Philippe
King Philippe in 2021
King of the Belgians
Reign21 July 2013 – present
PredecessorAlbert II
Heiress apparentElisabeth
Prime MinistersElio Di Rupo
Charles Michel
Sophie Wilmès
Alexander De Croo
Born (1960-04-15) 15 April 1960
Belvédère Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1999)​
Issue
Detail
Names
Dutch: Filip Leopold Lodewijk Maria
French: Philippe Léopold Louis Marie
German: Philipp Leopold Ludwig Maria
HouseBelgium
FatherAlbert II of Belgium
MotherPaola Ruffo di Calabria
ReligionRoman Catholicism
SignaturePhilippe's signature

Philippe or Filip (Dutch: Filip Leopold Lodewijk Maria [ˈfilɪp ˈleːjoːpɔlt ˈloːdəʋɛik maːˈrijaː]; French: Philippe Léopold Louis Marie [filip leɔpɔld lwi maʁi]; born 15 April 1960) is King of the Belgians. He is the eldest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola. He succeeded his father upon the latter's abdication for health reasons on 21 July 2013. He married Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz in 1999, with whom he has four children. Their eldest child, Princess Elisabeth, is first in the line of succession.

Early life

Philippe was born on 15 April 1960 at the Belvédère Castle in Laeken north of Brussels. His father, Prince Albert, Prince of Liège (later King Albert II), was the second son of King Leopold III of Belgium and a younger brother of Baudouin. His mother, Paola, Princess of Liège (later Queen Paola), is a daughter of the Italian aristocrat Fulco VIII, Prince Ruffo di Calabria, 6th Duke of Guardia Lombarda. His mother descends from the French House of La Fayette, and the king is a descendant of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, and Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles.

Philippe was baptised one month later at the church of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg in Brussels on 17 May,[1] and named Philippe after his great-great-grandfather Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders. His godparents were his paternal grandfather, King Leopold III, and his maternal grandmother, Donna Luisa, Princess Ruffo di Calabria.[2]

Albert and Paola's marriage was unhappy, and they were usually absent from Philippe's life. The child neglect was so severe that child psychologist Peter Adriaenssens described it as justifying intervention by social workers.[3]

Philippe has a half-sibling, Princess Delphine of Belgium (born 1968).

He was also the fifth cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II since they share a common ancestor, Francis (one of his sons, Leopold I would become the first King of the Belgians while his eldest son and successor, Ernest I is the father-in-law of Queen Victoria). Queen Elizabeth II and King Philippe had been 3rd cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark.

Education

As a child the future king was required to move from a French-language school which he liked to a secondary school in Flanders, where he found it difficult to make friends. "In my youth, I had many problems at school", Philippe told teenage dropouts in 2019. "I felt badly treated. It was not easy for me".[3] From 1978 to 1981, Philippe was educated at the Belgian Royal Military Academy in the 118th "Promotion Toutes Armes" (Promotion All Weapons). On 26 September 1980, he was appointed second lieutenant and took the officer's oath.[4]

Philippe continued his education at Trinity College, Oxford, and he attended graduate school at Stanford University, California, where he graduated in 1985 with an MA degree in political science.[4] He obtained his fighter pilot's wings and his certificates as a parachutist and a commando. In 1989, he attended a series of special sessions at the Royal Higher Defence Institute. The same year, he was promoted to colonel.

In 1993, King Baudouin died in Spain, Albert became the new king, and Philippe became the new heir apparent, titled Duke of Brabant.

On 25 March 2001, Philippe was appointed to the rank of major-general in the Land Component and the Air Component and to the rank of rear-admiral in the Naval Component.[4]

Marriage

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde wave to crowds in Brussels after his swearing in as the new Belgian monarch.

Philippe married Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, daughter of a Walloon count of a Belgian noble family and female line descendant of Polish noble families such as the princes Sapieha and counts Komorowski, on 4 December 1999 in Brussels, in a civil ceremony at the Brussels Town Hall and a religious ceremony at the Cathedral of Saint Michel and Saint Gudule in Brussels. They have four children who were all born at Erasmus Hospital in Brussels:

Foreign trade

On 6 August 1993, the government named Philippe as honorary chairman of the Belgian Foreign Trade Board (BFTB). He succeeded his father, who had been honorary chairman of the BFTB since 1962. On 3 May 2003, he was appointed honorary chairman of the board of the Foreign Trade Agency, replacing the BFTB.[5]

In this capacity, Philippe has headed more than 60 economic missions.[6][7] Upon his accession as seventh King of the Belgians, this role was taken over by his sister Princess Astrid.

