Queen Mathilde has acquired a new goddaughter after a family in Molenbeek asked The Queen of Belgium to become godparent to their child.
Her Majesty does not know the family, but has accepted, gifting the child an engraved silver cup, and arranged for an audience to be held with the Mayor of the city.
But how did Queen Mathilde end up being the godmother to a child she does not know? Belgian tradition says that the 7th daughter from an uninterrupted line of girls has the privilege of asking the Queen to be her godmother.
The family in Molenbleek welcomed their 7th child and 7th baby girl not too long ago, meaning they met the requirements to have a royal godmother.
This is not the first time that Queen Mathilde has followed this tradition. She previously acquired a goddaughter in 2017 through this custom, and again in 2020 from a family that had immigrated to Belgium from Kosovo.
This tradition also works with the opposite gender. In 2022, King Philippe became the godfather to the 7th boy of a family that immigrated from Iraq in 1993.
According to the Belgian Monarchy’s official website, becoming a godparent through this tradition is “a favour accorded by the Monarchs, and is therefore not automatic”; a background check of the family’s lifestyle and morals is conducted before a request is granted.
This kind of royal favour is increasingly rare, as families bring less and less children into this world. It is rare for any family to have seven children, let alone seven of the same sex.
These godchildren are in addition to the others that the King and Queen of the Belgians already have through family, friends and other Royal Families. Queen Mathilde’s godchildren include Princess Alexia of the Netherlands and Princess Isabella of Denmark, while King Philippe is godfather to Prince Amedeo.
