courtesy of daylife

Belgian Royals celebrated The King’s Feast (Koningsfeest in Dutch and Fête du Roi in French) on November 15 – a day that has been marked by celebrations in honour of the Belgian Monarch since 1866. Crown Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde, Prince Laurent, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz and Queen Fabiola were all present.

The celebrations started with a Service at Brussels Cathedral, which was attended by all members of the Royal Family with the exception of the King, the Queen and Princess Claire. King Albert and Queen Paola don’t usually attend the Service as protocol decrees it would be inappropriate for the Monarch to honour himself. Although always present at The King’s Feast Day celebrations, Princess Claire was absent this year, presumably because she wasn’t able to find anyone to babysit the children.

courtesy of daylife

Also present at the Service was Queen Fabiola – the first time she has been seen in a long time. The past few months have been marred by concerns for Her Majesty’s health and even false death announcement. Although the Queen was recovering in Spain, she insisted on attending the Service, although she did not attend the ceremony at the Parliament: the Royal Watchers were undoubtedly delighted to see Her Majesty in apparently good health.

Since 2001, the Service has been followed by a ceremony held by the Belgian Parliament in honour of the King, in the presence of members of the Belgian Royal Family and other dignitaries.

November 15 is the name day of Leopold (the feast of Saint Leopold) and Albert (the Feast of Saint Albert the Great), two names that are of great importance for the Belgian Royals: Belgium’s first, second and fourth Monarchs were named Leopold, while the third King was called Albert, as is the current king. In 1951, King Baudouin decided to honour the day, and King Albert II continued the tradition. November 15 and April 8 (King Albert’s birthday) are two days when His Majesty honours distinguished citizens by presenting them with the Order of Leopold. Although November 15 is not a public holiday, civil servants are allowed to have a day off.

To learn more about the King’s Feast, visit this thread.

Marsel Belgian Royals Archduke Lorenz, King Albert II, Prince Laurent, Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Mathilde, Queen Fabiola, Queen Paola, The King’s Feast

The King, the Queen, Princess Astrid, Prince Laurent and Princess Claire attended the Autumn Concert at the Royal Palace in Brussels yesterday.

courtesy of Belga

The Autumn Concert is organized in collaboration with the Festival of Flanders and the Festival of the Walloon Region.

The Festival of the Walloon Region (Festival de Wallonie) is an annual event that offers 70 concerts in 4 parts of the Walloon Region and in Brussels. The common theme of the concerts is the aspiration to tell people about the region’s architectural and musical heritage, a strong inclination towards parties and conviviality.

This year, the Festival’s main theme is “Britannia”. The concerts are dedicated, as the name suggests, to the United Kingdom, which either gave birth or welcomed four great composers, whose anniversaries are celebrated this year – Purcell (350th birth anniversary), Handel (250th death anniversary), Mendelssohn (200th birth anniversary) and Haydn (100th death anniversary).

To learn more about the Belgian Royal Family, visit this thread.

Marsel Belgian Royals Concert, Music, Prince Laurent, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Claire, Queen Paola

Yesterday Queen Paola of the Belgians took four of her grand children to the circus Bouglione  (near the Anatomium) in Brussels to celebrate the 50th anniversary of “L’Oeuvre des Berceaux Princesse Paola / Het Werk Der Wiegjes Prinses Paola” .

Click on image to see photo at Zimbio

The queen, accompanied by her daughter princess Astrid and her daughter-in-law princess Claire took four of her grand children along: princess Laeticia Marie (daughter of princess Astrid) and princess Louise, prince Aymeric and prince Nicholas (children of prince Laurent and princess Claire. Apart from the royals many other attended the special show,. For the event 1000 children from underpriviledged families were invited.

L’Oeuvre des Berceaux Princesse Paola (the work of the cradles of princess Paola) was founded in 1876. The original name of the charity was ‘the foundation of the blacks’. In order to raise money and save the nursery, a group of well-off gentlemen decided to create ‘African Academy’; they disguised themselves as black people to avoid recognition in restaurants they frequented as clients. They blackened their faces and put on costumes of white top hat, a black coat and bright-coloured baggy trousers. The ‘Academy’ was very successful and raised enough money to save the nursery. Over the years, raising money for charity in this way has become one of the finest (and funniest) folklore traditions of Brussels.

