King Philippe, Q. Mathilde and Family, General News, Part 1 (July 2013 - Sept. 2017)


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It was such a good decision to put the children on Dutch speaking schools, so the RF can finally cease to fight that battle in the next generation.

Isn't (or wasn't) the Marolles a lower working class neighbourhood? A bit like the Jordaan in Amsterdam used to be (which has been taken over by expats and yuppies for decades btw).

I have to agree that it was a very wise decision to have them in a Dutch speaking school from the beginning especially for Elisabeth who is the future Queen of the Belgians.

As for the school surroundings, I can understand the issue of having the streets and sidewalks clean and safe for all who live/work in the area.
 
This area was always like that since the middle age and changed a Lot .
100 years ago families lived in small streets called impasses , one room for a family really poor very poor families. Now they are starting in the Marolles renovations , but this area is always popular because the famous market place du jeu de balle.
Next to this part you have the snobbish Sablon with Antics,jewels ,Pierre Marcolini and other great belgian chocolates .
As Official Guide of the City of Brussels during 15 years I had to show only the nice places of the city!

To me it is not bad that the Princes living in a Castle are seeing that the City has poor people.
 
Belgian little princes and princesses are always so wonderful children!
Little Eléonore now goes elementry school :eek:
 
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To me it is not bad that the Princes living in a Castle are seeing that the City has poor people.

It is absolutely not bad that royal children see the other side of the medal as well. I am just shocked to see that a municipality, a mayor, aldermen of a city, public services, the SNCB, etc. just have let the whole area (in the middle of Brussels) detoriate into a slum. This situation exists for years. Of course, the core problem is unemployment, poor housing, lack of education, crime, prostitution, etc. All this really does not prevent the city or the SNCB to maintain the public infrastructure to an acceptable standard. That is all. The Belgians seem already so used to all this that they do not even notice anymore. In the meantime these pictures have been seen in Dutch, German, Spanish, British and other foreign media, showing the Belgian royal family in splendid surroundings.

Her Majesty The Queen of the Belgians and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Brabant:
http://www.ppe-agency.com/500px/Sep2014/PPE14090122.jpg

:eek:
 
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The Flemish animal protection organisation 'Gala' wants the king to stop hunting animals at the Ciergnon estate in the Ardennes. Monday the king was seen at a weapon dealer in Brussels. The king has a permit to shoot 90 deer per year to keep the animal population int he Ardennes balanced. There is no limitation for shooting wild boar.

Koning Filip onder vuur om jagen - Royalty Online
 
The king isn't going against the law, he's not a poacher, so I think he has the right to do what he wants in his estate. Also, as for the deer, it is a normal habit to maintain the animal population balanced.
 
Animal protection activists do not understand population control. Our town park is being overrun with geese. Everyone complains but no one will agree to a controlled reduction in population because "it's cruel". It's just as cruel to have an overpopulation which leaves sick and weak animals because of not enough food. No matter what Philippe does someone will complain.
 
I think that the point is that he is shooting them for fun. The statement says:

"Killing defenseless animals. Sire, do you set a good example for your children by doing that?"
 
I think that the point is that he is shooting them for fun. The statement says:

"Killing defenseless animals. Sire, do you set a good example for your children by doing that?"

Of course I know that...but if Philippe likes hunting and he does it carefully and safely, their protests are really pointless (at least for me...I don't hunt, but I don't mind it neither).
Noble families...especially those from the countryside (as Mathilde's family is)...are known to be hunting families, it's a bit traditional. But if one day they'll develop animal protection beliefs, surely their father's example won't stop them.
 
King Philippe visited together with prince Emmanuel on Sunday the Flanders fields museum in Ieper.

Pic
 
This looks very interesting! Is this a mini series or is it a 1 - 2 hour program?
 
I think this is a very smart move from them, allowing people to see into their lives, as much transparency as possible.

There are already cute stills around about that :D
 
Confidence in the king has grown further. Before the enthronement 49 % claimed to have confidence in , Philippe year ago that already rose to 60%, but today it rose to 69,1%.

Vertrouwen in koning Filip nog nooit zo groot - HLN.be

The poll is done for the programme VTM Royalty.

So happy to hear it, I guess what he needed to show his real character and personality was enough time and space.

here is a video of the news in French


Le roi Philippe plus populaire que jamais Ã* la veille de ses 500 jours de règne - Vidéo - RTL Vidéos
 
That's good news and hopefully confidence in His Majesty the King will increase further.
 
Confidence in the king has grown further. Before the enthronement 49 % claimed to have confidence in , Philippe year ago that already rose to 60%, but today it rose to 69,1%.

