From this week's Royalty episode:
an interview with Mathilde's father and a look around the castle where she grew up:
The castle of Losange was built in the 18th century. It lies in a park, surrounded by 4 big lakes and near to a forest. It isn't built in the typical style of the region (the Ardennes).
Coincidence of history; it was in this castle that princess Marie José of Belgium celebrated her engagement to crown prince Umberto of Italy. King Albert I also regularly visited the castle when he was in the neighbourhood driving his motor.
Mathilde's family bought the castle in 1958. It was put up for sale, abandoned and in a terrible state. Count Patrick d'Udekem and his wife, countess Anna Komorowska (married in 1971) completely restaured it.
Mathilde's father shows a portrait of an ancestor who was mayor of the city Leuven in the 18th century. Most of the family portraits perished in a fire just after the second world war.
In another building on the estate apartments are installed and rented. Mathilde's father explains that -like for most castle owners- it has become necessary to cover the huge expenses of such an estate. The roofing has to be replaced this summer and the castle needs a new layer of paint. As he says "Nowadays you don't notice the difference anymore between the landlord and the gardener. You will find the landlord more often in his garden and his forest than in his home. It's our duty, and a heavy one, to maintain all of this. But we make the most of it because it's a very nice life and we love living in the country".
He adds "A lot of people think that being noble comes with a lot of priviledges, but that's completely wrong. We have a lot of duties and no special rights. The feudal times are long past and everybody's equal by law. Our heritage comes with a lot of duties that we take pride in fulfilling and our only right is to respect others."
http://www.vtm.be/tv/index_programma_royalty_multimedia.htm
bekijk deel 2 -> right at the beginning