Click on image to see photo at gva.be

In 1959, shortly after her marriage, Princess Paola accepted the post of Honorary President of the “African Academy”, which was re-named “L’Oeuvre des Berceaux Princesse Paola”. The foundation helps children from underprivileged environment; the help manifests itself in covering medical expenses, acquiring necessary food, clothing, school supplies, etc.

A gallery of pictures is available at the website of the Gazet van Antwerpen, click here. A thread about the current events of the Belgian royal family an be found here.

Marengo Belgian Royals Circus, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Claire, Queen Paola

    Last Friday, October 9th, members of several royal houses descended upon the tiny principality of Monaco to attend the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer gala.

Click to see the gallery at Svenskdam

HSH Prince Albert II, the Sovereign Prince of Monaco played host to HRH The Crown Princess of Sweden, TRH Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz of Belgium, and TRH Prince Guillaume and Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg for the charity gala, which was held at the Opera Garnier in the Monte Carlo Casino. Camilla of Bourbon Two-Sicilies, Duchess of Castro was also in attendance.

Prior to the gala, Prince Albert and Crown Princess Victoria shared a drink at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, the official residence of the Monégasques Sovereign. Albert later described his meeting with Victoria, “wonderful and fantastic” to a Swedish reporter. Princess Victoria also stated, “it will be a wonderful evening,” upon her arrival to the Casino, while posing for photos on the red carpet before heading inside.

Speeches were given by both Prince Albert and Princess Astrid.

Click to see the gallery at Svenskdam

Princess Astrid is the Honorary Chairwoman of the EORTC Charitable Trust, which sees its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Prince Guillaume is also a member of the General Assembly of the EORTC Charitable Trust. The EORTC was founded in 1976 in Belgium, and is a multinational organisation which currently sees its operations underway in over thiry countries.

Click here, here, here and here for the various current events thread of the royals in attendance, where more information and pictures are available.

JessRulz Belgian Royals, Luxembourg Royals, Monaco Royals, Swedish Royals Cancer, Patronage, Prince Albert II, Prince Guillaume, Prince Lorenz, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Sibilla, Princess Victoria

On October 8, the royal family, including Princess Maria Laura, daughter of Princess Astrid, attended the opening of the prestigious “Son of Heaven” exhibition at the Palace of the Fine Arts in Brussels. It is the opening exhibition of the cultural festival Europalia China.

Click to see Belga picture gallery

The King and Queen opened the exhibition in the presence of the Vice President of China, Xi Jinping. Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz, Prince Laurent, Princess Claire and Princess Maria Laura were also present.

The Vice-President is on an official trip to Belgium, and was welcomed to the country by Prince Philippe upon his arrival in Brussels, on October 7. Earlier on Thursday, the Vice President already met the King and Queen during a lunch at the Laeken Palace.

The exhibition shows some very exclusive pieces which have never travelled outside of China before, like a priceless kimono worn by the Chinese emperors. To honour this special gesture from China, the entire royal family turned up for the event. Princess Maria Laura, the eldest daughter of Princess Astrid, probably attended because the exhibition features Chinese artifacts. The young Princess has lived in China for 6 months, and currently studies Oriental languages in Paris.

For more information about the exhibition, please see this website.
For more information and pics from this event, please see this thread.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Exhibition, King Albert II, Prince Laurent, Prince Lorenz, Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Claire, Princess Maria Laura, Princess Mathilde, Queen Paola

 Princess Mathilde attended the launch of the European Partnership to fight cancer in the period 2009-2013, today in Brussels, at the invitation of José Manuel Barrosso, the President of the European Commission. She was welcomed to the convention by the Commissioner for Health, Androulla Vassiliou.

Click to see full image at Belga

At the meeting, the Princess gave a speech, in which she emphasised that cancer is a widespread disease, which is very difficult to fight, but “we should not forget that it can very often be beaten.” She also proudly talked about the steps Belgium has already taken to coordinate cancer research, prevention and treatment better. She repeated that prevention and screening are the key to fighting cancer, as many types of cancer, different though they all are, can be more easily cured when discovered in an early stage.

