Belgium

King Philippe steps out "as a father, not as King"

King Philippe took over Queen Mathilde’s annual engagement today as he read to children during the Reading Week. This has a special reason behind it. Each year Queen Mathilde steps out as the Patron of the Reading Week, to read a book to children in an elementary school. The initiative wants to promote reading to children as it is essential for their language development and imagination. It…
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Belgium

Queen Mathilde speaks up against rude minister

Their Majesties Queen Mathilde and King Philippe of Belgium are currently on a State Visit to India. On the second day, the Queen was accompanied by the Indian Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi. On Tuesday the Queen visited Childline, India’s first…
Belgium

25% of the Belgians want a republic, claims new survey

The Walloon tv programme Place Royale has conducted a new survey in which several Belgians were asked questions about the current monarchy. The survey showed a quarter of the Belgians want to get rid of the monarchy and make Belgium a republic. After 1500 days of King Philippe, it was time for another survey in which the Belgians were able to comment and show their vision on the monarchy.
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BelgiumFeatures

Taking a look at The Royal Order of Leopold

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…
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Belgium

Prince Laurent's Twitter account deleted

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…
BelgiumEuropean Royals

Prime Minister of Belgium to impose a 10% deduction of Prince Laurent's stipend

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…
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