Currently, Felipe and Matilde occupy the place of king and queen of Belgium
They have always been shown with a very united couple and are parents of Isabel, Gabriel, Manuel and Leonor
Of course, the Belgian royal family has several scandals and rumors that have made its reputation jump through the air
In Europe there is a strong tradition as far as monarchy is concerned. For this reason, there are many countries that still have their kings and queens, princes and princesses. Among them, one of the best known is the belgian royal house. It was in 1830 when the country decided that it wanted to enjoy a constitutional monarchy And things haven’t changed much since then.
The current king ascended the throne in July 2013 after the abdication of his father
The current king is Philip of Belgium.although it is most likely that the name of one of its predecessors sounds more familiar to you, as it could be Baudouin. The currently reigning monarch took the throne on July 21, 2013, as his father had resigned the throne 18 days earlier. What’s more, his coronation coincided with the national holiday of Belgium Day.
We know about Alberto that he was born on April 15, 1960 in the city of Brussels and that he is the son of Prince Albert and Princess Paola. In addition, from the first moment he became the favorite nephew of Baldwin of Belgium, who was clear that he wanted him to succeed him, since neither he nor his wife, Fabiola, had a descendant. Even so, after the death of his uncle, it was his father, Alberto II, who assumed that position with such responsibility.
He married Matilde d’Udekem in the late 1990s.
Philip was made Duke of Brabant upon his father’s accession. The first years of the current king’s life were spent at the Château de Fenffe and he studied in both French and Dutch. Furthermore, in 1985 he graduated from the Royal Military School of Belgium as a lieutenant and entered the Navy, where he reached the rank of major general of the Army and Air Force. In addition, he studied at Trinity College and at Stanford University, in California, where he graduated in Political Sciences.
The king speaks perfectly several languages, among which are French, Dutch, German and English. He was on December 4, 1999 when he married Matilde d’Udekem, who belonged to a family of counts and countesses and currently holds the title of queen consort. The couple had four children: Isabel, Gabriel, Manuel and Eleanor.
Isabel, who will turn 22 this year, is the heir to the throne
Isabel is the one who will inherit the title of her father and this year she will be 22. The young woman has studied in Dutch in Brussels and then moved to Wales to study at the prestigious UWC Atlantic College, where she is currently also studying princess eleanor. Also, Isabel has been trained in everything related to the military and in 2020 she became one more student of the Royal Military Academy of Brussels. In October of last year he began studying at the University of Oxford, where he is studying History and Politics, just as his father did.
His brother, GabrielHe came of age last year. Unlike his sister, he has studied the international baccalaureate at the International School in Brussels and then enrolled at the National Mathematics & Science College Warwickshire, England, where you can study science, technology, engineering or math.
Felipe and Matilde have shown themselves to be a very united marriage
On the other hand, his brothers Manuel and Eleanor, they are still children who are in the first years of high school. If we have to talk about the family formed by Alberto and Matilde, we can highlight their closeness with the Belgian people. They have always been very friendly and, in addition, they have collaborated closely with many sectors against COVID. Thus, both the current kings and their predecessors stood out for being considered ‘the perfect couple’.
That appearance of an idyllic couple was disarmed with the publication of a book
This image was cracked with the publication of the book Question Royale -translated as ‘Real Affairs’-, where the journalist Frederic Deborsu spoke of the alleged homosexuality of King Felipe or the infidelities of Queen Emeritus Paola. Thus, Deborsu explains that, when he was 39 years old, “the prince had not married”, affirming that he had a relationship with another man, a friend of his, with whom he had come to live.
According to the 300 pages of that book, King Albert pressured his son to marry, insisting that if he didn’t, he would never become king. Thus, he accepted that his parents prepare a marriage of convenience with Matilde, who fulfilled all the requirements to be queen. “It was a forced marriage. She agreed to marry to save her parents from ruin”, comments the author.
King Albert, his father, was unfaithful to his wife on several occasions
Regarding infidelities by Albert, he himself ended up admitting that they were a reality. Thus, during the 1960s he began a relationship with Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, with whom he spent a decade. In addition, with her he had a daughter, the sculptress Delphine Boel, who has finally been recognized as legitimate princess of Belgium
As well, the marriage between Paola and Alberto was in danger when she was photographed with another man on an Italian beach. It was said that this was her lover, which caused both her and her husband’s reputations to be clouded again.
He faced problems with the inheritance of the queen mother
And not only did they have problems with extramarital affairs, they also had some problems with the distribution of the inheritance of the queen mother, FabiolaBaldwin’s wife. It is said that Alberto and Paola took the woman out of the palace where she had lived for 30 years and took her to a castle where she lived against her will. fabiola finished passing away in 2015, leaving a controversial distribution of the inheritance. The Belgian royal house decided donate it all to a foundation that she created herself to help people who lived on the street and families with economic needs.
Fabiola was Spanishso he had several nephews living in our country, who were very disappointed with this decision, since his own aunt had told them that he had left them a part of his inheritance.
The most troublesome member of the whole family is Laurent
The most unruly member of the Belgian royal family, without a doubt, is the prince laurent, brother of Prince Philip. This is considered as ‘the black sheep of the family’ and on many occasions his attitude has been treated as a matter of state. His most notorious scandal happened in 2006, when diverted funds from the Belgian navy to pay for the renovation of his holiday home. Also, the man spent as ‘state expense’ the costs of his vacations, various supermarket tickets and even the school expenses of his three children. After this, he had to pay 16,000 euros to the country.