Vertrouwen in koning Filip nog nooit zo groot - HLN.be

The poll is done for the programme VTM Royalty.


Philippe may well be remembered as the monarch who kept Belgium together, at least during his lifetime. As I've said before, I'm very impressed with his performance as King of the Belgians.
 
From the documentaries of the first 500 days of Philippe's reign

- VRT: (Dutch), 29 min.) Eén - Koppen - Ik, Filip | Eén
- RTL (French, 20 minutes) Les 500 jours du Roi Philippe du 3 décembre 2014, info : RTBF Vidéo
- RTBF (French, 3.30 min. introduction) Les 500 jours du Roi Philippe du 3 décembre 2014, info : RTBF Vidéo

Short clips:
playing football: http://vtm.be/royalty/filip-voetbalt-in-de-tuin-met-de-kinderen
preparing for 20k: http://vtm.be/royalty/filip-traint-voor-de-20-km-door-brussel
cycling thorugh Brussels: http://vtm.be/royalty/de-koninklijke-familie-op-de-fiets-in-brussel
various with children: http://www.rtl.be/rtltvi/categorie/place-royale/813.aspx
preparations for a state dinner: http://www.rtl.be/rtltvi/video/517698.aspx?CategoryID=813

The King's Dutch is more fluent, it seems to be greatly improved. The queen speaks Dutch well too, but with a stronger accent. Pss. Elisabeth speaks it as if it is her 1st language.
The Queen follows music history classes to improve her knowledge, as she is the patron of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition.
If looking at the children didn't make you melt yet: in the end of the documentary of the VRT, Philippe puts a flower in Mathilde's hair...

Conclusion of the VRT reporter: expectations were low but the first 500 days went well. The government formation went well. The king could be more relaxed, he finds his image very important. Maybe a bit too much thought goes into certain matters.
 
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Today 15 years of marriage, full of success and beautiful children
 
From the documentaries of the first 500 days of Philippe's reign

- VRT: (Dutch), 29 min.) Eén - Koppen - Ik, Filip | Eén
- RTL (French, 20 minutes) Les 500 jours du Roi Philippe du 3 décembre 2014, info : RTBF Vidéo
- RTBF (French, 3.30 min. introduction) Les 500 jours du Roi Philippe du 3 décembre 2014, info : RTBF Vidéo

Short clips:
playing football: Filip voetbalt in de tuin met de kinderen | VTM
preparing for 20k: Filip traint voor de 20 km door Brussel | VTM
cycling thorugh Brussels: De koninklijke familie op de fiets in Brussel | VTM
various with children: Place Royale -Toutes les vidéos - RTL TVI
preparations for a state dinner: 500 jours de règne : Dans les coulisses d'un dîner d'Etat au château de Laeken - Vidéo - RTL TVI

The King's Dutch is more fluent, it seems to be greatly improved. The queen speaks Dutch well too, but with a stronger accent. Pss. Elisabeth speaks it as if it is her 1st language.
The Queen follows music history classes to improve her knowledge, as she is the patron of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition.
If looking at the children didn't make you melt yet: in the end of the documentary of the VRT, Philippe puts a flower in Mathilde's hair...

Conclusion of the VRT reporter: expectations were low but the first 500 days went well. The government formation went well. The king could be more relaxed, he finds his image very important. Maybe a bit too much thought goes into certain matters.
Thank you for your thoughts on the video Marengo. I know that there had been concerns about the Dutch fluency of Their Majesties. I'm glad that Elisabeth and hopefully her siblings are comfortable moving between Dutch/French and German.
 
Excellent move by the palace IMO, this shows the more human side of Philippe and the work he's done, will definitely help the image of the monarchy in the long run.
 
I hope a lot of you were able to see the Film of His 500 days Reign.
It was great and I was impressed because it is the first time we see love between parents and Children happy since the late Queen Astrid (1935).
 
I hope Royalty shows a good version of the special on Sunday :)
 
On the VRT video, at 11:35, the family went to what a I believe to be a museum right? But I don't remenber seeing it before, does anyone here has the pictures of that event? Also, when Mathilde and Elisabeth are at a botany center together?
 
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The video in French is actually only 3 minute long. Does anybody have another link? Thanks!
 
On the VRT video, at 11:35, the family went to what a I believe to be a museum right? But I don't remenber seeing it before, does anyone here has the pictures of that event? Also, when Mathilde and Elisabeth are at a botany center together?

The botany center is actually the Glass House at Laeken Castle, they were basically at home...
And the visit at the war museum I think was a private initiative, so unless they authorize ppl to take photos, they are not followed by reporters, as it happens with official visits. You see the video now just because it was a long term project with some limited crews from the Belgian press.
 
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