She stressed that clinical research is vital to improve treatments, but that there should also be attention for psychological support for cancer patients, who often feel alone, despite all the attention given to them by family, friends and medical staff. The Princess also talked about her visit to a paediatric oncological institute earlier this year. She said: “I was deeply moved by this visit. I met very sick children, but they gave me a lesson on how to be brave: never to give up hope despite the burden of illness which is weighing heavily on their young shoulders.”

Click to see full image at Belga

At the same time, Princess Astrid visited a cancer hospital in Oostduinkerke. She was greeted by enthousiastic crowds. At the center, she took the time to talkt and listen to the patients, while she was guided by the doctors. Oostduinkerke being one of the places where shrimp is still collected on horseback, the Princess also met with some traditional shrimp fishermen. 

For a thread on Princess Mathilde’s current events, see here.
The speech can be found here.

For a thread on Princess Astrid’s current events, see here.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Cancer, Health, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Mathilde

The Belgian royal family was out in full force to celebrate this year’s National Day. On the evening of June 20, King Albert, Queen Paola, Queen Fabiola, Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz, Prince Laurent and Princess Claire attended the concert “Preludium to the National Day”, organized at the Palace of Fine Arts by the National Belgian Orchestra. The royal ladies were at their best, as usual. Princess Mathilde looked splendid in bright white (see pic), while Princess Astrid was wearing a black dress (see pic). Queen Paola wore a black and white ensemble (see pic), but it was Princess Claire who really caught everyone’s eye in her pink top and red trousers (see pic). At the concert, the royals enjoyed music played by the Belgian National Orchestra, as well as several opera arias sung by soprano Hélène Guilmette.

Click to see full image at belga

On the morning of the National Day, the royals attended several Te Deum masses around the coutry. King Albert, Queen Paola, Queen Fabiola, Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde went to the St. Michael and St. Gudule Cathedral in Brussels, while Prince Laurent and Princess Claire attended the Te Deum in Mons, and Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz went to Antwerp. They all took their time to talk to the people who had turned up to greet them, despite the security measures, which were higher than usual due to the murder threats to Queen Fabiola.

Click to see full image at Belga

In the afternoon, King Albert inspected the troops which would take part int he military parade, after which he and the rest of the family went to the royal stands. Prince Laurent and Princess Claire had brought their daughter, Princess Louise, with them to watch the parade, but the girl was more interested in her father’s shiny sable throughout the parade. She didn’t remain seated on her own chair either, but sat on her father’s or mother’s lap most of the time. Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz had brought their two eldest children, Prince Amedeo and Princess Maria Laura, and their youngest daughter, Princess Letizia Maria along.

Click to see full image at Belga

As usual, the King and his children were dressed in their uniforms, Prince Philippe as Air Force officer, Princess Astrid in her uniform of Colonel of the Medical Division and Prince Laurent as Marine officer. Prince Amedeo also wore his uniform of reserve officer of the land forces. The ladies vied again for the best outfit. While Queen Paola wore again a demure black and white suit (see pic), Princess Mathilde wore an eye-catching pink dress and a matching pink fascinator (see pic). Princess Claire, on the other hand, wore a stunning blue dress and beige fascinator (see pic).

Despite the murder threats, Queen Fabiola was also present at the parade (see pic). She had some very animated conversations with Queen Paola and Princess Mathilde. Rumour had it she was wearing a bullet proof vest, but the Palace formally denied this.

After the parade, the King and Queen, and the Princes and Princesses visited several sites all over Brussels where the National Day celebrations were taking place. In the evening, they will attend the fireworks display.

For a discussion of the National Day celebrations, see this thread.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals King Albert II, National Day, Prince Laurent, Prince Lorenz, Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Claire, Princess Mathilde, Queen Fabiola, Queen Paola

 The Belgian government had appointed a parliamentary commission to discuss the dotation system of the Belgian royals. Every now and then, word came out that the commission wanted to strip Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent of their dotation, but up until now there had been no formal declaration regarding the matter.

From the TRF Avatar Gallery

On July 2, the commission finally came up with a final compromise. The current system of dotations will be kept in place until Prince Philippe succeeds his father as King of the Belgians. From then on, only the reigning monarch and the first in line to the throne will receive a dotation, as well as their spouses and the spouse of a deceased monarch. In reality, this means that of all Prince Philippe’s children, only Princess Elisabeth will receive a dotation from the moment that she is a legal adult. The dotation is, however, bound to certain rules. Members of the Royal Family who receive a dotation may not hold any commercial or other paying  position. This rule applies already to those who currently receive a dotation.

