State Visit from China: March 30 - April 1st, 2014

[iceflower]

.

.

King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and their guests made a visit to car manufacturer Volvo Cars in Gent today, April 1st.



** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** Pic 4 ** Pic 5 ** belga gallery ** apa/picturedesk **


** lesoir.be gallery: Visite du président chinois à l'Usine Volvo de Gand **



And they visited Bruges:



** belga gallery ** gettyimages ** facetoface **


** lesoir.be gallery: Visite du président chinois à Bruges **


** standaard.be: ‘Ik nodig jullie allemaal uit naar mijn land’ ** translation **

[marine2109]

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde enjoy visit to panda zoo with Chinese president and wife

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde visit panda zoo with Chinese president and wife - hellomagazine.com

[izabela84]

Does anyone have a photo of princess Astrid during a banquet?

[maria-olivia]

Yes Princess astrid and Prince Lorenz attended. i saw pictures of them during the Dinner.
Princess Astrid wore the Aoste tiara.

[stephanievl]

Originally Posted by izabela84

Does anyone have a photo of princess Astrid during a banquet?

https://www.facebook.com/PlaceRoyale...levant_count=1

[wartenberg7]

No short clips from the banquet, nothing about the defilée?!

[Marchesina]

deredactie.be
here's a short video with bits of the speech and some after dinner footage in the greenhouse

[maria-olivia]

Princess Astrid wore the Belgian Sash for the first time, but should wear a brooch to attach it such as the Queen Mathilde.

[Tilia C.]

I think that Princess Astrid wore the Belgian sash already in 2004 at the wedding of CP Frederik & Mary. And again in the same year at the State Visit from Poland. For the following State Visits she wore orders from the visiting states. But strangely, she didn't wear any order sash for the weddings in Monaco and Luxembourg. (Although she has worn a Luxembourg order the State Visit in 2007.)

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by Tilia C.

I think that Princess Astrid wore the Belgian sash already in 2004 at the wedding of CP Frederik & Mary. And again in the same year at the State Visit from Poland. For the following State Visits she wore orders from the visiting states. But strangely, she didn't wear any order sash for the weddings in Monaco and Luxembourg. (Although she has worn a Luxembourg order the State Visit in 2007.)

But at the Luxembourg and Monaco Wedding Galas most woman did not wear and orders sash. Only the men.

[*Mara*]

When looking at these pictures I just realized how much I missed state visits in Belgium. I'm glad the glitter is back.
Laeken Castle is such an elegant location for gala banquets and I loved how they used the open window as background for their group picture - like a breath of fresh air. The welcome ceremony with the royal horse escort is very impressive and then there was the farewell ceremony at the Burg in Bruges, one of Belgium's most magnificent places. And they even had pandas.


It was a successful first incoming state visit for Philippe and Mathilde. Well done and I hope to see much more of this in the coming years.

[Huddo74]

that Tiara really suits the Queen like that, and as with her laurel wreath one she makes them work for her but she would also look good in Fabiola's unused one!..so hand it over Fabiola lol!...and Mathilde looks stunning in blue!...

[Moonmaiden23]

I have to say it. I am shocked and very pleasantly surprised at the apparent seamless transition from CP couple to King and Queen of the Belgians made by Philippe and Mathilde. All the mockery in the press and public of Philippe over the years over his awkwardness and his lack of preparation for his role had me (and many others) convinced that the end of King Albert's reign would immediately usher in the Belgian Republic. Wrong!

During their brief time in the spotlight as reigning monarchs, this couple has been pitch perfect. They have been able to strike a perfect balance between 21st century modern, accessible Royalty and old school traditional mystique. Mathilde in particular has been simply superb in every way.

I liked and admired Baudouin and Fabiola, they are one of my favorite Royal couples of all time. But I have to admit that their reign seemed to put an end to glamour in Belgium and it didn't really return with Albert and Paola. Philippe and Mathilde with their professionalism, elegance and their beautiful young family might be ever so slowly bringing it back. Bravo! The Belgians are very fortunate to have this couple, imo.

[Huddo74]

Originally Posted by Moonmaiden23

I have to say it. I am shocked and very pleasantly surprised at the apparent seamless transition from CP couple to King and Queen of the Belgians made by Philippe and Mathilde. All the mockery in the press and public of Philippe over the years over his awkwardness and his lack of preparation for his role had me (and many others) convinced that the end of King Albert's reign would immediately usher in the Belgian Republic. Wrong!

During their brief time in the spotlight as reigning monarchs, this couple has been pitch perfect. They have been able to strike a perfect balance between 21st century modern, accessible Royalty and old school traditional mystique. Mathilde in particular has been simply superb in every way.

I liked and admired Baudouin and Fabiola, they are one of my favorite Royal couples of all time. But I have to admit that their reign seemed to put an end to glamour in Belgium and it didn't really return with Albert and Paola. Philippe and Mathilde with their professionalism, elegance and their beautiful young family might be ever so slowly bringing it back. Bravo! The Belgians are very fortunate to have this couple, imo.

Totally agree 100%

[wartenberg7]

I´m a royal watcher since my early childhood days; I don´t know for sure, but may be that´s the reason why a thought of a collapse of the belgian monarchy under a King Philippe never crossed my mind?!
In my experience people are often very quick at stating "Oh, when this and that happens, country X will become a republic!"
I don´t know the reason for this "doom-predicting" (making oneself or an issue interesting?).
I came to the conclusion that a country won´t change its institutions that easy and that it takes a lot (and long process) to make a monarchy fall!
It´s understandable that republicans like to "downtalk" the monarchy and state, it´s close to the end. But wishful thinking and reality are two very different matters!

[maria-olivia]

Moonmaiden BRAVO !

[Al_bina]

Originally Posted by stephanievl

https://www.facebook.com/PlaceRoyale...levant_count=1

Thanks for the photo!
It is nice to see Princess Astrid attending the gala. It appears to me she is going to be the family member King Philippe can rely on for engagements.

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by Al_bina

Thanks for the photo!
It is nice to see Princess Astrid attending the gala. It appears to me she is going to be the family member King Philippe can rely on for engagements.

Yes it was nice to see the King's sister there at the first State Visit in many moons!