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The royal family of Belgium took part in King’s Day on Monday to pay homage to King Albert II. Since 1886, November 15th has been the day where the country honors its monarch. But as tradition holds, the King is not present during the events nor is the Queen, in this case Queen Paola.
 Mark Renders/Getty Images In the morning, most of the Belgian royals attended Te Deum mass at Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Present were Crown Prince Philippe, Princess Mathilde, Princess Astrid, Archduke Lorenz, Prince Laurent and Princess Claire. Also there was Queen Fabiola, the sister-in-law to the King.
The Archbishop presiding over the mass prayed for national unity during a time of much linguistic and cultural division.
“We pray that our country prospers and may know the legitimate diversity of regions, communities, languages and cultures. And also as a necessary national unity.”
After Te Deum, there was a meeting at Parliament, which the royals attended. Also there were 300 children, between the ages of nine and eleven, some of whom come from either Haitian or Pakistani background. This was done to show solidarity with their home countries, which were ravaged by national disasters this year.
At 1:35 in the afternoon, King Albert II accepted a military salute from the balcony of the palace, which represents the military pledging loyalty to him.
Source: The Royal Forums, Knack.be
 REUTERS/Yves Herman On Wednesday, the Belgian royal family marked with the rest of their country Belgium’ 180th anniversary. Although the country has been seeing threats of splitting up in recent months, all that seemed to be forgotten that day.
In the morning, most of the Belgian royals attended the Te Deum mass at St. Michel et Gudule in Brussels. Present were King Albert II, Queen Paola, Queen Fabiola, Crown Prince Philippe and Crown Princess Mathilde. Absent were Princess Astrid, who was in Hasselt, and her brother Prince Laurent and his wife, Princess Claire who were at a Te Deum mass at St-Martin d’Arlon.
What makes the Te Deum masses unique is that five beliefs – Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Judaism and secularism – are represented. Before Te Deum began, the King and Queen met with the leaders of those groups.
 AP Photo/Thierry Charlier After the mass, the royals did their walk about among the Belgian people.
At 4pm local time, the military parade took place. Since its Belgium’s turn to hold the European Union presidency for this half of the year, EU forces were included in the parade. 1500 soldiers and 83 vehicles from the 27 EU countries paraded along the route, including the Lamborghini Italian police.
All of Belgium’s royals were attendance for this, including Astrid, who was in military uniform, and Prince Laurent with his wife, Princess Claire. The latter two held hands during the parade.
Alongside King Albert II for the parade was Belgian Minister of Defense, Pieter de Crem.
Also visible during National Day was dowager Queen Fabiola. As it happened last year, there were bizarre but very real threats against the Queen’s life. In 2009, she mocked her would-be assassin by waving a green apple around since the death threats said she would be killed by a crossbow. But this year, she did not joke around as she was encouraged not to by police.
Source: RTL, le Vif, News Summary Royalblog
Making her first public appearance in over three months today was Belgium’s Dowager Queen Fabiola. She was present for the Te Deum mass during King’s Day. Her showing up for the service put to rest rumors that she was of poor health and was possibly near death.
 REUTERS/Francois Lenoir Each November 15th, Belgium observes King’s Day, or Koningsfeest in Dutch, or Fete du Roi in French. It pays to tribute to King Albert – the first, not the second, who currently occupies the throne. Since 1866, the country has observed this day since it is the name day of both King Albert I and King Leopold. In 2001, Belgian Parliament got involved in the feast and honors the royal family by closing federal buildings.
In the morning, the Te Deum service is held at the Cathedral of St. Michael’s and Gudula’s. As mentioned, Queen Fabiola, the sister-in-law to King Albert II, attended. She was unable to stand during the ceremony, but was still able to be present.
After the mass, the rest of the royal family – the Crown Princely couple, Princess Astrid and her husand Prince Lorenz, and Prince Laurent – met with the crowds gathered outside of the Cathedral. Laurent’s wife, Princess Claire, was not in attendance today.
In the afternoon, the same royals went to the Palais de la Nation to meet with the nation’s political leaders. A tribute was made for King Albert I, who made a contribution to the science during his reign, between 1875 and 1934.
The day ended with a military ceremony at Palais Royal in Brussels.
King Albert II and Queen Paola were not present for this year’s King’s Day. It might be because the focus were on previous monarchs.
 REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Belgium is apparently fuming over Prince Laurent sending his daughter, Princess Louise, to a French school where the Dutch language is not taught. Belgium has had many years of rifts between its French speaking and Dutch speaking citizens, and this move by the son of King Albert II does not look to be a wise one.
 Getty Images FILE 6 year-old Princess Louise goes to Lycee Francais, but before attended a private school in Tervuren. There, she was taught in French, and learned English, but not a word in Dutch.
“Another stupid and clumsy signal of the monarchy,” said Senator Pol Van Den Driessche.
Fellow Senator Luckas Vander Taelen deplores the decision: “They would later work for her money in and around Brussels and a lack of knowledge of Dutch is a serious handicap.”
In other words, Princess Louise may find it difficult to find work in Belgium’s capital if she is unable to speak Dutch.
The French speaking population is also confused and outraged by Princess Louise going to a French school. Some Wallonian newspapers have wondered aloud if a Belgian education not good enough for her.
 Getty Images Europe This past weekend, the royal family of Belgium gathered at Laeken Castle to celebrate the four wedding anniversaries within the family. Guests who had wedding anniversaries on the same days as the royals were also part of the festivities.
The celebration was for the 50th anniversary for King Albert II and Queen Paola, 25 years for Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz, ten years for Crown Prince Philippe and Crown Princess Mathilde, and lastly, six years of marriage for Prince Laurent and Princess Claire.
The royals and their guests walked around the gardens of Laeken Castle, enjoying delicious food and entertainment.
There was, however, a downside to the celebrations. Two carriages crashed into each other when one of the horses was stung by a bug. Upset, the horse got out of control and the driver could not handle it. Four were injured, although one was treated at the site. The other three were transported to a hospital, possibly with broken bones.
The accident did not interrupt the festivities, but a royal spokesperson expressed regret.
To see more pictures of the celebrations, click here and here
 Reuters File Belgium’s Prince Laurent is currently in the hospital battling severe pneumonia. He was admitted over the weekend after falling ill during a family vacation in Sardinia.
Laurent was originally treated in the Italian island, and had an overnight stay in a Sardinian hospital. But then he opted to return to Brussels.
The Prince at first thought he had come down with swine flu. His family had to wear face masks as they travelled back home. But doctors say it is only a critical case of pneumonia.
Prince Laurent is the youngest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola. He married British-born Claire Coombs in 2003, and together they have three children.
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