Royal Family of Belgium - Current Events Part 8 (July 2013 - Dec 2018)


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Status
Not open for further replies.
I wonder when we will have our future State Visits , members of the RF will attend ?. Certainly not King Albert Ii and Queen Paola and Laurent will be ill as usual.
 
I doubt that the absent members of the family can afford this behaviour. Especially Laurent. There is no public support for Laurent and Astrid’s dotation at all. And in January the parliament discusses these dotations again and MPs (a member of the government included) of the biggest Flemish party already argued to stop Astrid and Laurent’s dotations. It’s counterproductive not to contribute and attend major events.
Regarding Philippe pushing other members out. He has given many tasks to Laurent and handed over the trade missions to Astrid. That’s not pushing ppl out imo. But in the end of the day it is Philippe who is responsible for the branding of the RF. And if he thinks it’s better to downsize the RF and focus on the core family than it’s his right to do so imo. Just like his father Albert thought it was befitting to give tasks and dotations to all of his children.

On a different note: Eleonore is all grown up now and doesn’t regard photographers as enemies any longer. And Philippe told one of the musicians that he started taking piano lessons 4 years ago.
 
off topic maybe but I think Philippe has done well with his family, giving his siblings their own roles in the RF but a little bit apart from what he and Mathilde do. I think it gives his siblings a purpose and a way to earn their donations but without detracting from him and his immediate family being the future of the monarchy.
I hope, on the case of Astrid at least, its just because of other commitments at this time of year rather than a deliberate snub!
 
The thing here is that the RF wasn't very big: Baudouin had no children, Josephine Charlotte went to Luxembourg, so all the descendants came from Albert, he only had 3 children so there wasn't much talk about dotations and roles when his brother was still alive, specially since Philippe and Laurent took a long time to marry.

Now Albert has TWELVE grandchildren, Philippe alone has FOUR children, of course the RF had to be downsized again and the King's siblings should earn dotations based on what they do, it's no obligation of the State to support them and Albert couldn't have possibly thought that he was going to get the same amount of money (or close) when he was reigning monarch, he doesn't have a huge household to pay for or has to pay the bills in the Laeken complex, doesn't have children to support, etc.

Philippe is doing what he should IMO and it is very sad that his family is turning their backs on him, Mathilde and his children because of it.
 
I agree with *Mara* and tommy100.
Yes it is sad that no one else was present. We do not know the reason that no one was there but really watching this beautiful family do not care at all.
 
Princess Astrid is sad because of the way the Royal Palace is treating his Father.
She was with her parents in Rome.
 
maria-olivia said:
Princess Astrid is sad because of the way the Royal Palace is treating his Father.
She was with her parents in Rome.
Click to expand...

Treating them like what? Not allowing them to do as they please when they please and then complain about money?

Sorry, but I can't be considerated with a couple that preferred to stay in holidays abroad instead of going to visit their son who was in intensive care, no matter how well "informed" they were at the time.
 
Princess Elisabeth is growing into a real lady and I can't get over just how cute Prince Gabriël is. The elder children are my favorites of the bunch. They radiate good behavior and class. Not that Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore don't, but they appeal less to me.
 
maria-olivia said:
Princess Astrid is sad because of the way the Royal Palace is treating his Father.
She was with her parents in Rome.
Click to expand...

The frictions in the family have been quite apparent for some time now. The Palace is right though in the sense that Philippe, Mathilde and their four children are the future of the Belgian monarchy, which, although not under immediate threat, is in a position that, because of the peculiarities of the country, will always be far from comfortable. It is reasonable that Albert and Paola, or Philippe's younger siblings should be sidelined.
 
King Philip performed the most duties last year.

H.M.The King :189 official engagements & 162 Audiences
H.M.The Queen : 212
HI&RH Princess Astrid,Archduchesse of Austria-Este : 119
HRH Prince Laurent :72
H.M.Queen Paola :19
H.M.King Albert II :17

Koning Filip meest actief - Vorsten
 
Leidl,
You are not a Belgian Citizen.
You don't know the problems the former Monarchs have with the actual King's Staff .

I saw the former Monarchs last year. King Albert II cannot walk without hanging on his wife's arms.
Queen Paola was ill for weeks last year and the communication about that was bad.
 
maria-olivia said:
Leidl,
You are not a Belgian Citizen.
You don't know the problems the former Monarchs have with the actual King's Staff .

