Royal Weddings Questions and Discussion Past and Future

[Blog Real]

Belgium's royal family seems to manage to keep their lives very private.
If Princess Elisabeth has a boyfriend, it's very difficult for the press to find out who he is.

 

[Princess_Eleanor]

Ingrid-Alexandra arrived with her boyfriend at her own birthday party IIRC, so she made it quite clear that she was 'seeing someone' (and which specific someone). Amalia has been more secretive/private.

No, she didn't arrive with him, he arrived with another girl - maybe one of her friends. But the press had apparently already known that he was her boyfriend and took the fact that he was invited to the Palace for her official birthday party as "permission" to publish the story.

 

[Mbruno]

Belgium's royal family seems to manage to keep their lives very private.
If Princess Elisabeth has a boyfriend, it's very difficult for the press to find out who he is.

Princess Elisabeth is probably too focused on her university studies and official duties right now and a boyfriend is not a priority to her yet.

 

[Prinsara]

Princess Elisabeth is probably too focused on her university studies and official duties right now and a boyfriend is not a priority to her yet.

There are very few 21 year olds who have not had some kind of relationship with someone.

Furthermore, there remains no news about Gabriel ever having dated anyone, either, so the deafening silence remains a bit weird.

 

[rominet09]

I agree with their sense of privacy. They are young and to expose another person to the Press would not be correct.

 

[Somebody]

No, she didn't arrive with him, he arrived with another girl - maybe one of her friends. But the press had apparently already known that he was her boyfriend and took the fact that he was invited to the Palace for her official birthday party as "permission" to publish the story.

Thanks for the correction; in that case she must have been photographed arriving with her boyfriend at Skaugum another time.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

The announcements of an engagement of Prince Philippe of Belgium with a certain totally unknown demoiselle named Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz and of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg with a certain totally unknown demoiselle named Stéphanie de Lannoy show that they manage to keep their relationships under the radar.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

And I very much admired the two of them for protecting their privacy for as long as possible!

 

[doro]

Princess Elisabeth is probably too focused on her university studies and official duties right now and a boyfriend is not a priority to her yet.

And the time of final exams, I don't know the time she will in the university, if this year or 2024

 

[SirGyamfi1]

IMO rather the Belgian press is generally more respectful of the private relationships of heirs compared to media of other royal families that’s why we don’t know anything. Plus Elisabeth hasn’t been seen with anyone yet

 

[Tatiana Maria]

And the time of final exams, I don't know the time she will in the university, if this year or 2024

She enrolled in a three-year program in history and politics beginning in autumn 2021.

There are very few 21 year olds who have not had some kind of relationship with someone.

Furthermore, there remains no news about Gabriel ever having dated anyone, either, so the deafening silence remains a bit weird.

Perhaps on social media? While Prince Amedeo's relationship with Lili Rosboch was not reported in the press until their engagement, it was rumored online for many years before that.

 

[Prinsara]

Perhaps on social media? While Prince Amedeo's relationship with Lili Rosboch was not reported in the press until their engagement, it was rumored online for many years before that.

Perhaps, but if that were the case I would think it would end up a subject of conversation with all the multinational, multilingual posters over here. Amalia's relationship has really only been the stuff of tabloids, and yet it has been noted, followed, and discussed.

The fact that there has been nothing to report or find relationship-wise for either of the King's equally-attractive and personable adult children seems to signify... there's nothing.

 

[Toledo]

I agree with their sense of privacy. They are young and to expose another person to the Press would not be correct.

Hope they keep it that way. If they have close friends or a secret special person, I bet the parents know and will also be protective of his privacy, too. Nothing can ruin a possible royal relationship like the press hounding candidates away from the three princesses.

 

[Adda]

Perhaps both Elisabeth and Gabriel are indeed single, but if they aren't, I'm more than glad about the way the Belgian press behaves. I dread to think about the harassment a future Queen Regnant as splendid as Elisabeth, and a heartthrob Prince like Gabriel would experience in pretty much any other country. Poor Leonor, for example.

 

[Stefanie]

Maybe both E and G are like their parents:
The press tried for years to find out how P and M met but never got an answer because both didn' t want to reveal.
I found P always a little strange marrying so late. Laurent did the same. Maybe it simply "runs in the family".

 

[Adda]

Better to marry late and well, than to mess it up. Two of my favourite royal couples got married when the grooms were in their late 30's: Philippe with Mathilde, and Frederick with Mary.

