Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, 2008-2023


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Skippy said:
Elisabeth's hair doesn't *always* look messy. Most of the times it is really groomed nicely and even now it looks better than some other royals' 'do when they have loose hair.

I do agree about the pants, too busy. Gabriël is a real stunner but then in my eyes he always was.
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I cannot see any "mess" about the Princesses´ hair...!:ermm:

Gabriel indeed is very pretty, but always dressed as if he was 50, though not yet 15.
 
maria-olivia said:
He certainly missed something he liked and he was tired.
No to much duties for a teenager Prince !
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I can count his "engagements" per year on a single hand. For a 15 yo, I think it is alright if you skip a night watching tv or playing videogames. He certainly looked tired, but it is also true that the soirée ended at around midnight. I saw Elisabeth yawning at some point even if you could tell she was interested in the competition. Maybe they're not used (and with a mum like Mathilde I suspect this is the case) to stay up till very late. But once a year I think it is not a tragedy. We all experienced at some point in our childhood/teenage-hood that family duty we had never wanted to attend yet we had to. But we've all survived.
 
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Do the King and Queen bring their younger children to as many official engagements as Princess Elisabeth? It appears so to me, which is interesting as only Elisabeth is intended to be a full-time royal.
 
Tatiana Maria said:
Do the King and Queen bring their younger children to as many official engagements as Princess Elisabeth? It appears so to me, which is interesting as only Elisabeth is intended to be a full-time royal.
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I believe this is a slightly OT question for the thread but anyway...I think they try to balance their presence fairly, but Elisabeth has started much earlier than her siblings, plus what she does is slightly different. She has already given a few, although short, speeches, attended war commemorations and inaugurations. Whereas her brothers and sister only went to visit museums, exhibitions but nothing too formal (except Gabriel who went to commemoration for the late Queen Astrid in Switzerland).
 
Tatiana Maria said:
Do the King and Queen bring their younger children to as many official engagements as Princess Elisabeth? It appears so to me, which is interesting as only Elisabeth is intended to be a full-time royal.
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Philippe’s siblings are full-time royals. As for Elisabeth’s siblings, I believe it has been decided that they won’t get state funding like their aunt/uncle, but I am pretty sure they will be expected to take part in some official royal engagements ( and be reimbursed for that as CP Victoria’s siblings in Sweden).
 
Marchesina said:
I can count his "engagements" per year on a single hand. For a 15 yo, I think it is alright if you skip a night watching tv or playing videogames. He certainly looked tired, but it is also true that the soirée ended at around midnight. I saw Elisabeth yawning at some point even if you could tell she was interested in the competition. Maybe they're not used (and with a mum like Mathilde I suspect this is the case) to stay up till very late. But once a year I think it is not a tragedy. We all experienced at some point in our childhood/teenage-hood that family duty we had never wanted to attend yet we had to. But we've all survived.
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Gabriel already looked tired upon arrival, at 20:00. My guess is he had a very late night the night before... A party? Just think back to when you were 14,15,16... I certainly know I didn't go to bed as early as I do now :lol:

Elisabeth has a genuine interest in classical music, that's for sure. Gabriel looked like he'd rather have been anywhere else haha. Also waving at the crowd when they gave his mom a standing ovation took away a lot of his credibility among his friends I think ?
 
Hanelore, Were you also happy to see Prince Laurent and its stannding Ovation, Princess Claire with lovely Princess Louise.?
 
Hannelore said:
Gabriel already looked tired upon arrival, at 20:00. My guess is he had a very late night the night before... A party? Just think back to when you were 14,15,16... I certainly know I didn't go to bed as early as I do now :lol:

Elisabeth has a genuine interest in classical music, that's for sure. Gabriel looked like he'd rather have been anywhere else haha. Also waving at the crowd when they gave his mom a standing ovation took away a lot of his credibility among his friends I think ?
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Or maybe he did some sport in the afternoon and was really tired in the evening. I laughed at his embarrassed face when Mathilde had to stand up after Arie van Lyseeth, president of the jury, made a tribute to her contribution. He was like..."omg what now?!":lol:
 
Marchesina said:
Or maybe he did some sport in the afternoon and was really tired in the evening. I laughed at his embarrassed face when Mathilde had to stand up after Arie van Lyseeth, president of the jury, made a tribute to her contribution. He was like..."omg what now?!":lol:
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Is there any video of that moment ? It would be nice to share it in the forum.
 
Mbruno said:
Is there any video of that moment ? It would be nice to share it in the forum.
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The entire final session in on the RTBF website, it doesn't have (surprisingly) and geographical restriction and one needs only to register. But I don't know how or whether it is possible to download it...

Final - Session 3 and awarding - RTBF Auvio

It is only available for 5/6 days more.
 
