Belgian Royals Celebrate National Day Amid Crisis

The Royal Family of Belgium, acting as a force of unity, celebrated the country’s 178th birthday – despite a political upheaval that threatens to split Belgium apart. belgium-1

King Albert II, along with his wife Queen Paola, Crown Prince Phillipe and Crown Princess Mathilde, attended a church service at the royal cathedral in Brussels and watched a military parade in front of the palace.

Both events were attended by Dutch and French speaking government officials, including Prime Minister Yves Leterme – who’s resignation was rejected by the King last week.

Leterme had wanted to resign after failing to make a deal between the the country’s Dutch and French speaking representatives – plunging the country into a fresh political crisis and renewing talk of a potential split.

It was after the resignation rejection that King Albert arranged for a group to bring about talks on power-sharing between the feuding politicians representing the different linguistic communities of Belgium.

The Prime Minister Leterme, leader of the Flemish Christian Democrats, says, “I am very honoured by king’s decision, still I think its very important that the institutional aspects of the government are respected that was not the case on July the 15th, so it must be respected.”

The country now waits for the two senior French speaking politicians and the premier of Belgium’s small German speaking community to establish a program of reform by the end of the month.

To watch a brief video of today’s events, click here