A Belgian princess has thrown her support behind oil protestors who throw materials on paintings in the name of activism, calling it “civil disobedience” in a new interview.
Princess Esméralda, the half-aunt of King Philippe, spoke about last month’s Just No Oil protests that saw a Van Gogh painting smeared with soup and a wax figure of King Charles covered in chocolate cake.
On the RTL-TVI program ‘C’est pas tous les jours dimanche’ Princess Esméralda elaborated, saying, “People are afraid, they are concerned about their future.”
This isn’t the first time the Belgian royal — the daughter of King Leopold III by his second wife Lilian, Princess of Réthy — has spoken out about the climate or protesting. Princess Esméralda has written a book on the environment called Terre, agissons pour la planete, il n’est pas trop tard, which translates to Act Now to Save our Planet, It’s Not Too Late.
She also protested with the Extinction Rebellion in 2019, sitting in Trafalgar Square until her arrest, though she was never charged with any crimes. She said at the time, “The more people from all sections of society protest, the greater the impact will be.”
Earlier this year, she called for Belgium to apologise for its colonial past in the Congo ahead of her nephew’s official visit to the country, though she elaborated that it wasn’t a criticism of the Belgian Royal Family.
“Apologies are important to restart a balanced relationship,” she said. “Belgium must apologise. I was not attacking my current family. We are not responsible for our ancestors,” she added, “We have a responsibility to talk about it.”
Princess Esméralda is the youngest child of King Leopold and Princess Lilian and works as a documentary filmmaker and writer who also speaks out on women’s rights and indigenous rights in addition to her environmental work.