Of course, there are also cases of marrying late and bad...*cough* *cough*

 

[Somebody]

Better to marry late and well, than to mess it up. Two of my favourite royal couples got married when the grooms were in their late 30's: Philippe with Mathilde, and Frederick with Mary.

Of course, there are also cases of marrying late and bad...*cough* *cough*

Frederik was in his mid-thirties, not yet in his late thirties. Ages at the time of marriage for the (then/now) European heirs/monarchs (latest in direct line to get married in their respective families):

Alois: 25
Haakon: 28
William: 28
Guillaume: 30
Victoria: 32
Willem-Alexander: 34
Frederik: 35
Felipe: 36
Philippe: 39
Albert: 53

So, their average (as in mean) is 34 and their median age is 33. The standard deviation of this (small) sample is 7.9: so, anything between 26 and 41 years of age is within one standard deviation. Only Alois and Albert are outside that range. It will be interesting to see whether we see a slightly younger average age for the next generation that includes more female heirs.

N.B. Yes, I know that I only worked with years - it would have been more precise to include number of months as well; that would lead to a slightly higher average as several of them married within 2 months of their (next) birthday.

 

[Adda]

Right, Frederick got married at 35, don't know why I always thought he was 36 at the time. Regardless of that, 35 and 39 isn't precisely springly, and my point was that Philippe and Frederick married excellently.

I can't imagine Elisabeth marrying so late, mainly because I hope she doesn't have to search too much before finding the right one, but I wouldn't be surprised if she does follow in her father's footsteps and presents her man at the engagement ceremony.

IIRC, there's an equal number of female and male heirs:

1. Elisabeth of Belgium
2. Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands
3. Ingrid Alexandra of Norway
4. Leonor of Spain
5. Estelle of Sweden

1. Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein
2. Christian of Denmark
3. George of Britain
4. Jacques of Monaco
5. Charles of Luxembourg

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Do Belgian brides and princesses still complete the Joyeuses Entrees of the nine provinces?

I always thought it an enchanting tradition for Belgian Royals, but I am not sure Mathilde ever completed one. In fact, I think Fabiola was the last Royal woman in Belgium who made a ceremonial visit to each province.

I had hoped Elisabeth would continue the custom as part of her coming of age celebrations, but I don't believe she ever did.

 

[Stefan]

Do Belgian brides and princesses still complete the Joyeuses Entrees of the nine provinces?

I always thought it an enchanting tradition for Belgian Royals, but I am not sure Mathilde ever completed one. In fact, I think Fabiola was the last Royal woman in Belgium who made a ceremonial visit to each province.

Philippe and Mathilde visited several of the belgian Provinces before and after their Wedding. But no Idea if they visited all nine.

 

[Hannelore]

Do Belgian brides and princesses still complete the Joyeuses Entrees of the nine provinces?

I always thought it an enchanting tradition for Belgian Royals, but I am not sure Mathilde ever completed one. In fact, I think Fabiola was the last Royal woman in Belgium who made a ceremonial visit to each province.

I had hoped Elisabeth would continue the custom as part of her coming of age celebrations, but I don't believe she ever did.

There are 10 Belgian provinces nowadays.

As is custom, Crown Prince Philippe & Mathilde visited all of them during the joyeuses entrées, a centuries old tradition. They did this in 1999 and 2000, in the months before and after their wedding.

They repeated the Joyeuses Entrées to all provinces in 2013 after Philippe had become King.

There's no reason for Elisabeth to do this untill she becomes engaged/married and wants to present her fiancé/husband to the country.

Joyeuses Entrées are only performed by the reigning monarch or the heir.

Perhaps both Elisabeth and Gabriel are indeed single, but if they aren't, I'm more than glad about the way the Belgian press behaves. I dread to think about the harassment a future Queen Regnant as splendid as Elisabeth, and a heartthrob Prince like Gabriel would experience in pretty much any other country. Poor Leonor, for example.

We know nothing about Philippe & Mathilde's children private lives. They're at an age where they could all be seeing someone, and until a marriage is foreseen, nothing will be out in the open about it I think.

Various journalists have even stated that, should they know about Elisabeth's romantic life they won't reveal it, because it woudn't be right.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

There are 10 Belgian provinces nowadays.

As is custom, Crown Prince Philippe & Mathilde visited all of them during the joyeuses entrées, a centuries old tradition. They did this in 1999 and 2000, in the months before and after their wedding.

They repeated the Joyeuses Entrées to all provinces in 2013 after Philippe had become King.

There's no reason for Elisabeth to do this untill she becomes engaged/married and wants to present her fiancé/husband to the country.

