Belgian King and Queen Begin State Visit to Greece

At the invitation of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoullou, Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde started today, Monday May 2, a three-day state visit to Greece.
Upon the arrival at the airport of the capital Athens, the Royal Couple was welcomed by representative of the government of the Hellenic Republic.
Then the King and the Queen laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Syntagma Square. Afterwards King Philippe and Queen Mathilde moved to the Presidential Manson where they were officially welcomed by Katerina Sakellaropoulou, President of the Hellenic Republic and her husband, Pavlos Kotsonis. Prior to the private meeting, took place the exchange of decorations: President Sakellaropoulou received the Order of Leopold while the King and the Queen received the Order of the Redeemer.
Later the Royal Couple was officially welcomed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife, Mareva Grabowski, at the Maximos Mansion, the official residence of the Prime Minister.
In the afternoon the Royal Couple continued the state visit with a separate program: the King, along with the Belgian delegation, had several institutional meetings with the Greek officials; in the meantime the Queen paid a visit to “The Smile of the Child”, a “NGO dealing with children rights and welfare in Greece and internationally”.
The first day ended with a state banquet hosted by President Sakellaropoulou and her husband at the Presidential Manson.
In his speech the King said that “The Queen and I are thrilled to be here near the Acropolis, the place where these democratic values were born 2,500 years ago”, adding that “The ancient Greeks, your ancestors, taught us so many lessons that remain more fundamental than ever for our world today”.

 

 

https://twitter.com/PresidencyGR/status/1521139650190053377?s=20&t=3xNHOFM_KpomL9-cnueuLA

 

 

https://twitter.com/MonarchieBe/status/1521245932339273730?s=20&t=Cl077df_sOZHqdDthf5f0A

 

 

 

 

Filed under Belgium
Tagged Greece, King Philippe of the Belgians, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians, State Visit.