King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and Family, General News 3, Dec 2023 -


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Arms of King Philippe​

Welcome to the King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and Family, General News, Part 3
CommencingDecember 12th,2023 ​

The previous thread can be found here
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King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and Prince Emmanuel went to see the musical "Les Misérables" in Antwerp yesterday, December 15:


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** Pic 4 **
 
If Nicholas Delvaulx's documentary on Queen Paola was amazing, he has scored yet another hit with his documentary about King Philippe. It was absolutely wonderful!

It opens with the family gathered at Château Belvédère, Princess Louise is playing the piano rather well, proud parents, grandparents and Uncle-King pay attention most lovingly. Then it's the King's turn, Louise plays well but the King is amazing. He even plays Satie's Gnossienne #1 like a total pro, King Albert is very proud.

Then Delvaulx covers the visit to DR Congo. The King's apologies will forever be remembered, it was also very moving to listen to Queen Mathilde talk to victims of sexual violence. Another emotional moment was their visit to Wallonia, following the horrible floods of 21'.


Fortunately we then get some comic relief with behind the scenes footage of the already iconic promotional video for the Red Devils. The King is funny, and he can actually shoot a free-kick.

The first hour and 20 minutes were pretty much devoted to show the King at work, the last 20 minutes were devoted to his children. I found it interesting when, at a Hans Zimmer concert, a lady asked Princess Eléonore where she studies, and the King immediately remarked that she studies in Dutch. While on his trip to French Guiana, he also made it clear that Prince Gabriël must study in the morning if he wants to accompany the King on his afternoon activities. Loving, but firm parenting.

I appreciate that all four children were featured in equal measure, there was no special emphasis on Princess Elisabeth.

The documentary ends with beautiful footage of Queen Paola kissing and carrying her new-born son.

Beautiful, beautiful documentary.
 
Adda said:
If Nicholas Delvaulx's documentary on Queen Paola was amazing, he has scored yet another hit with his documentary about King Philippe. It was absolutely wonderful!

It opens with the family gathered at Château Belvédère, Princess Louise is playing the piano rather well, proud parents, grandparents and Uncle-King pay attention most lovingly. Then it's the King's turn, Louise plays well but the King is amazing. He even plays Satie's Gnossienne #1 like a total pro, King Albert is very proud.

Then Delvaulx covers the visit to DR Congo. The King's apologies will forever be remembered, it was also very moving to listen to Queen Mathilde talk to victims of sexual violence. Another emotional moment was their visit to Wallonia, following the horrible floods of 21'.


Fortunately we then get some comic relief with behind the scenes footage of the already iconic promotional video for the Red Devils. The King is funny, and he can actually shoot a free-kick.

The first hour and 20 minutes were pretty much devoted to show the King at work, the last 20 minutes were devoted to his children. I found it interesting when, at a Hans Zimmer concert, a lady asked Princess Eléonore where she studies, and the King immediately remarked that she studies in Dutch. While on his trip to French Guiana, he also made it clear that Prince Gabriël must study in the morning if he wants to accompany the King on his afternoon activities. Loving, but firm parenting.

I appreciate that all four children were featured in equal measure, there was no special emphasis on Princess Elisabeth.

The documentary ends with beautiful footage of Queen Paola kissing and carrying her new-born son.

Beautiful, beautiful documentary.
Click to expand...

I agree, it was a very good documentary.

I liked the very first scene, with the family gathering at Belvédère (it was for a private airing of Paola's documentary, and Delvaulx was present as well). King Philippe really plays the piano very well, and his niece Louise is also good at it. King Albert got emotional thinking about his grandmother Queen Elisabeth and how happy she would be to hear her descendants being good musicians. It's in that moment that Delvaulx decided to make a new documentary about Philippe.

There are several interesting and significant moments from the King's activities and travels, the official visit to Congo in June 2022 being certainly one of the highlights, along with the King's meeting with President Zelensky and, on a lighter note, the famous video with the Red Devils just before the World Cup. I've also liked Philippe'a reflections throughout the documentary about his role, his struggles with it, and how he really felt at peace with his destiny only when he became King. He comes across as a deep and authenthic person.
The four children of the royal couple are indeed equally present in the documentary, with no special focus on Elisabeth. Philippe and Gabriel's trip to French Guiana must have beeen a very special moment for both of them.

The end, with never-before-seen footage of a very cute baby Philippe with his mother, was really extremely beautiful to see! Paola was so young, and I think that both Philippe's daughters somehow resemble their grandmother (at least in these images)
 
Personally speaking, I like that this documentary showed the most "human" side of Philippe, not just his role as king but his likes (music, space, football, etc) and how much he loves his children, how devoted he is to them, he probably can't dedicate them as much time as he would have wanted but he makes the time he gives them count, it's specially nice that he tries to spend time with each of them individually according to their own interests, instead of just dragging them to whatever activity he's doing.