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Marchesina said:
Or maybe he did some sport in the afternoon and was really tired in the evening. I laughed at his embarrassed face when Mathilde had to stand up after Arie van Lyseeth, president of the jury, made a tribute to her contribution. He was like..."omg what now?!":lol:
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Teenagers LOL :lol:
 
Marchesina said:
I believe this is a slightly OT question for the thread but anyway...I think they try to balance their presence fairly, but Elisabeth has started much earlier than her siblings, plus what she does is slightly different. She has already given a few, although short, speeches, attended war commemorations and inaugurations. Whereas her brothers and sister only went to visit museums, exhibitions but nothing too formal (except Gabriel who went to commemoration for the late Queen Astrid in Switzerland).
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Thanks! You make good points about Princess Elisabeth's speeches and the range of her activities (I think some of the engagements attended by the younger siblings could also be viewed as formal, though perhaps less so).

Mbruno said:
Philippe’s siblings are full-time royals. As for Elisabeth’s siblings, I believe it has been decided that they won’t get state funding like their aunt/uncle, but I am pretty sure they will be expected to take part in some official royal engagements ( and be reimbursed for that as CP Victoria’s siblings in Sweden).
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True, that is allowed by the law, but in contrast to Philippe's siblings, Elisabeth's siblings will be required to support themselves, and their careers will limit the number of royal engagements they conduct.
 
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This is the way I see it: Philippe & Mathilde want their 4 children to be part of their active life, and gently introduce them to their public roles. They are not locked away from public view, but attend annual formal activities (National Day, Queen Elisabeth Competition, Christmas Concert) and more relaxed activities (Museum Night, Visiting a company, a procession, a folkloric event, sport games) more or less according to their own interests. It's rare that all 4 children attend a less formal occasion at once with their parents.

Then there's also the annual family photo shoot on location and the official photos.

So all in all we get to see the royal children often enough to remember they exist, that there's 4 of them, that they are fluent in several languages (never underestimate this in Belgium) and that they also wear jeans to school :)

The benefit for the children is that they understand their roles, their public image and yes, their duties... But at the same time they're protected by the presence of their family. It would be so easy to shoot pictures of the children at the school gate every day, yet this never happens. Often there's a message on social media about Elisabeth & Mathilde shopping somewhere, yet no picture ever accompanies the message.

I think Belgian court has certainly managed a very good balance on how much they introduce the children to public life.

When their children will be big enough to officially step in where Astrid or (god forbid) Laurent is needed now, they will be well at ease - much unlike Philippe in his day.
 
It is the first time since 1935 with King Leopold and Queen Astrid that we have a royal couple with young Children.
They are doing their very best.
Their 4 Children are speaking Dutch fluently what never happened since 1830 !
 
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Today, May 15, the annual award ceremony for the winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2018 took place in Argenteuil:


** belga gallery **
 
:previous:

Great to have a photo, and such a lovely one! Louise has grown into a pretty teenage girl!

Here are a few more photos from yesterday:

** fb gallery **
 
Queen Elisabeth Music Competition 2019

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This year's competition will take place between April 29 and June 6, the Palace released the schedule for the family's attendance:


Queen Mathilde will attend the qualifying events on Monday, April 29 and Tuesday, April 30, the semi-finals on Tuesday, May 7 and Saturday, May 11, the final sessions on Monday, May 20 together with King Philippe and on Wednesday, May 22 and Saturday, May 25.

On Tuesday, May 21 King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will offer a lunch for the members of the Competition Jury at the Royal Palace.

Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz will attend a final session on Friday, May 24 at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.

On Tuesday, May 28 Queen Mathilde will award the prizes to the laureates at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Argenteuil.

On Tuesday, June 4 Queen Mathilde will attend the concert of the laureates at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.

On Thursday, June 6 King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will attend the closing concert at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.


** monarchie: Concours Reine Elisabeth – Violon 2019 **
 
And today 30 April second day of the qualifying events, Queen Mathilde with Princess Eleonore!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5aFG51X4Ac9pAB.jpg

Queen Mathilde at the semi-finals of the competition today 6 May

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XkcsiNzC...wAJEDgJlX1kgZ1xJ9gCLcBGAs/s1600/201905-06.png

At the semi-finals and today 8 May the Queen Mathilde

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D6DKKoVX4AA7IxO.jpg

Queen Mathilde at the semi-finals of the Queen Elisabeth music competition tonight.

https://www.modekoninginmathilde.be...fbeelding-2019-05-11-om-21.05.08-1024x552.png
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D6Trf93WsAE8vVG.jpg


Gallery

https://www.belgaimage.be/#/gallery/6556224
 
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I don't understand Princess Astrid Position ?
A non smiling Prince Laurent et Princess Claire stayed home .
 
The bodylanguage is perhaps telling. The princess could not have turned her back more towards her brother. It is of course easy to read too much into a picture.
 
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maria-olivia said:
I don't understand Princess Astrid Position ?
A non smiling Prince Laurent et Princess Claire stayed home .
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Marengo said:
The bodylanguage is perhaps telling. The princess could not have turned her back more towards her brother. It is of course easy to read too much into a picture.
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Have there been any reports or hints of potential grounds for conflict between the members of the Royal Family recently?
 
During her father’s reign Astrid was treated like a crown princess. She still seems to have problems to cope with her new, less relevant and privileged position. She also has health problems and has complained about her workload. Perhaps she could consider some sort of retirement.
Claire stays at home because she wants her own dotation. This is delusional imo. Good luck finding just one single member of government or parliament who will support this idea. And her husband runs around with a sour face for many years now.
 
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