Belgium will get a new king Sunday when the current monarch, Albert, abdicates following a 20-year reign and hands over the throne to his son Philippe. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Tag Archives: King Albert
King Albert calls on Belgians to stick together
Albert II, king of a sharply divided Belgium, called on its people Saturday to stick together as he bade them a formal farewell ahead of his abdication after 20 years on the throne. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
King Albert, Queen Paola shed a tear on eve of abdication
Belgium’s Queen Paola shed a tear Friday after twice offering Albert II a kiss as the royal couple took a farewell tour of Liege ahead of the king’s weekend abdication.
Greeted by thousands of cries of “Long live the King” and “Long Live Belgium”, the visit to the southern Belgian city was Albert’s last in 20 years of a reign that comes to a close Sunday.
It was also highly symbolic as it was there that his parents — Leopold III and Swedish-born Queen Astrid — showed him off from the town hall balcony as the one-year-old baby Prince of Liege.
Albert, who remained prince until the sudden death of his brother Baudouin in 1993, is credited with having kept linguistically-divided Belgium united despite calls for an end to the monarchy from Dutch-speaking separatists in northern Flanders.
The 79-year-old, who said he was stepping down due to age and poor health, climbed the town hall steps slowly and once inside brushed away a tear too when shown footage of a 1959 trip to Liege with his legendary beautiful fiancee, Paola.
Some 6,000 to 8,000 Belgians turned out in the streets to say good-bye.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Reports: Belgian prince injured in skiing trip
Belgian media are reporting that Prince Laurent was injured during a skiing holiday in Austria.
VRT network talked to a representative of the Innsbruck hospital, Johannes Schwamberger, who said that Prince Laurent‘s injuries were not life-threatening. Phone calls to the palace were not answered and requests for comment not immediately returned.
The 49-year-old prince is the third child of King Albert.
A year ago, Dutch Prince Friso was left in a coma after being engulfed by an avalanche while skiing in Austria.