Joyeuses Entrées are only performed by the reigning monarch or the heir.

It is an old tradition in both the Southern and the Northern Low Countries (today's Belgium and Netherlands) dating back to the rule of the Ducs de Bourgogne (1384-1482) under which the Low Countries became a constitution for the first time.

However in today's North the name Blijde Inkomst (Joyeuse Entrée) is usually only used for the formal welcoming into the royal residence (The Hague). In today's South all these visits are named a Blijde Inkomst (Joyeuse Entrée), so to see.

 

[Somebody]

Right, Frederick got married at 35, don't know why I always thought he was 36 at the time. Regardless of that, 35 and 39 isn't precisely springly, and my point was that Philippe and Frederick married excellently.

I can't imagine Elisabeth marrying so late, mainly because I hope she doesn't have to search too much before finding the right one, but I wouldn't be surprised if she does follow in her father's footsteps and presents her man at the engagement ceremony.

IIRC, there's an equal number of female and male heirs:

1. Elisabeth of Belgium
2. Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands
3. Ingrid Alexandra of Norway
4. Leonor of Spain
5. Estelle of Sweden

1. Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein
2. Christian of Denmark
3. George of Britain
4. Jacques of Monaco
5. Charles of Luxembourg

Yes, indeed, 5 heiresses, so much more than only 1 (Victoria) in the previous list.

 

[Hannelore]

Elisabeth, Amalia, Leonor and Jacques are heirs. They will succeed the current monarch.

Ingrid, Estelle, Joseph Wenzel, Christian, George and Charles aren't heirs yet. They are heirs to the heir. Their reign will only begin after their father's or mother's.
It are Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Victoria, Hereditary Prince Alois, Crown Prince Frederik, the Prince of Wales and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume who are the heirs.

 

[Skippy]

Maybe both E and G are like their parents:
The press tried for years to find out how P and M met but never got an answer because both didn' t want to reveal.
I found P always a little strange marrying so late. Laurent did the same. Maybe it simply "runs in the family".

Perhaps Philippe wanted to take his time, as opposed to his parents who practically jumped into marriage.

 

[Alisa]

I think we will no doubt see the female heiress married earlier than their fathers did. Unfortunately as time goes on a woman's fertility window generally gets smaller. I can see Elisabeth following her mother's example and having 4 children herself.

 

[Somebody]

Elisabeth, Amalia, Leonor and Jacques are heirs. They will succeed the current monarch.

Ingrid, Estelle, Joseph Wenzel, Christian, George and Charles aren't heirs yet. They are heirs to the heir. Their reign will only begin after their father's or mother's.
It are Crown Prince Haakon, Crown Princess Victoria, Hereditary Prince Alois, Crown Prince Frederik, the Prince of Wales and Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume who are the heirs.

They the heirs of their generation. So, for a comparison it is relevant to include them regardless of whether they are the immediate heirs or the heir to the heir.

Perhaps Philippe wanted to take his time, as opposed to his parents who practically jumped into marriage.

Is it known how long they dated before the engagement was announced? I assume they just met much later in life.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

She enrolled in a three-year program in history and politics beginning in autumn 2021.



Perhaps on social media? While Prince Amedeo's relationship with Lili Rosboch was not reported in the press until their engagement, it was rumored online for many years before that.

But the person who claimed before Lili and Amedeo’s announcement I think was well-connected and knew someone who knew Lili’s family, but very few people on the forums took it seriously until the announcement came out.

Better to marry late and well, than to mess it up. Two of my favourite royal couples got married when the grooms were in their late 30's: Philippe with Mathilde, and Frederick with Mary.

Of course, there are also cases of marrying late and bad...*cough* *cough*

Part of the issue of him marrying late was that there were fears he wouldn’t have heirs and no one wanted a chance for Laurent to be King so Astrid was added to the succession and titles were given to her branch. But luckily he had children but still. I get marrying at the “right time”.

 

[Marengo]

She might emulate her father and not appear in public with her partner until she is ready to announce her engagement.

But I hope not.

Still, her father did have some other -rumoured- girlfriends that were discussed in the press as well.

It seems the gossip press is less interested in the love lives of young royals these days. It may have to do with several court rulings, a genuine respect for privacy, or the public being less interested than they were in the 80-ties and 90-ties. Whatever the reason the young royals can be grateful that they have been granted more privacy than their parents.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Strict protocol goverened wedding attire for the bride of a French heir to the throne: a cloth-of-silver dress.