Belgian Abdication & Installation: Changes in Titles, Dotation and the Court

[NGalitzine]

Are they not changing the law in Belgium so that when the new king signs laws, official docs etc he must now sign both as Philippe and as Filip to keep the Flemish factions happy. Not sure if he will also need to sign with a German version of his name or even what the German version of Philip is, but the German Belgians do not seem to be a sensitive a lot as the Flemish are about everything.
I wonder will Prime Ministers now also have to have French/Flemish/German versions of their names to keep everyone happy?

[cdm]

I wasn't referring to the Filip/Philippe, that is settled in the meantime.
I meant that as monarch, I think he has to drop the 'van België' - 'de Belgique'.

[Marchesina]

Originally Posted by cdm

I wasn't referring to the Filip/Philippe, that is settled in the meantime.
I meant that as monarch, I think he has to drop the 'van België' - 'de Belgique'.

as any royals he technically doesn't have a surname. the family name should be Saxe Corbug and Gotha from the ancient Wettin branch, but they dropped it after WWI and the German invasion of Belgium (it definitely sounded too germanic).
That said, yes he will be know from now on as Philippe, King of the Belgians and so his wife will be Mathilde, Queen of the Belgians. that's because in belgium a king receive his "power" from the people of belgium and doesn't have any own right to be the king of belgium.
king albert, queen paola and queen fabiola are now known as King/Queen of Belgium. they kept the title as an honor but the change emphasize the fact that they're not sovereigns anymore.

[Ish]

Originally Posted by Marchesina

as any royals he technically doesn't have a surname. the family name should be Saxe Corbug and Gotha from the ancient Wettin branch, but they dropped it after WWI and the German invasion of Belgium (it definitely sounded too germanic).
That said, yes he will be know from now on as Philippe, King of the Belgians and so his wife will be Mathilde, Queen of the Belgians. that's because in belgium a king receive his "power" from the people of belgium and doesn't have any own right to be the king of belgium.
king albert, queen paola and queen fabiola are now known as King/Queen of Belgium. they kept the title as an honor but the change emphasize the fact that they're not sovereigns anymore.

Royals frequently use the place that they are "of" as a surname though. Philippe was "of Belgium" and is now "of the Belgians" so his signature in that regards is likely to change.

[cdm]

I think that I wasn't clear that I was only talking about the signature in a guestbook, not about the title or the family name.

I think that before 21st July 2013:
When King Albert and Queen Paola visited somewhere and signed the guestbook, they signed Albert / Paola.
When Prince Philippe or Princess Mathilde (or the other Princes(ses)) visited somewhere and signed the guestbook, they signed Philippe de Belgique/Mathilde de Belgique

So when I saw Philippe sign with Filip van België in a guestbook in the Parc, sunday and after taking the oath, I thought he just wasn't used to signing as a King yet.

[MAfan]

Well, I suppose that it's just a matter of old habits which die hard...

[Marengo]

Some changes in the court: baron Frans Van Daele succeeds baron Jacques van Ypersele de Strihou as chef of the cabinet of the king. Not a moment too soon IMHO. Van Daele used to work for Herman van Rompuy btw. Leutenant General Noël De Bruyne will become the new intendent of the civil list. Other changes: Pierre Cartuyvels will be deputy chef of the cabinet and diplomatic advisor, leutenant colonel Alain Gerardy will be deputy chef of protocol, Hubert Roisin will be advisor of the king. Machteld Fostier (previously advisor of princess Mathilde) will become the new queen's secretary. Pierre-Emmanuel De Bauw will become director media and communications and his assistant director will be Rafike Yilmaz. Philippe Kridelka will be the new secretary general of the house of the king and Geneviève Renaux will be economic advisor.

The house of the dukes of Brabant will be cancelled and only reinstated when princess Elisabeth will be older. A new house is created for king Albert and queen Paola, where many of their older employees will work.


Baron Frans Van Daele wordt kabinetschef van koning Filip - Gva.be

[Marchesina]

Originally Posted by cdm

I think that I wasn't clear that I was only talking about the signature in a guestbook, not about the title or the family name.

I think that before 21st July 2013:
When King Albert and Queen Paola visited somewhere and signed the guestbook, they signed Albert / Paola.
When Prince Philippe or Princess Mathilde (or the other Princes(ses)) visited somewhere and signed the guestbook, they signed Philippe de Belgique/Mathilde de Belgique

So when I saw Philippe sign with Filip van België in a guestbook in the Parc, sunday and after taking the oath, I thought he just wasn't used to signing as a King yet.

I think it's just that he needs some time to get used to it. after all on Sunday afternoon he was king just from a few hours

[Esmerelda]

So what name do the kids use at school? 'de Belgique'/'van Belgie'?

[cdm]

I know a teacher at their school and there family name is indeed 'van België' (they go to a Dutch speaking school)

[Marengo]

Didn't Elisabeth need some extra lessons in French at school? Very wise that the king and queen made sure that their children are perfectly bilingual.