He also comes across as a very competent person, he will never be the kind of man who raises his voice but he gets things done and Mathilde + his children have given him the kind of stability he always wanted, that's why his relationship with his parents seems to be far better now, I like that neither him nor Laurent have ever discouraged Albert and Paola away from their own kids, in fact they (and their wives) seem to put a lot of work for all the kids to spend time together and have a good relationship with their grandparents and as a family.

I remember he played the Moonlight Sonata during the National Day this year and people went NUTS (in a good way) :lol:, it's cool to see that he's so artistic (because he also paints really well), also that he has such deep empathy, he's incredibly timid (and I think he's always struggled with that) and might come across as aloof because of it but he's so kind and thoughtful with people one on one, I like that this documentary allowed to see so much of him as a man and he seems to be an exemplary one, against all odds during his upbringing, I think he's even better than Baudouin, because he's more tolerant and open than his uncle was (probably a generational thing as well).

The Belgians are very lucky to have him as king tbh :flowers:
 
I like that neither him nor Laurent have ever discouraged Albert and Paola away from their own kids, in fact they (and their wives) seem to put a lot of work for all the kids to spend time together and have a good relationship with their grandparents and as a family
Click to expand...
I apologize as I've already said similar things in previous posts, but I really don't think it's just thanks to Philippe/Laurent, or their wives, if the family relationships have improved.
It's Princess Claire herself who said, in the documentary about Paola, how it's mainly her mother-in-law who tries to reunite the family and all her grandchildren as often as she can, pointing out how her children are close to their grandparents (and it shows) and are always happy when they see their cousins.
For the rest, I agree with you, the documentary was very well-made (Philippe must have liked the documentary about his mother by Delvaulx) and showed a human side of King Philippe
 
Linda_26 said:
I apologize as I've already said similar things in previous posts, but I really don't think it's just thanks to Philippe/Laurent, or their wives, if the family relationships have improved.
It's Princess Claire herself who said, in the documentary about Paola, how it's mainly her mother-in-law who tries to reunite the family and all her grandchildren as often as she can, pointing out how her children are close to their grandparents (and it shows) and are always happy when they see their cousins.
For the rest, I agree with you, the documentary was very well-made (Philippe must have liked the documentary about his mother by Delvaulx) and showed a human side of King Philippe
Click to expand...

Paola might have tried very hard but if either of her sons refused, she wouldn't have been able to be as close to her grandchildren as she is now, I think neither one wanted their kids to have the same experiences they did, so they allowed the kids to be close to their grandparents and to each other.

Also, both men are now older, have their own kids and have healed a lot, marrying the excellent women they did helped them tremendously in that regard (although Laurent is always going to be an immature clown when he feels he isn't getting enough attention :lol: )

I do give her credit for "calling" the gatherings, a true Italian grandma:lol:

I will never forget Gabriel's embarrassed expression when Paola called Albert on the phone when the prince was receiving his blue beret at the Military Academy, his face was like "NONNA, PLS!" ?
 
Last edited:
iceflower said:
King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and Prince Emmanuel went to see the musical "Les Misérables" in Antwerp yesterday, December 15:
Click to expand...

Really lovely to see Prince Emmanuel accompany his parents to the Musical.
 
Paola might have tried very hard but if either of her sons refused, she wouldn't have been able to be as close to her grandchildren as she is now, I think neither one wanted their kids to have the same experiences they did, so they allowed the kids to be close to their grandparents and to each other.

Also, both men are now older, have their own kids and have healed a lot, marrying the excellent women they did helped them tremendously in that regard (although Laurent is always going to be an immature clown when he feels he isn't getting enough attention :lol: )
Click to expand...

I just wanted to emphasize what a family member (Princess Claire) had said about the matter, then everyone will have their own opinion.
In any case, considering that Albert and Paola have always been close to Astrid's kids (Paola was also present at the births of Astrid's three eldest, at least, and she's Amedeo's godmother), it's a good thing it's extended to their sons' families (even though I get the impression they're a bit closer to Laurent's kids, probably because of the excellent relationship between Paola and Claire).
In the first scene of the documentary, it was evident how proud Albert was of both his son and granddaughter

I will never forget Gabriel's embarrassed expression when Paola called Albert on the phone when the prince was receiving his blue beret at the Military Academy, his face was like "NONNA, PLS!" ?
Click to expand...

