King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians are hosting a state visit from Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and First Lady Doris Schmidauer.
The President and First Lady landed at Brussels’s Zaventem International Airport in the morning of Monday, 21 March, and they received the salute of a delegation of authorities before being driven to the Royal Palace.
Once there, they were greeted by the King and Queen before the official welcome ceremony got underway with the playing of the national anthems.
King Philippe and President Van der Bellen then reviewed troops before heading inside the Royal Palace, where the four posed for a photo opportunity, and the President and First Lady signed the golden guest book.
It was then time for a quick lunch before the presidential couple split for separate engagements.
First Lady Doris Schmidauer was accompanied by Queen Mathilde to Music Chapel, where they visited a music studio and took part in a lectio magistralis by French violinist and conductor Augustin Dumay.
Queen Mathilde has always been passionate about music and is the patron, among others, of the Queen Elisabeth Music Prizes; every edition, she takes part in as many concerts as she can.
In the meantime, President Van der Bellen visited the Belgian Parliament, where he was received by the chairwomen of both the House and the Senate to discuss joint strategies for tackling the pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis. The President was also welcomed in the office of Brussels’s Mayor, Philippe Close, and held a meeting with Prime Minister Alexandre De Croo, during which they discussed a European strategy to reach the common goal of peace in Ukraine.
The state visit will continue until Wednesday, 23 March, but it is expected that the Royal Family’s role in the presidential couple’s stay will not be as prominent over the next two days.
Under normal circumstances, a state dinner is to be expected on the first night, but because neither the Palace nor the Austrian President’s office has released detailed itineraries for the visit, the public does not know if that will take place.