I saw the former Monarchs last year. King Albert II cannot walk without hanging on his wife's arms.
Queen Paola was ill for weeks last year and the communication about that was bad.
Click to expand...

Of course they would have trouble with the current staff, after all they wanted to keep the same person in charge of their business even after the King dismissed him, they should have listened to him.

And why was the communication bad? Because Paola didn't want things to be known, same as what happened when Laurent was sick, they decided to release a press thing after the backslash from the public, otherwise they would have stayed away and quiet about their son in intensive care.

Albert is an old man, doesn't mean he can do whatever he pleases and complain about money he doesn't really need just to keep ruining his son's reign.

He like Paola have always been terribly selfish, always caring about themselves above everyone else, sadly it was one of the few things Laurent got from them.
 
Last edited:
An Ard Ri said:
King Philip performed the most duties last year.

H.M.The King :189 official engagements & 162 Audiences
H.M.The Queen : 212
HI&RH Princess Astrid,Archduchesse of Austria-Este : 119
HRH Prince Laurent :72
H.M.Queen Paola :19
H.M.King Albert II :17

Koning Filip meest actief - Vorsten
Click to expand...

Given the number of engagements above for a small country like Belgium, we must conclude is indeed a hard-working royal family !
 
maria-olivia said:
Leidl,
You are not a Belgian Citizen.
You don't know the problems the former Monarchs have with the actual King's Staff .

I saw the former Monarchs last year. King Albert II cannot walk without hanging on his wife's arms.
Queen Paola was ill for weeks last year and the communication about that was bad.
Click to expand...

Yes, both King Albert and Queen Paola look very frail. Maybe retiring from public duty is their own choice, and not something imposed by the current King's staff.
 
Of course , It was their own Choice !
It was not imposed by the new brand new staff.
King Albert II kept most of his late brother's King Baudouin staff.
 
An Ard Ri said:
King Philip performed the most duties last year.

H.M.The King :189 official engagements & 162 Audiences
H.M.The Queen : 212
HI&RH Princess Astrid,Archduchesse of Austria-Este : 119
HRH Prince Laurent :72
H.M.Queen Paola :19
H.M.King Albert II :17

Koning Filip meest actief - Vorsten
Click to expand...

Se-ven-ty-two "engagements" for Prince Laurent????

Note that one morning can have 10 audiences, or even more. I would count "From 10.00 o'clock until 12.00 0'clock the King will hold audiences" as one engagement and not as 10 separate items. But who am I.
:whistling:
 
Mbruno said:
Yes, both King Albert and Queen Paola look very frail. Maybe retiring from public duty is their own choice, and not something imposed by the current King's staff.
Click to expand...

King Albert II and Queen Paola do not look like people to let themselves be imposed by anything, let alone their son's staff. They have experienced the Palace under Charles (the Prince-Regent), Baudouin, under themselves as well the parallel households of Queen Elisabeth, King Léopold III, the Princesse de Réthy and Queen Fabiola. No, they do let themselves be ordered like doggies by their boss...

:lol:
 
Last edited:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Nice to see they are perhaps a bit more attentive grandparents then parents. :flowers: But that often seems to be the way with even commoner grandparents.
 
 
It is a walking aid.

I saw their majesties , The King cannot walk without hanging on his wife's arms.
To-morrow we will see them at the Mass for the deceased members of our royal family.
 
That is terrible !
The Royal Couple and two minor royal Ladies !
I don't understand and am upset !
 
I was surprised not to see more senior members of the Royal Family present at the Mass.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

iceflower
Crown Prince & Crown Princess Akishino Current Events Part 2: November 2024 -
Replies
4
Views
563
iceflower
iceflower
An Ard Ri
  • Sticky
Queen Mathilde, Current Events, Part 3
Replies
18
Views
2K
iceflower
iceflower
iceflower
  • Sticky
Prince Albert II of Monaco Current Events Part 35: September 2024 -
2
Replies
32
Views
4K
iceflower
iceflower
iceflower
Princely Family of Monaco: Current Events Part 11: November 2024 -
Replies
7
Views
971
An Ard Ri
An Ard Ri
An Ard Ri
  • Sticky
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's Current Events 5: June 2024 -
Replies
21
Views
4K
iceflower
iceflower

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom