Belgium-Birthdays and other milestones

TLLK · December 04, 2020, 02:10:13 PM

Royal Wedding Rewind: King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians ? Royal Central :fireworks: :milestone:- (The European royals forums were closed at this time last year on their 20th anniversary so I am noting this milestone on their 21st anniversary.) Hard to believe that in the next four years we'll very likely see the 20th anniversaries for TRH Haakon/Mette Marit, TM W-A and Maxima, TRH Frederik and Mary, and TM Felipe and Letizia.

QuotePhilippe and Mathilde have since enjoyed a famously happy marriage and have welcomed four children ? Elisabeth (2001), Gabriel (2003), Emmanuel (2005) and Eleonore (2008). Seven years into their tenure as King and Queen of the Belgians, they remain popular and dedicated. It?s a path that can be traced all the way back to that royal wedding that took place twenty one years ago today.

LouisFerdinand · December 11, 2020, 12:11:22 AM

A video of the engagement of Philippe and Mathilde
Engagement Prince Philippe of Belgium and Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz - video Dailymotion

TLLK · January 20, 2021, 05:53:12 PM

A place to post about birthdays, personal anniversaries and other milestones.

:bday7: Happy Birthday to Queen Mathilde of the Belgians.

Blue Clover · April 06, 2021, 04:17:55 AM

I remember this wedding and how emotional Mathilde was during the ceremony. They are a good match, they seem just what the other needed.

LouisFerdinand · April 13, 2021, 10:05:18 PM

I like how Princess Mathilde smiles at Prince Philippe.
The Wedding Of Prince Philippe Of Belgium And Miss Mathilde D'udekem... News Photo - Getty Images :D :D :D :D :D :D

PrincessOfPeace · April 15, 2021, 10:02:18 AM

King Philippe thanks the public for his birthday wishes. He turned 61 today.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNrKcaWHC0f/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

PrincessOfPeace · April 16, 2021, 10:08:53 AM

Princess Eleonore is 13 today.

TLLK · April 16, 2021, 04:58:01 PM

:bday: :bdaycake: It's definitely a busy birthday week for the Laken Palace baker!

PrincessOfPeace · June 06, 2021, 09:14:58 AM

Happy 87th Birthday to King Albert.

TudorQueen · July 02, 2021, 01:33:46 AM

Not a birthday but a pretty big milestone. Elisabeth has completed her one year of military training.

Fin d?ann?e ? l?Ecole Royale Militaire pour la princesse Elisabeth ? Noblesse & Royaut?s

It will be interesting to learn what her plans for the fall are. :flower3:

Curryong · July 02, 2021, 01:59:46 AM

Next would be study at a University somewhere in Belgium I suppose, followed by maybe a Masters perhaps in the US or UK.

TudorQueen · July 02, 2021, 08:39:39 AM

Quote from: Curryong on July 02, 2021, 01:59:46 AM
Next would be study at a University somewhere in Belgium I suppose, followed by maybe a Masters perhaps in the US or UK.

Be interesting to see where she chooses.

She will be the first senior member of her family (born) to attend a civilian college in Belgium. Her dad and Uncle did their studies at the military academy (Philippe later went to Oxford and then his graduate at Stanford). Astrid studied in Switzerland and Michigan (and a year in the Netherlands). Her cousins have all studied abroad.

I wouldn't be surprised if she followed her mother's example and attended the Universit? catholique de Louvain.

TudorQueen · August 20, 2021, 07:59:14 AM

Prince Gabriel's 18th birthday today.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSyX1miI0MF/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSyPI5jIERQ/

And though we don't know about Elizabeth's plans for the year, we now know what Gabriel will be doing. Not the military academy like his sister, he will be going to school in the UK.

TLLK · August 20, 2021, 01:42:22 PM

:bday7: To Prince Gabriel who seems destined to be one of Europe's tallest princes in the near future. :happy:

PrincessOfPeace · August 26, 2021, 02:50:44 PM

Happy 33rd Birthday to Princess Maria Laura.

PrincessOfPeace · September 10, 2021, 12:55:31 AM

Happy 62nd Wedding Anniversary to King Albert and Queen Paola.

PrincessOfPeace · September 11, 2021, 09:40:26 AM

Happy 84th Birthday to Queen Paola.

LouisFerdinand · September 11, 2021, 10:36:15 PM

Happy, Joyful Birthday to Queen Paola!

:flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower: :flower:

PrincessOfPeace · September 22, 2021, 04:02:38 PM

Happy 37th Wedding Anniversary to Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz.

TLLK · September 22, 2021, 04:19:57 PM

Astrid was the first of Albert and Paola's children to marry . Here's an older blog post about their wedding with good photos and a short video of their engagement interview. And if you thought Diana's wedding dress had puffy sleeves, well they pale in comparison to Astrid's. :wink:

The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor: Royal Wedding Anniversary of the Week: September 24

PrincessOfPeace · October 04, 2021, 08:55:10 AM

Happy 16th Birthday to Prince Emmanuel.

TLLK · October 04, 2021, 05:53:21 PM

A little more on Prince Emmanuel.
Who is Prince Emmanuel of Belgium? ? Royal Central

QuoteOctober is a month of royal birthdays, and two of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium?s children celebrate their arrival into the world this month.

Prince Emmanuel of Belgium is the first birthday of the month. His Royal Highness was born on the 4th of October 2005 in ?rasme d?Anderlecht Hospital in Brussels, the third child and second son of the then-Duke and Duchess of Brabant, now King Philippe and Queen Mathilde.

He was christened on the 10th of December of the same year. According to Roman Catholic tradition, he had one godfather, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg, and one godmother, his maternal aunt, Countess Elisabeth d?Udekem d?Acoz.

His education was on the path of looking more or less the same as his siblings, with Prince Emmanuel attending St John Berchman?s College in Brussels like his sister Elisabeth and brother Gabriel had done before him. However, a diagnosis of dyslexia in 2012 prompted his parents to send him to Eureka Special School in Kessel-Lo, a small town outside of Brussels. The school caters to children of normal intelligence and gifted children that have dyslexia.

This early dyslexia diagnosis represented a first in the royal world, with many other royals suffering from it but only getting diagnosed with it at a much older age. This could have something to do with Queen Mathilde being a licensed speech therapist who had her own activity before becoming a member of the Royal Family and therefore being somewhat trained to recognise speech impediments even in young children. Of course, this has never been confirmed, as the Royal Household only revealed that Prince Emmanuel had changed schools because of a dyslexia diagnosis.

TudorQueen · October 04, 2021, 07:34:00 PM

Happy birthday to Prince Emmanuel :flower3:

@TLLK The article is incorrect when it says it was a first for Emmanuel to be diagnosed so young, among royal. Beatrice mentioned recently in he dyslexia work that she was diagnosed at 7 and how the early intervention was key for her. Like Emmanuel, the choice for schooling for Beatrice was also shaped by getting her the best support for it. Its unfortunate so many of the older royals struggled through school with it because it was undiagnosed for so long. I remember Victoria speaking about being bullied in school as kids thought her slow.

Two kids off in the UK (one university and one doing their a levels) and now a 16 year old. Wonder if the parents are feeling old yet :laugh10:

TLLK · October 04, 2021, 08:05:12 PM

@TudorQueen -Yes that is true. I don't know why some of the bloggers don't do a little more research. Now that I think about it, I recall that CP Victoria was another royal who was diagnosed during her elementary school years with dyslexia. I believe that her brother Carl Phillip also is dyslexic.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Swedish princess reveals bullying secret

It is very unfortunate that others were not diagnosed early on, as they likely struggled not only with their school work but low self-esteem.

Curryong · October 04, 2021, 09:14:54 PM

Victoria?s father King Carl Gustav suffered from dyslexia all his life and his wasn?t diagnosed for many years. I don?t recall reading that he was bullied at school, but having four older sisters who, though they loved him very much were inclined to be bossy, probably kept him in place! The King has spoken about feeling bad and bewildered about his school work etc not being up to scratch, and that must have been a source of distress.

His mother Sybilla was reputedly a very quiet and repressed woman after her husband?s death and the children were brought up in a different floor of the Palace to her rooms. They loved their affectionate old nanny who devoted herself to them but Carl Gustav also sought out male role models like his uncle Bertil and security policemen. His lack of a father growing up (his mother never spoke of him to her children) affected CG all his life and he?s spoken a little about that too.

Dyslexia seems to run through the Scandi royals (who have of course intermarried over the centuries) as apparently several Norwegian royals have also suffered from it in various forms. In the days when children were just considered stupid and it remained undiagnosed, it must have been awful.