Royal Family of Belgium Part 2

[Alexandria]

Welcome to the second thread of pictures and news on the members of the royal family of Belgium.

You can find the first thread here:

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=432&page=1&pp=20

Happy posting!

A few images to start off this thread:

DIEST, BELGIUM - OCTOBER 28: Queen Paola and King Albert arrive at Diest Townhall as part of a Polish State Visit to Belgium, on October 28, 2004 in Diest, Belgium. (Photo by Mark Renders/Getty Images)

and:

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - OCTOBER 27: Queen Paola (R) and Jolanta Kwasniewska (second from left) visit Val Saint Lambert, famous for its glasswork, as part of Kwasniewska's State Visit with her husband, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, to Belgium on October 27, 2004 in Liege, Belgium. (Photo by Mark Renders/Getty Images)

and:

LIEGE, BELGIUM: From L-R, Belgium Queen Paola, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and his wife Jolanta Kwasniewska, and Belgium's King Albert II pose at Liege province palace, 27 October 2004. Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and his wife Jolanta Kwasniewska arrived yesterday in Brussels for a three-day state visit to Belgium. AFP BELGA PHOTO POOL MICHEL KRAKOWSKI (Photo credit should read MICHEL KRAKOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

 

[Hannelore]

Brussels - September 28, 2004. The royal family receives presidents and minister-presidents of the various Belgian governments for a lunch at Laken castle.

 

[Hannelore]

Brussels - October 25, 2004 Belgian Sovereigns received Romano Prodi and his wife Flavia at the Royal Palace of Laeken for a farewell rendez-vous.

 

[Hannelore]

I just read an interesting article in the newspaper La Dernière heure (from a few days ago).

The king of the Belgians gets an annual dotation that's fixed for the whole duration of his reign. It's not a salary, but an amount of money to cover his costs. In the case of Albert II it's 6.048.602 €.

67,4% of it goes to the salaries of all his staff, 11,8% to the maintenance of his buildings and furntiture; 5,8% to his professional activities such as state visits etc., 5% to the heating, the gas, electricity, water etc. ; 2,7% to the administration. And 1,8 % to hoshold costs; 3,8% to the cars and 1,7% to various costs (ensurances etc.)

In comparison, some of the annual dotations of other monarchies:

Juan Carlos of Spain receives 7,2 million €
Queen Elizabeth II receives 11,88 million €
The grandduke of Luxemburg receives 7.470.687 €

 

[Hannelore]

1. Paola and Albert with their 3 children

2. Paola and Albert with Filip, Astrid and her children

3. Albert and his brother, the late king Boudewijn.

 

[Hannelore]

1. King Albert at the Belgian embassy in Berlin, with a portrait of his ancester, king Leopold I of the Belgians.

2. Albert and Paola at Laken.

3. the Benelux royals and heirs in 2000.

 

[Hannelore]

1950. Abdication of king Leopold III and enthronement of king Boudewijn.

1960. Belgium' colony, Congo, gets it's independance and king Boudewijn is present at the ceremonies.

Albert and Boudewijn

 

[Hannelore]

1. Leopold and Boudewijn

2. Leopold III

 

[Hannelore]

1. King Leopold II, 2nd king of the Belgians

2. his wife, queen Marie Henriette.

5. Leopold II on his death bed.

 

[hillary_nugent]

In the case of Albert II it's 6.048.602 €.

do you know by anychance how much that is in Us dollars?

 

[hillary_nugent]

5. Leopold II on his death bed.

is he dead in thatpicture? *shivers*

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

is he dead in thatpicture? *shivers*

Yes he is. It's the way he was laid out so people could come to pay their respects a last time.

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

11/11/2004

King Albert at the monument of the unknown soldier in Brussels, for the armistice commemorations.

 

[Hannelore]

King Albert II of Belgium (L) attends an Armistice Day ceremony , 11 November 2004, at the 'Unknown Soldier Monument' at the Congress Column in Brussels.

 

[Lyonnaise]

Polfoto 12-11-2004 Belgium's King Albert II, right, and Queen Paola arrive prior to Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata", the opera that opens La Fenice theatre season, in Venice, Italy, Friday, Nov. 12, 2004.

 

[hillary_nugent]

Yes he is. It's the way he was laid out so people could come to pay their respects a last time.

Whoa, do they still do that when Royals die nowadays?

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Yep, but they're in a coffin, and you have to keep a certain distance.

This is the custom in Belgium, maybe in other countries it's different (closed coffin etc.)

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

King Baudouin

1. with queen Juliana
2. with his brother Albert
3,4. with his father Leopold III
5. with Albert and Philippe

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

1. with Juliana and Beatrix

2. with Rainier and Grace of Monaco

3. King Albert II as a young prince

4. king Albert I

 

[saxon]

Happy Royal Family

the Belgian Royal Family seem like a happy loving down to earth Family, which is good to see that Royalty can be normal and not cold and frosty like the Windsors.

 

[hillary_nugent]

not cold and frosty like the Windsors.

I agree. Queen Elizabeth II is not really a 'smiley', open type of person of course this is not required as a Royal but at least show some warmth woman...

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

1) South African President Thabo Mbeki and his wife meet with King Albert II and Queen Paola, Tuesday 16 November 2004 at the Royal Palace. Mbeki arrived Yesterday for a two-day visit to Belgium. Gettyimages

2, 3) King Albert II of Belgium talks to South African President Thabo Mbeki prior to their meeting at the Royal Castle of Laeken, outside Brussels, Tuesday Nov. 16, 2004. Polfoto

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Brussels - November 16, 2004 King Albert and Queen Paola received at the Castle of Laeken, the personalities who received an honorary distinction by royal decrees.

http://www.isopix.be/Preview_Image....SizeY=334&SizeX2=245&SizeY2=318&X=3008&Y=1960

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Also on 16/11/2004:

King Albert II and queen Paola of Belgium at inauguration of the new National Theatre of the Frenchspeaking Community in Brussels

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

17/11/2004

Albert II & Paola made a visit to the Belgian village Couvin. After the official welcoming at the town hall, the couple had a chance to meet with the population (the so called bain de foule ).
Then Albert went to the factory "Saint-Roch" where the economic situation of the region was explained to him, and he visited the factory where cast-iron boilers are made.
After that Albert joined Paola for a visit to the "Albatros", a care center for mentally handicapped people. Then there was a reception at the Albatros with the local authorities and with people who work with handicapped persons.

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

He recieved a cast-iron motor as a gift

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

8th November 2004

King Albert II at a workmeeting on the isuue of debts at the National Bank in Brussels.

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Brussels - November 22, 2004

Within the framework of the 60th Liberation's anniversary, King Albert received at the Palace of Brussels a hundred burgomasters and their Governors for the honour diploma's ceremony as 'City or Town victim of acts of World War II'.

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

and afterwards there was time for a drink and a good laugh

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Brussels - November 23, 2004

Queen Paola, Honorary President of Child Focus (a Belgian center for abused and missing children), in collaboration with the European Federation for Missing and Exploited Children, organized an academic meeting in Brussels. Queen Silvia of Sweden and her daughter, Princess Victoria, Mrs Bernadette Chirac, wife of the President of the French Republic, Mrs Jolanta Kwasniewska, wife of the President of the Republic of Poland and Princess Astrid of Belgium were also present.