Prince Laurent of Belgium rushed to hospital

Prince Laurent of Belgium

We've learned from UnOfficialRoyalty that Prince Laurent of Belgium has been rushed to the hospital. An official statement from the Royal Palace confirmed that. He is now at the Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc in Brussels since March 18. No further details was provided but some members of the Belgian press suggest the prince has been suffering from deppression. Prince Laurent is the younger brother of King Philippe. His parents are King Albert II and Queen Paolo.

Queen Mathilde at 41

We are one with Queen Mathilde and the rest of the Belgian Royal Family in celebrating the 41st birthday of Queen Mathilde. She is the consort of King Philippe. Queen Mathilde was born January 20, 1973. In honor of Queen Mathilde, we've scouted Pinterest for some of the most wonderful images of Her Majesty.

 @f-ge-ZZZaagd

@Danielle Belisle

@The Huffington Post

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In Picture: The Belgian Royals Takes a Day Off

The Belgian Royal Family are having a great time.

King Albert and Queen Paola(then Prince and Princess) with their children, (now king) Philippe, Astrid and Laurent. Image: Royal Families (Facebook)

King Philippe enjoys high approval ratings

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. Image: Getty Images

One hundred days after taking the throne, King Philippe of Belgium seems to be up on a good start.
Marking his 100th day on the throne on Monday, 59 percent of Flemish people expressed confidence in the 53-year-old king, reports Wort.lu. That was a 10-point leap from the result of a survery commissioned right after he succeeded to the throne. The survey was conducted by VTM TV station.
Meanwhile, another survey conducted by RTL TV showed that the new king enjoyed the support of 79 percent of his subjects.

According to the sixty-four percent of the respondents, they were not bothered by Queen Mathilde's wish to be addressed with "Her Majesty," reports Expatica.

Belgium will have 2 Kings and 3 Queens

Belgium will have two queens and three queens by the time Crown Prince
Philippe ascends the throne on July 21. Image credit: Reuters

The abdication of King Albert II will give Belgium more living kings and queens that any other countries in the world. Unlike the neighboring kingdom of the Netherlands, in Belgium, a former reigning sovereign gets to keep his title. This was not the case for Queen Beatrix. When she abdicated in April, she ceased from being Queen, but reverted to her former title as a Princess of the Netherlands.

So, that makes King Albert still a king, but the real, reigning sovereign and head of state would be his son and successor, King Philippe.

Belgium will also have three queens: the new Queen Consort, Mathilde; Queen Paola, King Albert's wife; and Queen Fabiola, widow of King Baudouin, who died in 1991.

There was also an instance when the United Kingdom had three queens. On the death of King George VI in 1952, his elder daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, succeeded on the throne. He was survived by his consort, Queen Elizabeth, who took the title Queen Mother, and  by his mother, Queen Mary, who died a little less than a year later, in 1953.

King Albert II abdicates

King Albert II of Belgium announces his abdication.
 Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Following the steps of his neighbor, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, King Albert II has announced before national television that he will abdicate on July 21 in favor of his heir, Crown Prince Philippe.

King Albert was born on June 6, 1934, the second son of King Leopold III and Princess Astrid of Sweden, who died while he was just five years old. He inherited the throne upon the death of his elder brother, King Baudouin in 1993.

The King's reign was generally peaceful, although it was never out of scandal. The entirety of his twenty-year reign was marked by strife between Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north and the French-speaking Wallonia is the south.

Shortly after he succeeded on the throne, a scandal forced her to recognize an illegitimate daughter, Delphine Boel.
In his speech, the 79-year-old monarch explained that his abdication is due to his age and health, although Boel's legal efforts to prove that she is the king's daughter is also attributed to the reasons why the ageing monarch will hand over the reins of running the state to his heir.

King Albert II is the third European sovereign to abdicate in 2013. Pope Benedict XVI adbicated in February, followed by Queen Beatrix in April. Albert's own father, King Leopold, abdicated in 1951.

