Princess Astrid on Economic Missions: 2013 - 2025

[Halise]

She confessed it at the beginning of her brother's reign

 

[meeralakshmi]

Worrying news today:

"On the advice of her doctors, Princess Astrid wishes to resign from her role as head of the Belgian trade missions for health reasons, which no longer allow her to fully fulfill the requirements of this position, the palace announced. King Philippe has granted her request."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1999197383490502930

https://twitter.com/x/status/1999197106188190206

https://twitter.com/x/status/1999201295240933427

Hope her health will improve, I can see why the stress of this role would be hard on her She’s given her country her all for many years and deserves the rest she needs.

 

[Somebody]

IIRC she once mentioned she suffered from insomnia rather heavily and having difficulties at times during the day because of it. Travelling continents and a hectic scheduele may not be helpful.

Thanks, that would explain the situation (and it might get worse with age?) without it being of major concern.

 

[maria-olivia]

So often he looks tired. She did it during 12 years.
A Consort Queen taking her place will be more different.

 

[tommy100]

It is sad Astrid needs to step aside for health reasons. However, I don't think her ailments are those that will cause serious threat, just that they making undertaking quite grueling schedules in differenet time zones too difficult.
I am concerned though to hear from a few Belgian media that she "has a crippling fear of failure" - that really is sad.

 

[doro]

I wish Laurent attending too

 

[Halise]

So petty, this was published just a few months ago

A great interview by the VRT with princess Astrid, mostly focussed on the ecenomic missions. She comes across as easy-going, very friendly and down-to-earth.

"Ik had nooit gedacht dat ik economische missies zou overnemen, nooit, nooit, nooit": prinses Astrid openhartig in exclusief gesprek met VRT NWS | VRT NWS: nieuws

Nooit had ze gedacht dat ze ooit economische missies zou leiden: dat vertelde prinses Astrid in een exclusief gesprek met VRT NWS vlak voor ze eerder dit jaar op economische missie naar Californië vertrok. Intussen kondigde ze aan dat ze die missies niet langer kan leiden, om gezondheidsredenen...

www.vrt.be

She said she never expected to take over these trade missions, and emphasizes several times how in a way she started a new carreer at 51. She was asked by then PM Elio di Rupo. The request came as a surprise.

She said it was stressful, she felt like a debutante. She refers to an anecdote on her first trade mission, where she repeated it was 'my first time'. The Flemish minister had a good chuckle and later on she understood the double meaning as well, to general hilarity.

She is grateful for the understanding and patience the ministers of trade and the press had with her. She confesses she felt she had to prove herself. 'They saw me as a housewife. A nice lady, who laughs easily, but would she be able to do the job?'

Her next trade mission will be to California where she will meet governor Newsom and the mayors of Los Angeles and San Fransisco, all democrats. She says the main message will be that Belgium is ready to do business, no matter political developments. And that after a difficult period Belgium again belongs to the 'good' NATO allies [who pay enough].

An adviser told the interviewer: 'she is looking forward to it, and that doesn't happen often with these kind of conversations'. Later on the interviewer compliments the princess and wonders why she dislikes these interviews. also because the same reporter interviewed her at the wedding of Maria-Laura, which went very well and the princess was natural and spontanious. She laughed that that was a lot easier, 'this needs to be precise'. Earlier she confessed she doesn't like to talk about herself.

Eacht economic mission takes quite some preparation. For the last trip alone she had 17 meetings.

She tells about the first ten years of her marriage when she lived in Basel, Switzerland and had three children. She says she was fully focussed on her children and her husband in these years. Until 1993 when King Baudouin asked her to come back. Shortly afterwards he died and she took over a lot of causes of her parents, among other things the chairmanship of the Red Cross.

In those days she focussed especially on humanitarian and social causes: 'I simply like to be concrete'.

When she took over the missions her father gave some advice, as he headed them for 30 years as Prince de Liege/Luik. He told me that people are very sensitive that you recognise their names and faces. And the second advice was 'no stupidities'. Her parents are involved in her missions today: they call her beforehand to encourage and support. For the upcoming mission she made a booklet for her activities and sent it to her parents. Alberts like to follow it daily.

She says she found it difficult to combine her work with motherhood. She says family should come first of course, but she fully focusses on her work and only then her husband and children. To save time she buys online.

About her children she mentions that it is an inspiring generation. Sometimes her children accompany her, like Amedeo and Elisabetta to the Paralympics in Paris. 'I enjoy that a lot, they inspire me, the way they live, the way they think.

They all live abroad. 'WWe have a great bond, they are sweet and ambitious they want to study well and work hard. Her husband will celebrate his 70th birthday in december. There will be a surprise party. But as she had no time to organize a surpise, her children will. 'I am not going to say what it is', she laughs.

 

[meeralakshmi]

So petty, this was published just a few months ago

Astrid or the media?

 

[Somebody]

A great interview by the VRT with princess Astrid, mostly focussed on the ecenomic missions. She comes across as easy-going, very friendly and down-to-earth.

"Ik had nooit gedacht dat ik economische missies zou overnemen, nooit, nooit, nooit": prinses Astrid openhartig in exclusief gesprek met VRT NWS | VRT NWS: nieuws

Nooit had ze gedacht dat ze ooit economische missies zou leiden: dat vertelde prinses Astrid in een exclusief gesprek met VRT NWS vlak voor ze eerder dit jaar op economische missie naar Californië vertrok. Intussen kondigde ze aan dat ze die missies niet langer kan leiden, om gezondheidsredenen...

www.vrt.be

She said she never expected to take over these trade missions, and emphasizes several times how in a way she started a new carreer at 51. She was asked by then PM Elio di Rupo. The request came as a surprise.