From the TRF Avatar Gallery

From the TRF Avatar Gallery

Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent, who are each currently receiving a dotation of over 300.000 EUR a year, will not lose their dotation, not even when their brother becomes King. The commission decided to would be unfair to them to sustain them for so long, and then suddenly take a way their income. They will remain in the old system for life.

The commission also decided that the costs and expenses of the Royal Family must be published each year. This will aid the transparency of the costs of the Royal family. This was not only the wish of the current government, but also of the King himself. After there have been many criticisms of the misty finances of the Belgian court, the King has urged the government to do something about it, so as to avoid further criticism.

For a discussion of the Belgian royals and their finances, see this thread.
For an article about the matter, see here (Dutch).

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Finances, Government, Prince Laurent, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Elisabeth

Click to see image at belga

 Queen Fabiola, Princess Mathilde, Princess Astrid and her husband, Archduke Lorenz, and Princess Claire had lunch today with the jury members of the Queen Elisabeth Competition – Violin, of which the semi-finals were performed yesterday evening. The lunch was hosted at the Royal Palace in Brussels. Queen Fabiola is the patron lady of the Competition. This year, members of the jury include Jaime Laredo and Martin Beaver.

The Queen Elisabeth Competition is one of the most difficult competitions for violin, piano and singing, which exists since 1951. Before the war, the Competition was known as the Eugène Ysaÿe Competition. Queen Elisabeth herself was always a gifted musician herself, just like Queen Fabiola after her, who used to play the piano quite well, even though she always minimized her efforts. The Competition is an opportunity for the Belgian Royal family to show their appreciation and support for the fine arts. There is always at least one of them attending each final, and often the concerts in between as well.

Click to see image at belga

Queen Fabiola, who looked very well in her pale lilac attire, obviously enjoyed chatting with the jury members. Most remarkable are the shots of Princesses Mathilde and Claire, laughing and talking chummily together. If you take a look at the belga gallery here, it looks like the Princesses could hardly stop laughing, and they were telling a funny story… Prince Laurent and Prince Philippe were conspicuous by their absence, especially because their wives were having such a good time together. Where Prince Laurent was at this time, is not officially known. Prince Philippe, on the other hand, was travelling from Belgium to the Russian space pot in Baikonour, Kazachstan, where Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne will be launched to the ISS tomorrow around noon CET, together with a Russian and Canadian colleague.

For more information about the Queen Elisabeth Contest, see here.
For more information about the event, see this thread.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Prince Lorenz, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Claire, Princess Mathilde, Queen Elisabeth Contest, Queen Fabiola

Click to see image at Zimbio

 Almost the entire Royal family was present on yesterday’s awarding ceremony of the King Baudouin International Development Prize. King Albert II of Belgium and Queen Paola hosted a luncheon and reception at the Brussels Royal Palace, and the event was also attended by Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz , Princess Claire and Queen Fabiola, who still looked rather fragile after her long absence due to illness in the beinning of the year.

The King Baudouin International Development Prize was awarded to the Indonesian organization KBR68H, a news agency and radio network which actively promotes democracy and development. Isaac Santoso had come down to Belgium to accept the honours. The luncheon was also attended by various notables, among which Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS. Later the family also attended the awards ceremony, and the KBR68H representatives were received on an official audience by the King.

The royal ladies all seemed to vie with each other for most elegantly dressed Princess. Princess Mathilde wore the same pale green dress with beaded neckline she had worn on the Indonesian Economic Mission last year, and her hair was tied together in an elegant chignon, decorated with a flower. Princess Astrid had choses grey-silvery tones, with an eye-catching long necklace. She has recently decided to wear her hair short again, and it suits her well. Princess Claire, on the other hand, had chosen a demure white dress, elegant as always, also wearing a super long necklace. (see picture here)

For a discussion of the event, see this thread.
There are picture galleries at Belga and Zimbio.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals King Baudouin International Development Prize, Prince Lorenz, Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Claire, Princess Mathilde, Queen Fabiola, Queen Paola