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

Several days ago, “De Morgen” newspaper announced the death of Queen Fabiola on their website.

courtesy of Telegraph

The announcement read: “Sixteen years after the death of her husband King Baudouin, Her Majesty passed away at the age of 81. Her health has been frail in the last few years and the pneumonia she suffered from recently proved fatal”.

The Royal Palace was quick to deny the news and the “De Morgen” apologized for the mistake. This is not the first time Queen Fabiola’s death was erroneously declared: earlier in January, VRT and Gazet van Antwerpen made a similar mistake, issuing premature arbitraries.

This is a very unfortunate time for such mistakes as there has been an increasing concern for Her Majesty’s health; just about two weeks ago, the Palace announced that Queen Fabiola will not attend any official functions in near future because of her frail health.

Queen Fabiola is currently recovering in Spain.

For more news and information about the Queen, visit this thread.

Marsel Belgian Royals Death, Health, Media, Queen Fabiola

click on image to see photo at hln.be

As has been reported in the Flemish press, queen Fabiola left Castle Stuyvenberg and stayed at Villa Astrida in Spain. According to Spanish website ideal.es the Queen arrived in Motrtil on October 15th and left for Belgium two days ago. Last week the palace announced that queen Fabiola would not have any official duties in the near future as she is recoverning from a pneunomia.

Villa Astrida was bought by the queen and her late husband, king Baudouin, in the sixties. The villa is located in Motril, near Granada. Villa Astrida is named after king Baudouin’s mother, queen Astrid. In 1993 king Baudouin died in the villa from a heart attack.

To learn more about Queen Fabiola’s current activities, visit this thread.

Marengo Belgian Royals Health, Queen Fabiola, Spain

The Palace announced that Queen Fabiola will not attend any of the activities of the Royal Family in near future.

View the image at Hello!

This, as the announcement reads, is because Her Majesty is currently recovering from pneumonia; she feels exhausted and needs rest. The Palace spokesman hastened to add that there is nothing wrong with the Queen: “She walks and moves, but she is tired and needs rest. She cannot take long walks”.

Queen Fabiola hasn’t been seen in public for a while now; the last public event she attended was a Mass in honour of her husband, the late King Baudouin, which took place on July 31 at Notre Dame de Laeken in Brussels; the mess is an annual event and the Queen has never yet missed one.

Her last appearance was far from reassuring: Her Majesty was in a wheelchair, which, according to the Palace, was because of severe fatigue. It was in stark contrast with her energetic appearance during Belgian National Day on July 21: bravely refusing to be intimidated after receiving death threats just days earlier, the Queen mocked her would-be assassins by waving an apple – a reference to Swiss folk hero William Tell.

The next chance to see Queen Fabiola will be on November 15, the King’s Day: she is still expected to addend the celebrations.

To learn more about Queen Fabiola’s current activities, visit this thread.

Marsel Belgian Royals Health, Queen Fabiola

Click to see the full image

On 31 July, Queen Fabiola attended the memorial mass for her late husband, King Baudouin I of Belgium. The mass is always organised at the special request of Queen Fabiola, on the anniversary of the King’s death, at the Church of Our Lady in Laeken. Queen Fabiola was accompanied by Prince Nicolas of Liechtenstein, the husband of her niece, Princess Margaretha.

The Queen attended the mass in a wheelchair, and looked very fragile, far from the energetic woman who waved an apple at her would-be assassins on the National Day, little over a week ago. The Palace emphasised that the Queen used the wheelchair simply because of severe fatigue.

For more information about Queen Fabiola and her activities, see here.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals King Baudouin, Mass, Queen Fabiola

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

 On Wednesday, the redaction of the newspaper La Dernière Heure received a new letter containing a murder threat aimed at Queen Fabiola of Belgium, the second letter in two months. The letter was dated 2 July, but since Emanuelle Preat, the one at whom the letter was adressed, had been absent, it hasn’t been read before Wednesday.

Click to see full image at Flickr

Again the letter was written in bad French, full of spelling mistakes. The writer threatens again to kill the Queen-widow during the military defilé of the 21 July celebrations.  This time, the letter contains other ridiculous allegations.

According to the writer, the Queen has poisoned her late husband, King Baudouin, and she is responsible for his death. Also, the Queen is accused of having paid 6 million EUR to the Vatican, so she can have the privilege of embracing Jesus’ feet in heaven, and he also accuses her of being too chummy with several dictators from around the world (as he did in a previous letter)

According to the writer, the Queen, on her frequent visits to Lourdes, would beat people with her walking stick so they make way for her, so she can drink a glass of the Holy water, in front of all the ill people there. She is also accused of beating children on their bottoms with that walking stick to make them say their prayers better.

The writer doesn’t only threaten to kill the Queen with a crossbow, but now says that two bombing cars will also be used.

However, Queen Fabiola has a chance for redemption. If, among other things, she distributes a sum of 10,000 EUR among the public at the Défilé, if she asks for forgiveness on her knees in front of everyone, and if she pays 5 million EUR to Unicef, she might live.

As a reaction the security services have decided to bring Queen Fabiola to the 21 July defilé in a closed car. There will also be over 100 extra police officers, many of them incognito, walking through the crowds during the festivities.

See here for an article by La Dernière Heure.
See herefor a thread about Queen Fabiola.
See here for the previous blog entry.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Queen Fabiola

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

Click on the image to see the photo at Flickr

 Today it was announced that, last Tuesday, the Belgian newspaper “La Dernière Heure” has received a letter in which Queen Fabiola of Belgium, widow of the late King Boudouin I, is threatened with assasination by crossbow during the Défilé on the next Belgian National Holiday, 21 July. The letter was written in French, but with many spelling mistakes. It is not very coherent or in touch with reality. It accuses the Queen of having had an affair with the Yugoslavian dictator Tito, and says the Queen costs Flanders 30,000 EUR per week, “only to listen to religious music, go to Lourdes and buy herself a place in heaven” (own translation).

The writer says she will be killed with a crossbow on July 21, and the action is claimed by an unknown group. The letter was written on an old typewriter and the enveloppe had a stamp of 5 centimes, which originates from the 1930’s and contains the image of King Albert I.

The Belgian Minister of Internal Affairs, Guido De Padt, says that, even though the letter is considered to be written by a nutcase (not exactly his words, I’d like to add), the threat is considered serious and the police are investigating the case. The Minister also indicated that the terrible events in Apeldoorn (The Netherlands) of a few weeks ago were probably an inspiration for the writer, and because of that vigilance concerning the Belgian Natinal Holiday is increased.

Queen Fabiola last November - Belga

The Palace has not released any statements concerning this new course of events. Queen Fabiola, who suffered from a long-lasting pneumonia in the beginning of this year, only recently undertook her first event since her illness, when she attended a concert of the Queen Elisabeth Contest.

To find more information about Queen Fabiola, see this thread and this article.
There are also articles about this incident in French and Dutch.

LadyLeana Belgian Royals Queen Fabiola