Belgium celebrates its independence day on July 21 and what better way to pass the sovereign authority of the kingdom on this day.


Read King Albert II's Speech at the Belgian Royal Family's Website

More royal news and update on King Albert's abdication:

• Belgium's King Albert II announces abdication [BBC]
• Belgium's King Albert II to abdicate July 21 [Wort.lu]
• King Albert II of Belgium announces abdication in favour of son Prince Philippe [Hello]
• King of Belgium gives up throne in favour of his son ... [Mail Online]
• King of the Belgians confirms abdication on National Day [Examiner]

More royal news from this royal blog:

• Queen Beatrix abdicates, King Willem-Alexander succeeds Dutch throne 
• King Albert attends tribute to the unknown soldiers 
• Belgian royals to start paying taxes: What a great gift to birthday boy King Albert 
• Queen Fabiola's inheritance plan earns rebuke 
• Prince Laurent of Belgium hospitalized after skiing accident

About the Author

Christian George Acevedo is a librarian, mentor, and scholar of wide-ranging interests. He has authored hundreds of articles for various websites, and his expertise ranges from online marketing and finance to history, entertainment and many more. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Tumblr. Contact Christian at powerwordsonlinewriting@gmail.com.

Belgian royals to start paying taxes: What a great gift to birthday boy King Albert

Belgian Royal Family to start paying taxes. Image credit: Almanach de Gotha

Wednesday, June 5 – Happy birthday, King Albert! And his subjects in the government just gave him the best birthday gift ever—taxing his family member.

Finally, Belgium’s royals will have to pay taxes. Since the kingdom was granted independence in 1830, not a single member of the royal family has contributed a cent to the state coffers. Now, that is going to change.  

The coalition government has already approved the reform.

Expactica.com reports His Majesty, however, receives an annual tax-free allowance of 11.5 million euros ($15 million). This exemption has been possible because the constitution any rules for the reigning royal to be altered.

However, the other members of the king’s family will be hard-hit by this household reforms, including his children and his sister-in-law, Queen Fabiola.

Crown Prince Philippe, who receives receives around 923,000 euros a year, will have to adjust to a reduced circumstances. Under the new law, he will only receive a gross salary of 180,000 euros. And that could dwindle further after tax. However, any amount paid for staff and meeting household expenses in relation to their job as working royals shall be tax exempt, although the government will still keep a scrutinizing look at their accounts.

The king’s younger children, Princess Astrid and PrinceLaurent, will each receive a gross salary 90,000 euros.

Meanwhile, the king’s frail and wheelchair-bound sister-in-law, Queen Fabiola, window of King Baudoin, saw her annual stipend slashed from 1.4 million euros to 923,000 euros.

The dowager queen was criticized lately after she decided to set up a private foundation that will take charge in disbursing her estate to her nephews and for Catholic charities upon her death. However, critics were quick to point out that the foundation is actually intended to funnel the funds to her Spanish relatives so she could avoid paying 70 percent death duties currently implemented in Belgium.

The recent rules however provided that the surviving spouse of a sovereign will only receive an amount equal to two-thirds of what an heir to the throne receives for 10 years. Afterwards, the amount will be slashed to just half of it.

In the future, the government will only pay for the allowance of the heir to the throne.

You might also want to read:

• Prince Laurent discharged from hospital 
• Prince Laurent of Belgium hospitalized after skiing accident 
• King Albert attends tribute to the unknown soldiers 
• Princess Astrid of Belgiums Pleas for Support Against Malaria 
• Queen Fabiola's inheritance plan earns rebuke 

Prince Laurent discharged from hospital

Prince Laurent of Belgium was discharged from the hospital last Saturday but he seems to be facing an angry king. The prince, known as the black sheep of the Royal House of Belgium was reportedly facing the enmity of his father the King because he did not inform the Palace about his accident. When the press came calling about the injury the palace had no idea what had occurred. This may further fracture the already delicate relationship between not only the King’s offices, but the King himself.