She said it was stressful, she felt like a debutante. She refers to an anecdote on her first trade mission, where she repeated it was 'my first time'. The Flemish minister had a good chuckle and later on she understood the double meaning as well, to general hilarity.

She is grateful for the understanding and patience the ministers of trade and the press had with her. She confesses she felt she had to prove herself. 'They saw me as a housewife. A nice lady, who laughs easily, but would she be able to do the job?'

Her next trade mission will be to California where she will meet governor Newsom and the mayors of Los Angeles and San Fransisco, all democrats. She says the main message will be that Belgium is ready to do business, no matter political developments. And that after a difficult period Belgium again belongs to the 'good' NATO allies [who pay enough].

An adviser told the interviewer: 'she is looking forward to it, and that doesn't happen often with these kind of conversations'. Later on the interviewer compliments the princess and wonders why she dislikes these interviews. also because the same reporter interviewed her at the wedding of Maria-Laura, which went very well and the princess was natural and spontanious. She laughed that that was a lot easier, 'this needs to be precise'. Earlier she confessed she doesn't like to talk about herself.

Eacht economic mission takes quite some preparation. For the last trip alone she had 17 meetings.

She tells about the first ten years of her marriage when she lived in Basel, Switzerland and had three children. She says she was fully focussed on her children and her husband in these years. Until 1993 when King Baudouin asked her to come back. Shortly afterwards he died and she took over a lot of causes of her parents, among other things the chairmanship of the Red Cross.

In those days she focussed especially on humanitarian and social causes: 'I simply like to be concrete'.

When she took over the missions her father gave some advice, as he headed them for 30 years as Prince de Liege/Luik. He told me that people are very sensitive that you recognise their names and faces. And the second advice was 'no stupidities'. Her parents are involved in her missions today: they call her beforehand to encourage and support. For the upcoming mission she made a booklet for her activities and sent it to her parents. Alberts like to follow it daily.

She says she found it difficult to combine her work with motherhood. She says family should come first of course, but she fully focusses on her work and only then her husband and children. To save time she buys online.

About her children she mentions that it is an inspiring generation. Sometimes her children accompany her, like Amedeo and Elisabetta to the Paralympics in Paris. 'I enjoy that a lot, they inspire me, the way they live, the way they think.

They all live abroad. 'WWe have a great bond, they are sweet and ambitious they want to study well and work hard. Her husband will celebrate his 70th birthday in december. There will be a surprise party. But as she had no time to organize a surpise, her children will. 'I am not going to say what it is', she laughs.

This is indeed a lovely interview. Glad that it is receiving attention again. She comes across as down to earth but her fear of failure is also clearly recognizable. Sending her schedule to her father ahead of time so he can follow along is both cute but also seems to fill a need (while she is trying to follow her father's advice). And 17 meetings and visits ahead of a (larger) mission shows that it is quite a time commitment, going much further than just the visit itself.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

She sounds lovely. I hope she can take some much deserved rest and enjoy her children and her grand babies while she regains her health.

 

[Adda]

Vlad VDK, official photographer of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has posted a tribute on Instagram with many lovely photos of Princess Astrid's work throughout the years.

Vlad VDK on Instagram: "The end of an era ✨ After traveling alongside you on various economic missions to Argentina, Morocco, Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Japan, Senegal, Australia, Norway, and Brazil, you are retiring to make way for the next

118 likes, 5 comments - vladvdk on December 16, 2025: "The end of an era ✨ After traveling alongside you on various economic missions to Argentina, Morocco, Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Japan, Senegal, Australia, Norway, and Brazil, you are retiring to make way for the next generation...

www.instagram.com

 

[maria-olivia]

Even Theo Franken , a Republican , congratulated her for doing it so well.

 

[meeralakshmi]

Vlad VDK, official photographer of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has posted a tribute on Instagram with many lovely photos of Princess Astrid's work throughout the years.

Vlad VDK on Instagram: "The end of an era ✨ After traveling alongside you on various economic missions to Argentina, Morocco, Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Japan, Senegal, Australia, Norway, and Brazil, you are retiring to make way for the next

118 likes, 5 comments - vladvdk on December 16, 2025: "The end of an era ✨ After traveling alongside you on various economic missions to Argentina, Morocco, Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Japan, Senegal, Australia, Norway, and Brazil, you are retiring to make way for the next generation...

www.instagram.com

Sweetest smile ever

 

[aliocha]

Princess Astrid was received at the United States Embassy in Brussels, together with Minister Theo Francken, following her economic mission in October 2025.
This meeting aimed to further strengthen Belgian–American trade relations and to follow up on the major investment projects currently underway.
A fine illustration of the continuity and effectiveness of her commitment to Belgian economic diplomacy.

official Facebook page of the United States Embassy Brussels "It was such a great honor for our embassy team to meet with Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid, the Belgium Defense and Trade Minister Theo Francken, and their advisors to discuss advancing bilateral trade following Princess Astrid's October trade mission to the West Coast. As Princess Astrid said during the conversation, "Belgium and the United States share a common mindset: open, innovative, and outward-looking." The friendship between our two countries can only grow deeper as our trade relationship becomes stronger. We are working very closely with her and the Minister’s team to help ensure the $5BN Google and $1BN Amazon deals close successfully and that all the Belgian companies who are committed to invest in the USA are expedited and closed ($ BILLIONs more to come). We are all so proud of Princess Astrid for her dedicated, passionate, faithful, and SUCCESSFUL efforts over all these years #24TradeMissions !"

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