princes are unclear,” he said.
Again it's not the prince's job to notice the Government it's the job of his staff to to do that.
He posted these pictures on his own twitter , how dangerous may the tweets be.
To him it was a private invitation ; but he is wearing an uniform.
The Belgian Parlement is on holiday , we have to wait its Reaction in September
The problem is that some political parties like the separatist NVA (by far the biggest party in Flanders and in Belgium) wants to end the current donation system which means that Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent keep receiving a donation for the rest of their life, even when the children of the King all have reached adulthood.
The new Belgian systematic follows the Dutch example:
- the present king
- the future king
- the former king
(and their spouses) are receivers of a donation.
Out of courtesy and because Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent have always received a donation, the Government did not want to end this. The NVA was never amused with this, pointing that it could mean the Belgian taxpayer still funding Astrid and Laurent for four more decades or so.
Like with the previous faults (going to Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Libya without notice) again the NVA makes a plea to scrap their whole donations. This would mean that Laurent not only inflicts financial damage on his Household, but also his exemplaric sister will feel such a drastic step. Anyway, for so far the other parties seem satisfied when the State withdraws part of Laurent's donation.