Members Of The Belgian RF As Children

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Astrid with her parents (Paris Match, point de vue)

 

[Royal Fan]

awwwww so sweet

 

[crisiñaki]

Wow, great pics everyone!!!

I think Philippe has always been the better looking of the siblings and Mathilde is very beautiful so their children naturally would be very good looking!!!

It's a shame Laurent has gotten so much weight not for the fact of the weight gain itself but for the fact that he now looks a lot older than his brother

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

1. Laurent
2. Philippe and Astrid

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Le soir illustré

Paola with Astrid on the beach

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Le Soir Illustré

Baptism of prince Philippe, 17th of May 1960 in the St Jacques sur Koudenberg church in the center of Brussels.

His godmother was Paola's mother and his godfather, ex king Leopold III, Albert's father.

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

le soir illustré

The first photos of prince Laurent, 1963

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Prince Philippe and princess Astrid visit the zoo in Rome with their Italian grandmother

Point de Vue

 

[Emily]

Great photos, Catherine. Is it true that QP is the youngest child in her family? Her mother looks quite elderly and if QP is youngest this would make more sense. Do you know if the young woman in the second photo is the nanny? or is it a sister of QP? Thanks for the photos!

 

[crisiñaki]

Well, Phillipe looks a great deal like his father in his younger days (the bone structure and gestures are extremely similar) and and Gabriel looks like a mini-Phillipe if you see his toddler pictures carefully; great genes in this family

 

[King Kong]

God morning/evening to all!
Great pictures!
Are there any showing King Albert and Prince Laurent as an adolescent or did Phillipe get all the attention, being the eldest ?
Thanks in advance!
Martin

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Great photos, Catherine. Is it true that QP is the youngest child in her family? Her mother looks quite elderly and if QP is youngest this would make more sense. Do you know if the young woman in the second photo is the nanny? or is it a sister of QP? Thanks for the photos!

The young woman is probably a nanny.

Yes, Paola is the youngest of 7 children. her mother was 41 when she was born.

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

First birthday of prince Philippe, April 1961. (Point de Vue)

 

[crisiñaki]

Oh my God, Gabriel looks exactly like Phillippe in these pictures

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Paola and Albert with their children Philippe, Astrid and Laurent on skiing holiday in 1965. (Point de Vue).


Especially Astrid seems te be enjoying the snow and sun!

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

point de vue

1. Paola with Laurent
2. Albert & Paola atr home with their 3 children

 

[Hannelore]

gorgeous! thanks for the pictures.

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Baptism of prince laurent. It took place in the chapel of castle Belvédère, 2 or 3 days after he was born, that's why Paola wasn't there.

(le soir illustré)

1. Laurent in his nanny's arms
2. Albert with Philippe, king baudouin and queen Fabiola, queen Elisabeth
3. Albert with Astrid and Philippe
5. Laurent
7. the nannies with the children

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

1. with Italian family
2. Albert with Astrid, king Baudouin and queen Fabiola with queen Elisabeth, Paola's mother).

 

[Mette2]

Baptism of prince laurent. It took place in the chapel of castle Belvédère, 2 or 3 days after he was born, that's why Paola wasn't there.

Just out of curiosity why was Laurent baptised so soon after his birth?

Wonderful pictures. Thanks for posting them Cathérine.

 

[martha-louise]

Because his parents knew allready he was going to be a naughty boy

Another wild guess: maybe he was a very big baby, so they were afraid he wouldn't fit in the dress anymore?

 

[Hannelore]

In the 50s and 60s it was still normal practice to baptize a baby as quickly as possible after his birth. It was the heritage of earlier days where a lot of babies died and had to be baptized quicky (so they could go to heaven).

 

[Mette2]

Thanks for the explanation Hannelore. Thought there might have been something else wrong, and then that's why he was baptised so soon after.

 

[Royal Fan]

Cute pics!

 

[King Kong]

Hi Hannelore!
I'm not so sure that was the real reason for Laurent's baptism 2 or 3 days after his birth. I was also born in the 60s and was baptised 15 days after my birth. And to be baptised without your mother's presence was unheard of! Besides, Paola was there when the other children were baptised.
BTW you're not allowed to take your child home so early, not even today. *sigh*
Thank you for your very interesting comments.
Yours,
Martin
Hmmmm, I think I agree with Martha-Louise: "his parents already knew he was going to be a naughty boy"

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Laurent was born at the Belvédère, so he was already at home.

I think Hannelore's assumption is right. I've often heard of babies being baptized very quickly after their birth in those days.

Paola's other children were baptized very quickly too, but perhaps in Laurent's case Paola hadn't recovered yet?

 

[King Kong]

Hi Cathérine!
You're both (you and Hannelore) probably right. According to my wife it takes longer than 2 or 3 days for ANY mother to recover, royal or otherwise.
All the same, and I don't mean anything nasty, it was a bit irregular for the mother not to be present, especially when she was also at home. Maybe Laurent was already giving her some headaches! LOL
Cheers!
Martin

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Princess Mathilde as a schoolgirl (from the book 10 princesses, Patrick Weber)

 

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

king Albert II as a small boy (point de vue)

 

[Regina]

I adore this one

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=89102&d=1107624749