Belgian National Day 2023

~ Saad719

The Belgian Royal Family celebrated National Day 2023 with a series of events on July 20th and 21st. The day commemorates July 21st, 1831 in which Prince Leopold of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha swore allegiance to the new Belgian constitution, thus becoming the first Head of State of an independent state of Belgium under a constitutional monarchy and parliament. This year also marks the 10th Anniversary of King Philippe’s Accession to the Throne.

   

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde were joined by the Duchess of Brabant, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel, and Prince Eléonore among members of the extended Royal Family as they attended a Te Deum at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, afterwards meeting members of the crowd. Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz attended a Te Deum in Wavre while Prince Laurent went to Leuven.

   

In the afternoon, King Philippe, Queen Mathilde were joined by two of their four children, Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz, Prince Laurent, Princess Claire, and Princess Delphine, as they attended the civil and military parade on the Place des Palais in front of the Royal Palace in Brussels. The Duchess of Brabant and Prince Gabriel took part in the parade as a part of the Royal Military School.

Afterwards, the King and Queen and Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel, and Prince Eléonore joined the celebrations in the Parc across Palace Square, before they were joined by Duchess of Brabant for a Concert and viewed the annual National Day Fireworks from the Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels.

 

On the evening of July 20th, King Philippe, Queen Mathilde, Princess Astrid and Archduke Lorenz and Prince Laurent attended the “Prelude to National Day” Concert at the Flagey in Brussels, following which the King and Queen attended the Bal National at the Vossenplein.

The Belgian Royal Court released new Official Portraits of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of The Belgians to mark the 10th Anniversary of the King’s Accession. These Portraits replace those released five years ago, which in turn replaced the first Official Portraits released on their Accession in 2013.

   

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