This past week, while King Philippe of Belgium and other NATO leaders were attending the NATO summit, his wife, Queen Mathilde of Belgium hosted their partners at the Royal Palace and gave them a tour of the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken.
The palace grounds of the Castle of Laeken are on the most secure and private of the Belgian royal estates. Only three weeks a year the castle doors are open to the public to visit the exclusive Royal Greenhouses located in the garden.
The partners and spouses of the leaders included First Lady Emine Erdoğan of Turkey; Iceland’s Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir; the First Lady of France Brigitte Trogneux; US First Lady Melania Trump; Slovenia’s Mojca Stropnik; Bulgaria’s Desislava Radeva; Belgium’s Amélie Derbaudrenghien, Norway’s Ingrid Schulerud (wife of NATO’s Secretary General) and Luxembourg’s First Gentleman Gauthier Destenay.
The group posed for a group photo at the Castle of Laeken, the home where the King and Queen of the Belgians live with their four children.
Queen Mathilde of Belgium with First Lady Emine Erdoğan of Turkey; Iceland’s Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir; the First Lady of France Brigitte Trogneux; First Lady Melania Trump; Slovenia’s Mojca Stropnik; Bulgaria’s Desislava Radeva; Belgium’s Amélie Derbaudrenghien, Norway’s Ingrid Schulerud and Luxembourg’s First Gentleman Gauthier Destenay. Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks/US government work (Public Domain)
Earlier in the day, the partners of the NATO leaders were given a tour of the Magritte Museum in Brussels before they reunited with Her Majesty at her home.
The leaders, including King Philippe, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead/US government work (Public Domain)
The day before King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, alongside Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, hosted President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a private meeting after appearing before the press for photos at the Royal Palace of Brussels.
