At around 10 am on Monday morning, King Albert and Queen Paola arrived on King’s Day in Brussels. Amid much booing and protest, the retired princes got out of the car. Trade unions are protesting against the revision of the end-of-career scheme at the police. But they, nor Prince Laurent, who also arrived a little later, cared little.
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It is striking that Prince Laurent only appears in public this time. Princess Claire disappeared from the royal stage for about two years, but recently she reappeared at an event of the royal family. It is not clear why she is not present on King’s Day.
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Princess Astrid is also not there, but she may still be recovering after she broke her spine during sports in September.
Another notable absentee: Princess Delphine. Especially since she was invited on the national holiday of 21 July. It would be the first time on King’s Day that she would appear in public with King Albert and Queen Paola (they were not on the national holiday).
King Philippe and his family are not there as usual. The current king never comes to King’s Day because you can’t celebrate yourself.
(Wim Dehandschieter, tica)
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