Belgian Royals attend Mass in remembrance of the deceased family members

On 17 February, the Belgian Royal family gathered at the Church of Laeken to attend the annual Mass in honour of all deceased family members. Not only the King and Queen were present, but also Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz and Princess Claire. This year, the mass was held especially in commemoration of King Albert I, who died 75 years ago. They also visited the Royal Crypt of Laeken to pay their respects. Before and after the Mass, the Royal family took their time to greet the people who had come down to the Church to meet them.

The three Princesses had probably agreed amongst themselves what to wear: their clothes were all black or grey, and all three Princesses wore bandeaux in their hair. Discussions vary about which Princess’s hairdo was most successful (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3).

Between all this black and sober dress, the Queen certainly stood out in a soft burgundy coloured hat and coat. (photo 4)

Prince Laurent, on the other hand, was conspicuous by absence. The Court has – as yet – not released any statement to explain why he did not attend. Amusing note: on the official website of the Belgian Royal Family, the announcement of this event initially said that Prince Laurent would attend. On 17 February, the announcement was nowhere to be found (not in current events, not in the archive), and one day later, only Princess Claire was mentioned as attending the event.

Filed under Austria-Hungary, Belgium
Tagged Albert II of Belgium, House of Austria-Este, King Philippe of the Belgians, Mass, Prince Laurent of Belgium, Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Princess Astrid of Belgium, Princess Claire of Belgium, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, Queen Paola of Belgium, Royal Crypt.