Princess Astrid of Belgium hasn’t carried out a single official engagement since the 20th of February. Now the Belgian Royal Palace has confirmed the Princess is suffering from severe sleep problems and is taking some mandatory rest now.
This year Princess Astrid of Belgium has only undertaken six official engagements. This is not normal for the sister of King Philippe who likes to support her brother by, for example, leading the economic missions abroad. The Belgian newspaper Sudpresse revealed that the Princess is suffering from sleep problems.
This afternoon the Belgian Royal Palace confirmed that the Princess is indeed having severe sleep problems and that the doctor has prescribed her to rest as much as possible. The Palace stressed that the sleep problems are not something new for Princess Astrid. She has been known to have a lot of trouble to sleep for over 10 to 15 years.
The doctor has advised the Princess to rest for a while. She is currently under treatment for her sleep disorder. She has decided to start the treatment as she needs to prepare for the economic mission she will lead to Argentina and Uruguay from 23 to 30 June.
Each year Princess Astrid normally attends at least one session of the Queen Elisabeth Competition which was founded by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium in 1937. She usually also attends the opening of the Special Olympics Belgium National Games. However, it is expected that the Princess will not participate in these events this year.
Her sister-in-law Queen Mathilde will attend several sessions of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. Queen Mathilde has been the patron of the competition since she took over from Queen Fabiola of Belgium. His Majesty the King will accompany the Queen at the finale of the competition. Also, Prince Laurent and his wife Princess Claire will attend one session of the singing competition this year.
