Royal News

Warm welcome from King Philippe and Queen Mathilde for Pope Francis as papal visit starts in Belgium

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28th September 2024
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium formally received Pope Francis at the Palace of Laeken on Friday to begin his three day trip to Belgium. The Belgian King and Queen met His Holiness when the Papal Plane landed on Thursday evening but they formally welcomed him on Friday. They met with him before they moved to the Great Gallery where King Philippe, Pope Francis and Belgian Prime…
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Belgium

Back to his maternal roots: Belgium's controversial prince wants to be a citizen of another country

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25th September 2024
Prince Laurent of Belgium, younger brother to King Philippe, is going to seek dual Belgian-Italian citizenship. Prince Laurent, long known as the rebel of the Belgian Royal Family, may be leaving permanently. He gave an interview with Sudinfo, a French news outlet, where he explained that although he loves Belgium, his heart is now in Italy. Queen Paola, the former Queen of…
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Belgium

A future queen arrives at Harvard

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19th September 2024
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant and heir to the Belgian throne has begun her post graduate education at Harvard. The princess marked her first day of post-graduate with new photos.  Max Bueno/ Belgian Royal Palace The Belgian Royal Palace released three…
Features

The future queen who went Victorian with orange blossoms instead of diamonds at her wedding

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22nd August 2024
She might have been marrying the then heir to the Belgian throne, but when Paola Ruffo di Calabria said ‘I do’ to Albert, Prince of Liege, she had absolutely no expectation that they would ever end up as Belgium’s king and queen.  So Paola’s wedding look was a personal pick rather than an attempt to fit a regal template. And one of the most striking parts of it is the lack of a…
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Belgium

The line of succession to the Belgian throne

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20th March 2023
Like most in Europe, the Belgian line of succession is governed by absolute primogeniture (the eldest child, regardless of gender, ascends to the throne) through the descendants of King Albert II. The new laws of succession took effect in 1991, and if all the descendants of Albert die, the line then falls to the male descendants of King Leopold I’s male line. To remain in the line…
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