Royalty

Belgium is a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. The royal family is much-loved by the Belgian people and is today headed by King Albert II, Queen Paola and their three children (Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent). Queen Fabiola, wife to the late King Baudouin, retains her title and is held high in the public esteem. 

King Albert II came to the throne unexpectedly at the age of 59 in August 1993, following the sudden death of his elder brother Baudouin, respected if sometimes controversial, who reigned for 42 years. Altogether there have been six Belgian kings since Leopold I of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha founded the dynasty in 1831. On December 1999, Albert’s elder son and heir, Philippe, 39, married a Belgian woman 13 years his junior, Mathilde D’Udekem d’Acoz. The couple gave birth to Princess Elisabeth Thérèse Marie Hélène on October 25, 2001, followed by Prince Gabriel Boudewijn Karel Maria on August 20, 2003. On April 12, 2003, Albert's younger son Laurent married Claire Coombs. 

The monarchy is credited with being one of the few forces holding Belgium together. In fact, there are few grounds for believing that there is any serious risk of Flemings and Walloons following the example of Czechs and Slovaks in seeking a ‘velvet divorce’. They may like quarrelling with each other, but over the years Belgians have shown a genius for compromise, and only small percentages of each language group believe that they would be better off without the other. In Flanders in particular, however, there is continuing pressure for a further devolution of powers.