Prince Laurent of Belgium hospitalized after skiing accident

Reports confirm that Prince Laurent of Belgium has been injured while skiing in Austria. He is currently admitted at an Austrian hospital to "monitor internal bleeding," reports The Associated Press.


The doctors are doing their best to make sure that the prince is free from the "risk of bleeding," which was reportedly near his liver. Palace official revealed that the accident happened in the afternoon of Feb. 19 near Innsbruck.

Prince Laurent, 49, is the third child of Belgium's King Albert.

Last year, Dutch Prince Johan-Friso also met an accident while skiing in Austria. He was buried under deep snow after an avalanche, leaving him in comatose until now.

Queen Fabiola's inheritance plan earns rebuke

Queen Fabiola of Belgium

Queen Fabiola's plan to set up a private foundation to dispose funds to her nephews and for her Catholic charities in the event of her death has earned the criticism of the media, the public and politicians, reports AFP. It was revealed that the 84-year-old Queen, consort of the late King Baudouin, did not bother to consult his brother-in-law King Albert II about this.


The Queen receives 1.4 million euros a year since 1993, the year of her husband's death. Her Majesty made it clear that she never planned to "put money from the stipend into the foundation" and that "all the money from the stipend is used on the expenses of my home, the main item being the wages of the staff." She also mentioned in a rare statement that the cash to be entrusted to the foundation are from her inheritance, consisting of "property and art works that I carefully kept until today."

The Queen, now bent and wheelchair-bound was highly popular since the 1960s. Born Dona Fabiola de Mora y Aragon, she was a member of the Spanish aristocracy until she wedded the King. She immediately became a popular figure in Belgium because of her numerous charities, earning her the moniker as Belgium's "First Social Worker."

King Albert attends tribute to the unknown soldiers

King Albert II of Belgium attended a tribute to the unknown soldier in Brussels. The event was in commemoration of those who perished while fighting since World War II while protecting Belgium, as well as fighting for the Allied cause. During the event, the King laid flowers on the graves, as well as met with the war veterans.

Princess Astrid of Belgiums Pleas for Support Against Malaria

Princess Astrid of Belgium, in her capacity as the special representative of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM), has asked Indonesia to help provide greater commitment to global malaria control efforts. More about the princess’ message to Indonesia’s first lady in a report by The Jakarta Post.

Christmas With the Royals

A gallery of royal photos from Europe's royal houses at their holiday best.

Christmas is truly in the air and as everyone is busy shopping and preparing for the holidays, royal figures from all over the world are busy spreading cheers and merriment to their loyal subjects. Here's a gallery of photos with royals from all over Europe in their most festive spirit. 

http://www.monarchie.be

The Belgian Crown Princely family released their official Christmas portrait Dec. 15, although the photos were captured in October during Princess Elisabeth’s 10th birthday.

http://www.daylife.com

On Dec. 14, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene welcomed dozens of Monegasque children to the royal palace for the annual gift giving event, which filled the royal residence with cheer and interaction. Earlier, the ruling prince did the same to a senior citizens' home. 

http://www.casareal.es

Dec. 16, The three children of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain have released their official Christmas photographs, together with their families. Infanta Elena, Infanta Cristina and Prince Felipe displayed their love for their grown up children as well as the happy family that they are. 

http://www.gettyimages.de

On Dec. 18, Princess Stephanie, Prince Albert's sister did her share to elderly at the Hector Otto Foundation, a nursing home.   

http://www.namdalsavisa.no

Dec. 19, The Norwegian royal family released their Christmas photos. The theme was simple and Queen Sonja read How The Snow Got Color by Dan Lindholm to her two grandchildren, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. The Princess was listening intently to her grandmother while her year old brother's attention was caught by the large Christmas tree behind them. Showcased were the traditional Norwegian outfit worn by The Queen and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. For Christmas, King Harald V and Sonja will be with Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit at at Skaugum Palace, outside Norway.