Royal Family of Belgium Part 2

[Emily]

Thank you for the pictures, Catherine!

[HMQueenElizabethII]

Very sad pictures.

[Alexandria]

Originally Posted by Cathérine Bergeyck

15th January 2005

The Belgian royal family (king Albert II, queen Paola, queen Fabiola, prince Philippe, princess Mathilde, princes Astrid, prince Lorenz, prince Laurent, princess Claire, Léa Wolman -wife of prince Alexandre-) was present at the very emotional funeral of their sister (in law)/aunt, grandduchess Joséphine-Charlotte, in the Notre Dame cathedral in Luxemburg.

Thanks for the pictures Catherine. The entire family, especially the King and Phillippe looked very upset in various pictures.

I have a question about Fabiola. I noticed in some pictures I saw that at some point (the beginning? I didn't see live coverage of the funeral) Fabiola was sitting/standing in her chair all by herself. It was just her surrounded by the empty chairs.

What happened there? Was it by protocol or respect that she entered the church first and the other monarchs and guests were still to be seated? Or was it because of her age she didn't walk to the church the way the other royal guests did and was driven there and hence got there ahead of everyone else so was seated before everyone else?

Here's the picture I am referring to from Polfoto.

[ally_cooper]

Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz look so sad! They must love Grand Duchess very much... Thank a lot for the pics.

[Lyonnaise]

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: Belgian royals including (L-R) Queen Paola, King Albert II, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz, Princess Claire and Prince Laurent attend a mass to commemorate the victims of the Tsunami disaster in South-East Asia, late 15 January 2005 at the Sint-Michiels and Sint-Goedele Cathedral in Brussels.

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Originally Posted by Lyonnaise

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM: Belgian royals including (L-R) Queen Paola, King Albert II, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz, Princess Claire and Prince Laurent attend a mass to commemorate the victims of the Tsunami disaster in South-East Asia, late 15 January 2005 at the Sint-Michiels and Sint-Goedele Cathedral in Brussels.

It was a oecumenic remembrance service, not a (catholic) mass. King Albert, queen Paola, queen Fabiola, prince Philippe, princess Mathilde, prince Lorenz, princess Astrid, prince Laurent and princess Claire were present.

It was a few hours after the funeral in Luxemburg!

After the service, the king and queen and Philippe and Mathilde talked to the Belgian families who lost someone in the disaster.

Astrid & Lorenz (maybe also Laurent& Claire but I'm not sure), talked to the members of the red cross and the various NGOs that were present.

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Originally Posted by Alexandria

Thanks for the pictures Catherine. The entire family, especially the King and Phillippe looked very upset in various pictures.

I have a question about Fabiola. I noticed in some pictures I saw that at some point (the beginning? I didn't see live coverage of the funeral) Fabiola was sitting/standing in her chair all by herself. It was just her surrounded by the empty chairs.

What happened there? Was it by protocol or respect that she entered the church first and the other monarchs and guests were still to be seated? Or was it because of her age she didn't walk to the church the way the other royal guests did and was driven there and hence got there ahead of everyone else so was seated before everyone else?

Here's the picture I am referring to from Polfoto.

I think Fabiola didn't walk in the cortège, like the other members of the royal family because it was to difficult for her. I've seen her walking with a stick on various occasions.

The Belgian family was very close to Joséphine-Charlotte, I saw king Albert crying, Paola too, even before they had entered the cathedral.
Philippe, Astrid and Lorenz were very emotional as well, and I saw Philippe discreetly passing a handkerchief to Mathilde...

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Pictures of the tsunami remembrance service

[Dennism]

Originally Posted by Cathérine Bergeyck

I think Fabiola didn't walk in the cortège, like the other members of the royal family because it was to difficult for her. I've seen her walking with a stick on various occasions.

I noticed Fabiola all alone too and I thought "Shouldn´t there be someone there to help her if she has trouble getting out of the aisle because she is so distressed?" But maybe she didn´t need help. But a gentleman should be near. Well, maybe she was there before the others and wasn´t going anywhere. I thought it was at the end. Everybody looked so sad.

[GrandDuchess]

A very nice ceremony it seems, and good of them to make it ecumenical - so that everyone could feel included.

On the Fabiola matter - I would guess that she was seated before the cortège arrived and the other guests filled the spots around her. Perhaps there was an Aide-de-Camp close by somewhere, to assist her?

[ally_cooper]

18/01/2005
Le Prince Laurent,La Reine,La Princesse Astrid,Le Roi,La Princesse Mathilde,Le Prince Lorenz,Le Prince Philippe,Princesse Claire,La Reine Fabiola
Le Roi, la Reine, la Reine Fabiola, le Prince Philippe et la Princesse Mathilde, la Princesse Astrid, le Prince Laurent et la Princesse Claire, le Prince Amedeo, la Princesse Maria Laura, le Prince Joachim et la Princesse Luisa Maria assistent au service solennel célébré à la mémoire de SAR la Grande-Duchesse Joséphine-Charlotte de Luxembourg, à 17.30 h à la Cathédrale des Saint-Michel-et-Gudule te Bruxelles.
La Princesse Marie-Astrid de Luxembourg et l’Archiduc Charles-Christian d’Autriche,la Princesse Margaretha de Luxembourg et le Prince Nikolaus de Liechtenstein, le Prince Jean, le Prince Guillaume et la Princesse Sibilla de Luxembourg participent également au service.


From monarchie.be

[hillary_nugent]

Ally Cooper is that a list of all the people that was the JC's funeral? I didn't know Princess Astrid's children attended it as well...

[Mette2]

Originally Posted by hillary_nugent

Ally Cooper is that a list of all the people that was the JC's funeral? I didn't know Princess Astrid's children attended it as well...

No, it's not a list for the funeral Saturday, but a list of people who'll atend a service/mass (not sure exactly, but something like that) in honor of Josephine Charlotte tomorrow. I know I'm not Ally Cooper but I hope it's okay that I answer. :)

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

That's right, it's a remembrance mass for Joséphine-Charlotte in Brussels, and all the people listed will be present.

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

here are some more pictures of the Belgian family at the funeral

[hillary_nugent]

Originally Posted by Mette2

No, it's not a list for the funeral Saturday, but a list of people who'll atend a service/mass (not sure exactly, but something like that) in honor of Josephine Charlotte tomorrow. I know I'm not Ally Cooper but I hope it's okay that I answer. :)

Thanks very much for the explanation :) anyone was welcome to answer ^___^

[ally_cooper]

Exactly, Thanks Mette2 for the answer.

[Mette2]

Originally Posted by ally_cooper

Exactly, Thanks Mette2 for the answer.

You're welcome and Hillary too. :) And Cathérine thank you for the correct term of the event. :)

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

18/01/2005

German President Horst Koehler meets with King Albert II and Queen Paola , Tuesday 18 January 2005 at the Royal Palace in Brussels. Koehler is on a official visit to Belgium.