Royal Family of Belgium - Current Events Part 8 (July 2013 - Dec 2018)


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I've always thought that Princess-Archduchess Astrid enjoyed agood relationship with the King and Queen?
 
For a majority of belgians the King is Mathilde !

That's what I understood reading comments, but this is frankly ridiculous and unfair. Yes, Mathilde made Philippe the man he is now. But they definitely work as a team, together also with their children. Something Albert and Paola never did, for instance....
 
Why is Astrid unhappy? She always seems to have gotten on well with Philip and been something of the mediator in terms of being on good terms with both brothers and her parents, I don't follow the BRF that much so maybe I've been wrong.

Reports said it was because King Philippe reduced her public engagements. It was also noticed that when Princess Astrid or Prince Laurent do carry out duties, it is ofttimes not shown in the palace's agenda or social media.
 
Very disappointed with Princess Astrid's behavior at the concert.

And well done to Prince Lorenz. He always behaves like a gentleman and a true Royal in public AFAIK.

I am very happy that Philippe and Mathilde have a united and loving family, can't wait for their children to start their royal engagements.
 
That's what I understood reading comments, but this is frankly ridiculous and unfair. Yes, Mathilde made Philippe the man he is now. But they definitely work as a team, together also with their children. Something Albert and Paola never did, for instance....

Well, the Belgians were used to a super lazy Queen like Paola, so to get someone that works as much as Mathilde would have been a shock :cool:
 
Reports said it was because King Philippe reduced her public engagements. It was also noticed that when Princess Astrid or Prince Laurent do carry out duties, it is ofttimes not shown in the palace's agenda or social media.

Jeez, these Belgian royals do seem to wear their hears on their sleeves don't they.

I can see Astrid's upset if that is true but this is really not the way to go about changing it. I do feel for her if her duties aren't being reported but surely there are other ways to go about changing that. The BRF have always seemed poor on the communication front so I really don't think its necessarily a deliberate decision by Philippe.
 
Reports said it was because King Philippe reduced her public engagements. It was also noticed that when Princess Astrid or Prince Laurent do carry out duties, it is ofttimes not shown in the palace's agenda or social media.

I too was wondering why there was such a glum look on Astrid's face, as I was another who thought that her relationship with Philippe and Mathilde had always been good... clearly it appears to have been broken now. As tommy100 has pointed out, the reduction in Astrid's engagements might not be due to personal reasons, but more so official reasons, or simply poor communication (when it comes to her engagements not being mentioned on the website and the RF's social media). I think it's rather, if I can be honest, immature of Astrid to be so hard on Philippe and his family because of this, if this is the real reason for their currently rocky relationship. Astrid knew she would be photographed during the event so the least she could have done was to pretend to be civil/smile at the camera; it sets off the wrong message to members of the Belgian public who look up to the RF.
 
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It shows the lacks of dedication and professionalism of Paola, Astrid etc.

While these differences have been existing for years, Philippe and Mathilde have never declined an invitation or made such a sorry state of themselves.
This. :previous:

Philippe has been treated like a doormat by his parents and their staff. Many insiders have publically talked about that. And Philippe for sure could have scored much needed sympathy by talking about this difficult situation a bit. He never did that. He swallowed the humiliation and carried on. A recent example: Albert didn’t even find it necessary to give any details on the abdication to his son. He only told him he intended to abdicate. It was the Prime Minister who initiated Philippe to the proceedings a mere three weeks before the abdication was announced. Every time Philippe or his staff asked to get more information they got the answer that this is none of their business. This is the treatment he got a month before starting his new job. Gives you a hint of how he was treated the decades before. Astrid on the other hand was her parent’s golden child with many benefits and much support. Her parent’s blunt favouritism for sure isn’t her fault but it gave her a wrong idea of her position. Now she is back to being a not so important nr. 5 in line of the throne and reality hit her hard it seems. No excuse for behaving like a sullen toddler though.
 
Reports said it was because King Philippe reduced her public engagements. It was also noticed that when Princess Astrid or Prince Laurent do carry out duties, it is ofttimes not shown in the palace's agenda or social media.
And a year ago there were reports that she complained about too much work since the economic missions are so exhausting. So what is it?