Accession

Philippe in Antwerp, 2013

King Albert II announced on 3 July 2013 that he would abdicate in favour of Philippe on 21 July 2013.[8] Approximately one hour after King Albert II's abdication, Prince Philippe was sworn in as King of the Belgians.[9] His eldest child, Princess Elisabeth, became his heir apparent and is expected to become Belgium's first queen regnant.

Reign

Philippe played a role in forming a coalition government after the 2014 Belgian federal election.[10] Political meetings with the King were moved from the Palace of Laeken to the Royal Palace of Brussels.[10] In May 2019, Philippe met with Vlaams Belang President Tom Van Grieken, the first time the party had received a royal audience.[10][11]

In 2020, Philippe announced regret for the "acts of violence and cruelty" committed in the Congo Free State.[10]

Honours and arms

Personal Standard of Philippe, King of the Belgians

National honours

Foreign honours

Arms

Coat of arms of Philippe of Belgium
Notes
In 2019 the king codified the coats of arms of himself and those of his family through a Royal Decree. The arms of the reigning monarch was modified to include the Saxonian escutcheon. The arms of other members of the royal family was similarly modified.[20][21] The reinstatement of the shield of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha into the royal arms occurred shortly after the visit of the king and queen to the ancestral Friedenstein Castle. The latest royal decree therefore reverses previous changes made to the Royal versions of the coat arms which removed the armorial bearings of Saxony during the First World War.[22] By including the three official languages in the motto it reflects his wish "to be the King of the whole Kingdom and of all Belgians".[23]
Adopted
12 July 2019
Coronet
Royal crown of Belgium
Helm
A golden royal helm with the visor open
Escutcheon
Sable, a lion rampant or, armed and langued gules (Belgium), on the shoulder an escutcheon barry of ten sable and or, a crancelin vert (Wettin), with two crossed sceptres (a hand of justice and a lion) or behind a shield.
Supporters
Two lions guardant proper each supporting a lance or with two National Flags of Belgium (Tierced per pale Sable, Or and Gules).
Motto
French: L'union fait la force
Dutch: Eendracht maakt macht
German: Einigkeit macht stark
Orders
Order of Leopold
Other elements
The whole is placed on a mantle purpure with ermine lining, fringes and tassels or and ensigned with the Royal crown of Belgium.
Previous versions
Previously as monarch, Philippe used the royal coat of arms of Belgium undifferenced.

Ancestry

See also

References

  1. ↑ J.M. (8 May 2001). "Le baptême en l'église royale..." dh.be (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Prince Philippe : la ligne du temps d'une vie passée devant les caméras". RTBF.be (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 Moens, Barbara (21 July 2022). "Belgian king prepares to hand his daughter the curse of the crown". Politico. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Belgian Monarchy". Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "The Belgian Monarchy". Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Agence pour le Commerce extérieur, Missions antérieures Archived 10 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Official Royal Website Archives". Monarchie.be. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  8. ↑ Price, Matthew (3 July 2013). "Belgium's King Albert II announces abdication". BBC News. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Belgium's King Albert II gives up throne to son". CNN. 21 July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Moens, Barbara; Gijs, Camille (6 July 2020). "Of race and royalty: How the king surprised Belgium". Politico.
  11. ↑ "Belgian far-right leader in landmark audience with the king". The Public's Radio. Associated Press. 29 May 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Biographies of Members of the Belgian Senate" (PDF). Belgian Senate. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  13. ↑ "Modtagere af danske dekorationer". kongehuset.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  14. ↑ "Συνάντηση με τον Βασιλιά και την Βασίλισσα των Βέλγων – Προεδρία της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας".
  15. ↑ "Le Roi et la Reine sont devenus chevaliers de collier". Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  16. ↑ Sito web del Quirinale: dettaglio decorato.
  17. ↑ "President Mattarella receives the King of the Belgians". twitter.com. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  18. ↑ "Lithuanian president confers state awards to King and Queen of Belgium ahead of visit".
  19. ↑ "Order of Oman for the King of the Belgians". twitter.com. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Le Moniteur belge". www.ejustice.just.fgov.be. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  21. ↑ "Royal Decree of July 12, 2019". Moniteur Belge. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  22. ↑ Philippe, Koning der Belgen (12 July 2019). "Koninklijk besluit houdende vaststelling van het wapen van het Koninklijk Huis en van zijn leden" (PDF). Belgisch Staatsblad. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  23. ↑ "Belgian royal coat of arms gets a 'modern' update". Brussel Times. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
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