Lol, I also remember Wim Dehandschutter's tweet about it. It was hilarious, especially with Albert answering the call on speaker and Paola calling him "Tino" (from "Albertino"). Philippe and Gabriel were trying very hard not to laugh :lol:
 
leidi said:
Personally speaking, I like that this documentary showed the most "human" side of Philippe, not just his role as king but his likes (music, space, football, etc) and how much he loves his children, how devoted he is to them, he probably can't dedicate them as much time as he would have wanted but he makes the time he gives them count, it's specially nice that he tries to spend time with each of them individually according to their own interests, instead of just dragging them to whatever activity he's doing.

He also comes across as a very competent person, he will never be the kind of man who raises his voice but he gets things done and Mathilde + his children have given him the kind of stability he always wanted, that's why his relationship with his parents seems to be far better now, I like that neither him nor Laurent have ever discouraged Albert and Paola away from their own kids, in fact they (and their wives) seem to put a lot of work for all the kids to spend time together and have a good relationship with their grandparents and as a family.

I remember he played the Moonlight Sonata during the National Day this year and people went NUTS (in a good way) :lol:, it's cool to see that he's so artistic (because he also paints really well), also that he has such deep empathy, he's incredibly timid (and I think he's always struggled with that) and might come across as aloof because of it but he's so kind and thoughtful with people one on one, I like that this documentary allowed to see so much of him as a man and he seems to be an exemplary one, against all odds during his upbringing, I think he's even better than Baudouin, because he's more tolerant and open than his uncle was (probably a generational thing as well).

The Belgians are very lucky to have him as king tbh :flowers:
Click to expand...

Satie's "Gymnopedie#1" and Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" are two of my favorite pieces of classical music. Both are on my Spotify Playlist.

King Philippe is a true artist, besides being an inspirational king and an ideal husband and father. His uncle Baudouin would be beside himself with pride.

How I would love to see this documentary!?
 
How I would love to see this documentary!
Click to expand...

The full documentary is available on the RTBF Auvio website, it's reserved for those who live in Belgium, but through a VPN you can watch it (at least, for me it works).

A part of the first scene ("the piano scene" at Belvédère during the family gathering) can be seen at this link:

https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2023/1...fereel-over-de-kroon-ontbloten-tot-de-eenzaa/

It's the first video, you can see King Philippe playing, while his parents, brother, sister-in-law and niece Louise (who had played herself in the previous part) listen. King Albert places a picture of his grandmother Queen Elisabeth (who "would have been so happy") on the piano so that she can listen to Philippe as well
 
Linda_26 said:
I just wanted to emphasize what a family member (Princess Claire) had said about the matter, then everyone will have their own opinion.
In any case, considering that Albert and Paola have always been close to Astrid's kids (Paola was also present at the births of Astrid's three eldest, at least, and she's Amedeo's godmother), it's a good thing it's extended to their sons' families (even though I get the impression they're a bit closer to Laurent's kids, probably because of the excellent relationship between Paola and Claire).
In the first scene of the documentary, it was evident how proud Albert was of both his son and granddaughter



Lol, I also remember Wim Dehandschutter's tweet about it. It was hilarious, especially with Albert answering the call on speaker and Paola calling him "Tino" (from "Albertino"). Philippe and Gabriel were trying very hard not to laugh :lol:
Click to expand...

LMAO classic older generation stuff, they keep the phone at max volume/brightness and ALWAYS answer on speaker :lol:
 
I have to say I am quite impressed by the documentary. While it is a pity a few moments have been barely touched while they seems a bit more prominent in the promo (the meeting with King Charles among others), it did a great job portraying a more personal side of the king.
While Philippe may appear a bit clumsy sometimes on the surface, he definitely isn't and the documentary captured his knowledge about things, his sensibility and the attention he gived to every person he meets.

All in all, a great PR operation (PR doesn't always have a negative connotation) which seems a constant during his reign. Kudos to Philippe and whoever is in charge of the Comms team at Court.
 
As in previous years, the family has spent the holidays walking a section of the Way of St James. They have already arrived in Galicia.

www.elprogreso.es

La familia real belga, con Sarria como campamento base, no falta a su cita con el Camino

En los últimos días recorrieron los municipios de Pedrafita, Triacastela, Samos y Sarria ► Se hospedaron, junto a sus hijos y un grupo de amigos, en el hotel Alfonso IX
www.elprogreso.es www.elprogreso.es

www.lavozdegalicia.es

La familia real de Bélgica realiza el Camino de Santiago en Galicia

Unas quince personas se hospedan en Sarria asistidas por un equipo de seguridad
www.lavozdegalicia.es
 
Adda said:
If Nicholas Delvaulx's documentary on Queen Paola was amazing, he has scored yet another hit with his documentary about King Philippe. It was absolutely wonderful!

