The Order of Leopold is the oldest order of chivalry or knighthood in Belgium having been founded in July 1832, shortly after Belgium gained independence from the Netherlands. It takes its name from King Leopold I, who was the first King of the Belgians and instigated the award. There are three branches of the order, Military (Armed Forces), Maritime (Merchant Navy) and Civilian. Like many…
Royal Central’s Europe Correspondent, Laura Dekkers, offers her opinions regarding the ongoing antics of Prince Henrik of Denmark and Prince Laurent of Belgium. Who is doing more to discredit constitutional monarchy in Europe?
Recently, two different royals from two…
It was discovered yesterday that Prince Laurent of Belgium’s Twitter account (@Laurent_of_B) had been deleted. Members of the Belgian media made the discovery yesterday morning.
Many had wondered if King Philippe had pressured his younger brother to delete his account…
Prime Minister of Belgium to impose a 10% deduction of Prince Laurent's stipend
8th August 2017
Prime Minister Charles Michel is going to request that the government deducts 10% from Prince Laurent’s annual stipend of 308,000 euro, reports French Language newspaper La Libre Belgique.
Charles Michel had already spoken of a “proportional sanction” but failed to mention an exact number before. Although, one can only wonder if such an amount will have a big enough impact on…
It seems like in every royal family there is a member who cuts corners from time to time. Often it is the result of an exaggeration by the press but sometimes there really are royals who do not feel the need to follow the rules or do not behave like they are expected to. An…
Queen Paola of Belgium’s birthday is actually on 11 September, but she took the opportunity before the summer to get her entire family together. However, in true Prince Laurent style, he was 1.5 hours late and missed the concert and the cutting of the cake.
The grand…
Burger King has dropped its challenge to the Belgian public to “crown” the true ruler of the country.
Burger King launched a controversial advertising campaign which asked people to make a choice between King Philippe and Burger King. In order to place a vote for Philippe, you had to answer several questions. Following that, the yes button shrunk and became impossibly hard to select as…
Belgian PM suffers hearing loss after standing too close to Princess Astrid firing starting pistol
30th May 2017
The Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, was perhaps hoping for a few trouble-free days after playing host to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, but it was not to be.
He appeared at the start of a 20km run in Brussels on Sunday, where the starting pistol…
There is trouble brewing between two monarchs; one is the Burger King the other the King of Belgium.
Burger King has launched an advertising campaign in Belgium to herald the opening of the chain in the country. The campaign asks Belgians to vote online so they can…
Queen Mathilde hosts partners of heads of state and governments participating in NATO summit
29th May 2017
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…