The problem is that many members of the RF have an inflated sense of entitlement and aren’t afraid to show it in public. Albert and Paola who are sulking because they didn’t get as much pension as Beatrix and GD Jean. Claire who isn’t showing up anymore because she wants her own dotation (completely unrealistic). Astrid who didn’t realize she isn’t the crown princess and Laurent who has all kind of problems all of the time. A bunch of frustrated people who at the same time all get a lavish salary, houses for free and many other benefits. So unattractive. And btw someone should inform them that the biggest party in Belgium is led by staunch republicans who are rubbing their hands now.
 
And a year ago there were reports that she complained about too much work since the economic missions are so exhausting. So what is it?

The problem is that many members of the RF have an inflated sense of entitlement and aren’t afraid to show it in public. Albert and Paola who are sulking because they didn’t get as much pension as Beatrix and GD Jean. Claire who isn’t showing up anymore because she wants her own dotation (completely unrealistic). Astrid who didn’t realize she isn’t the crown princess and Laurent who has all kind of problems all of the time. A bunch of frustrated people who at the same time all get a lavish salary, houses for free and many other benefits. So unattractive. And btw someone should inform them that the biggest party in Belgium is led by staunch republicans who are rubbing their hands now.


:clap::clap::clap:

100% truth.

What a bunch of ingrate, selfish, stupid bunch are the adults of the BRF, P&M are doing what they can but the rest just boycott everything and make them look bad.
 
Blog sur la famille royale belge compiled a tally of official activities of the Royal Family in 2016. It counts events missed on the website, I believe.

Blog sur la famille royale belge: Quel membre de la famille royale a été le plus actif en 2016?

The King: 226 official activities + 149 audiences
209 + 67 in 2013, 164 + 193 in 2014, 189 + 162 in 2015

The Queen: 246 official activities
166 in 2011, 196 in 2012, 190 in 2013, 154 in 2014, 212 in 2015

Princess Astrid: 128 official activities
90 in 2011, 63 in 2012, 133 in 2013, 156 in 2014, 119 in 2015

Prince Laurent: 87 official activities
30 in 2009, 40 in 2010, 31 in 2011, 35 in 2012, 61 in 2013, 59 in 2014, 72 in 2015

Prince Lorenz: 33 official activities
23 in 2009, 18 in 2010, 30 in 2011, 28 in 2012, 26 in 2013, 23 in 2014, 21 in 2015

Princess Claire: 23 official activities
30 in 2009, 41 in 2010, 23 in 2011, 30 in 2012, 46 in 2013, 31 in 2014, 30 in 2015

Queen Paola: 12 official activities
70 in 2011, 67 in 2012, 59 in 2013, 26 in 2014, 19 in 2015

King Albert II: 11 official activities
50 in 2011, 54 in 2012, 58 in 2013, 17 in 2014, 17 in 2015

Princess Elisabeth: 9 official activities
 
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King Philippe held his annual speech at the New Year's reception for representatives of international institutions, government delegates, and business leaders at the Royal Palace today, January 31.

Queen Mathilde, Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz were present as well.



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** belga gallery ** gettyimages gallery **
 
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Good to see the princess next to her brother and not picking a seat on the other side of the room. Let's hope they have talked things over.
 
I am not sure !
Sitting next to the King was the Protocole but did they speak to-gether??
 
Who knows... at least they are seated next to each other.

The government-approved speech of the king focussed on various challenges in the world today and without naming the two countries by name referred to a policy of focussing mainly on themselves, which is very different from their own tradition of openness and generosity.

Koning Filip opvallend scherp voor Trump en brexit - HLN.be

According to the press, the remarks were 'remarkably sharp'.
 
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Speaking to the country's highest officials at a gathering at the royal palace in Brussels the Belgian monarch rounded on Brexit and the new US administration: "2016 is a year that we will remember as the year in which two great friends decided to focus their policies chiefly upon themselves.... They seem to wish to turn the course of history - and this conflicts with their own traditions of openness and generosity, of joining our common dream and commitment."