It opens with the family gathered at Château Belvédère, Princess Louise is playing the piano rather well, proud parents, grandparents and Uncle-King pay attention most lovingly. Then it's the King's turn, Louise plays well but the King is amazing. He even plays Satie's Gnossienne #1 like a total pro, King Albert is very proud.

Then Delvaulx covers the visit to DR Congo. The King's apologies will forever be remembered, it was also very moving to listen to Queen Mathilde talk to victims of sexual violence. Another emotional moment was their visit to Wallonia, following the horrible floods of 21'.


Fortunately we then get some comic relief with behind the scenes footage of the already iconic promotional video for the Red Devils. The King is funny, and he can actually shoot a free-kick.

The first hour and 20 minutes were pretty much devoted to show the King at work, the last 20 minutes were devoted to his children. I found it interesting when, at a Hans Zimmer concert, a lady asked Princess Eléonore where she studies, and the King immediately remarked that she studies in Dutch. While on his trip to French Guiana, he also made it clear that Prince Gabriël must study in the morning if he wants to accompany the King on his afternoon activities. Loving, but firm parenting.

I appreciate that all four children were featured in equal measure, there was no special emphasis on Princess Elisabeth.

The documentary ends with beautiful footage of Queen Paola kissing and carrying her new-born son.

Beautiful, beautiful documentary.
Click to expand...
Does anyone have a link to this documentary? It sounds wonderful. I’ve searched online and can’t seem to find it.
 
What a wonderful family tradition to see the family again this year in Spain for the Easter Holidays.
 
They are getting closer. Should be able to finish next year?!

It's interesting that unlike other pilgrims, they do not stay along the route at different spots but are apparently staying at a central location and transferred to and from their starting and end point each day. I assume that makes things easier in terms of security.
 
Somebody said:
They are getting closer. Should be able to finish next year?!

It's interesting that unlike other pilgrims, they do not stay along the route at different spots but are apparently staying at a central location and transferred to and from their starting and end point each day. I assume that makes things easier in terms of security.
Click to expand...
Can you imagine being on the Way of St James seeing the BRF!
 
Prince Gabriël and the other cadets from the RMA present at the Royal Palace during the opening of the European Summit.

The King looks so proud!!!
The post on IG is shorter but the IG story shows more of the Prince.

Story still available for some 21 hours: Login • Instagram

www.instagram.com

Belgian Royal Palace on Instagram: "🇧🇪🇪🇺 De Koning ontvangt de leden van de Europese Raad, de staatshoofden en regeringsleiders van de EU-landen, in het Koninklijk Paleis voor een receptie. Hij ontvangt hen in het kader van het Belgische voorzittersc

665 likes, 12 comments - belgianroyalpalaceApril 17, 2024 on : "🇧🇪🇪🇺 De Koning ontvangt de leden van de Europese Raad, de staatshoofden en regeringsleiders van de EU-landen, in het Koninkli...".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
His Majesty and Prince Emmanuel visited the Red Devils today in Tubize.
www.instagram.com

Belgian Royal Palace on Instagram: "🤩 Les @belgianreddevils partiront bientôt en Allemagne pour défendre les couleurs de la Belgique à l’@euro2024 ! ⚽ A cette occasion, le Roi et le Prince Emmanuel visitent le centre national de Tubize avec le capita

3,367 likes, 36 comments - belgianroyalpalace on June 4, 2024: "🤩 Les @belgianreddevils partiront bientôt en Allemagne pour défendre les couleurs de la Belgique à l’@euro2024 ! ⚽ A cette occasion, le Roi et le Prince Emmanuel visitent le centre national de Tubize avec le capitaine @kevindebruyne...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
Queen Mathilde has shared three of her favourite novels with the Queen's Reading Room, including 600-page bestseller, The Burgundians by Bart Van Loo, which is themed around ambitious aristocrats, family dysfunction, treachery, savage battles, luxury and madness.

The Queen has also chosen Celebration of the Everyday by Colette Nys-Mazure and Those Who Forget by Géraldine Schwarz.

The Queen's Reading Room on Instagram: "We are delighted to share three deeply meaningful book recommendations from Her Majesty The Queen of the Belgians. From riveting historical tales to reflections on the beauty of daily life, each selection invit

6,658 likes, 89 comments - thequeensreadingroom on November 4, 2024: "We are delighted to share three deeply meaningful book recommendations from Her Majesty The Queen of the Belgians. From riveting historical tales to reflections on the beauty of daily life, each selection invites readers into...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
No news about any festivities/celebrations?
 
Their Majesties will visit the Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan Military Academy -where Prince Gabriël is studying- on December 9.

No date for the traditional Christmas concert as of yet.

How cute they are, 25 years on!
https://twitter.com/x/status/1864150635303641215
 
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