{"id":1329,"date":"2014-05-27T11:33:55","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T11:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/royalty-magazine.com\/wpcoco\/?p=1329"},"modified":"2014-05-27T14:16:44","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T14:16:44","slug":"accession-king-philippe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/royalty-magazine.com\/wpcoco\/royalty\/belgium\/accession-king-philippe\/","title":{"rendered":"The Accession of King Philippe"},"content":{"rendered":"

The accession day of King Philippe of Belgium on July 21, 2013, began with a Te Deum at Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. A classical Gregorian Te Deum was sung by a twelve strong choir conducted by Arnaud Van De Cauter, the tenured organist at Notre-Dame du Sablon. It was a traditional opening to a day that was very much about contemporary matters. Belgium is something of an enigma, a nation that seems to be in a constant struggle with its internal tensions whilst also sitting at the heart of European affairs. The nation\u2019s multi-faceted character, its diversity is, its supporters believe, its greatest achievement but is also the biggest threat to its future. The national motto of \u201cunity makes strength\u201d is an ideal that has proven hard to achieve. The nation\u2019s varying facets were on display throughout.<\/p>\n

\"King
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, second car from left, ride in a parade during the celebrations in Brussels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The day which had opened with the religious was soon combining with the secular as the European anthem was played by the Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides, followed by a rendition of the Belgian national anthem. The ceremony was led by the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels Monseigneur Andr\u00e9-Joseph L\u00e9onard. The service reflected Belgium\u2019s diverse culture and political roles, as did the representatives of its various religions which are constitutionally recognised by the secular state; likewise the organised secular community, whose representatives were also amongst the invited congregation. After the service came the formal abdication of King Albert II, which the monarch had announced to the nation on July 3rd triggering the events of July 21st. At 10.20 a.m Queen Fabiola (King Baudouin\u2019s widow), Princess Astrid and Prince Lorenz, Prince Laurent and Princess Claire arrived in the Throne Room of the Royal Palace, followed a few minutes later by the King and Queen, Crown Prince Philippe and Crown Princess Mathilde. The abdication ceremony began with a speech by King Albert which will be remembered for an unscripted and emotional tribute to his wife: \u201cAs for Queen Paola, who constantly supported me in my work during these twenty years, I just want to say thank you . . . and a big kiss.\u201d The gesture was applauded by the hundreds of dignitaries in attendance, whilst a visibly moved Queen Paola held back tears.<\/p>\n

\"\"
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde with their children Princess El\u00e9onore, Prince Gabriel, Princess Elisabeth and Prince Emmanuel, King Albert and Queen Paola (right) and Queen Fabiola (left) greet the people from the balcony of the Royal Palace.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The King\u2019s speech was followed by a speech from Prime Minster Elio di Rupo and then the reading of the Deed of Abdication by the Minister for Justice, which was then signed by the King and the witnesses. The ceremony had lasted only forty minutes concluding with the national anthem. The swearing-in of King Philippe took place an hour later, literally across the street from the Royal Palace at the Palais de la Nation, the home of Belgium\u2019s Parliament which lies at one end of Parc de Bruxelles. The ceremony was held before both chambers of the federal parliament at noon. It confirmed the monarchy\u2019s constitutional role in which King Philippe read from article 91 of the constitution: \u201cI swear that I will observe the constitution and laws of the Belgian people, preserve the country\u2019s independence and guarantee its territorial integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his acceptance speech King Philippe also confirmed his commitment to continuing his father\u2019s work, which in a nutshell is to preserve the nation\u2019s unity: \u201cI am beginning my reign with the determination to place myself at the service of all Belgians. I shall therefore work in perfect understanding with the government and consistent with the Constitution. Over the years I have been able to build ever-stronger ties with a great many of my fellow citizens. I intend to intensify this dialogue. \u201cThe wealth of our country and our institutional system resides notably in the fact that we have turned our diversity into a strength. Each time, we succeed in striking the balance between unity and diversity. Belgium\u2019s strength is precisely its ability to give meaning to our diversity.\u201d Admirable sentiments but ones which also reveal the urgency of Belgium\u2019s national crisis. \u00a0(Extract from Royalty Magazine Vol. 22\/02)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The accession day of King Philippe of Belgium on July 21, 2013, began with a Te Deum at Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. A classical Gregorian Te Deum was sung by a twelve strong choir conducted by Arnaud Van De Cauter, the tenured organist at Notre-Dame du Sablon. It was a traditional<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[169,90,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-1329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-belgium","8":"tag-belgium","9":"tag-mathilde","10":"tag-philippe"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Accession of King Philippe - Royalty Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/royalty-magazine.com\/wpcoco\/royalty\/belgium\/accession-king-philippe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Accession of King Philippe - Royalty Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The accession day of King Philippe of Belgium on July 21, 2013, began with a Te Deum at Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. 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