The king also pointed to a crisis of confidence across the western world and the importance of new technologies. Still the king also issued a warning with regard to the digital revolution saying that a false feeling of impotence can be a source of frustration for many. The king said that the digital revolution was contributing to a growing gap between the individual and government.

King Filip unleashes unprecedented attack on US and UK
 

How nice of the King of Belgium to lecture us Brits on what our motivations were for voting as we did! I personally have been struggling since the 23rd of June to figure out what prompted me to put the X beside the leave option. According to him it's because I am backwards, selfish and closed-off.

Although, the idea that a monarch of such a state as Belgium - perpetually on the cusp of complete collapse - feels he can teach other countries lessons in this sphere is really quite hilarious.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that there's not going to be any state visits between the UK and Belgium any time soon. If ever again.
 
As the article states - and as you can deduct from the event- the king is speaking to high officials from his own country. So he is not lecturing anybody from Britain or elsewhere. He is merely reflecting on the last year & looks ahead, which is what one does at a new year reception.

The king's words were rather diplomatic, unlike the ones chosen by others abroad.

Of course there will be no state visits between any EU-member country and the UK in the next years. There would be no point to such visits.
 
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Sorry, not convinced. The description of the article says it all - the King launched an unprecedented attack on the UK. It was the sort of attack that a constitutional monarch should not make, whatever the audience. He knew this would be picked up by the press and reported elsewhere, that clearly was the point of holding such a public speech. Queen Elizabeth II would never, in a million years, stoop to that level.

But at least the mouthpiece of the Iranian regime seems to approve!

PressTV-US, UK threaten 'course of history': Belgian king

The UK has apparently deemed a state visit with Belgium irrelevant while we were in the EU so, yes, I suppose it is even less likely now.
 
I am sure his speech was approved or perhaps even written by the prime ministers office, which makes it constitutional. There will be few governments in the Western world that will disagree with the Belgian interpertation of these last 6 months.

In december the prince of Wales himself warned about rising populism, in clearer tones than the Belgian king did a few days ago.
 
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I am sure his speech was approved or perhaps even written by the prime ministers office, which makes it constitutional. There will be few governments in the Western world that will disagree with the Belgian interpertation of these last 6 months.

In december the prince of Wales himself warned about rising populism, in clearer tones than the Belgian king did a few days ago.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Everything Philippe says in official speeches, it's always approved first by the government (if not written by the prime minister altogether). Plus it's clear to me that Belgium as Nation (and the king as its Head of State) will always be against a dissolution of the EU, as it is a great source of income and political relevance for the nation. It doesn't surprise me at all.
 
Our Royal Family : No Astrid, No Lorenz, no Laurent, no Claire, but Esmeralda and Lea.
But luxembourg Royals .
 
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The annual mass for the deceased members of the family was held at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwkerk in Laeken today, February 17:

** ppe gallery ** fb gallery ** belga gallery ** gettyimages gallery **


** dailymail: Shades of grey: Queen Mathilde of Belgium looks anything but dull in a coordinating coat and hat at a commemorative mass in Brussels **

Princess Esmeralda's son Leopoldo Moncada attended the mass: Belga Image

Our Royal Family : No Astrid, No Lorenz, no Laurent, no Claire, but Esmeralda and Lea.
But luxembourg Royals .

http://www.facebook.com/BeMonarchie/posts/1811615819102050

I wonder why the minor royals (the half-siblings of King Albert II and the adult children of Princess Astrid) are never on the Belgian monarchy's social media or calendar when they attend public duties, notwithstanding that Princess Esmeralda was seated next to the King and Princess Léa next to her.
 
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Our Royal Family : No Astrid, No Lorenz, no Laurent, no Claire, but Esmeralda and Lea.
But luxembourg Royals .

Was just thinking the same Madame,very bad that there were so many senior Belgian royals missing from the Family Mass again this year!
 
I think that Princess Astrid was near her mother Queen Paola who was at the hospital because she broke her hip , It is very bad for a person of her age and she needs the support of her husband and her daughter
It is what I would have done if my mother would be at the hospital.
 
Always the same discussion with the Belgian royal family !! Missing members? They not invited. It is there? yes but it is not happy, they not wanted to be there!
 
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