Belga Királyi Pár

Since it was founded in 1831, Belgium has been a hereditary constitutional monarchy. The King, whom the Constitution places above ideological and religious considerations, political opinions and debates and economic interests, has a role as arbitrator and guardian of the unity and independence of the country. King Albert II, sixth King of the Belgians, took the oath on 9 August 1993. He is married to Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria. The King and Queen have three children: Prince Philippe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent. Prince Philippe and his wife, Princess Mathilde, have a daughter, Princess Elisabeth and two sons, Prince Gabriel and Prince Emmanuel. Princess Astrid and her husband Prince Lorenz, have five children: Prince Amedeo, Princess Maria Laura, Prince Joachim, Princess Luisa Maria and Princess Laetitia Maria. Prince Laurent and his wife, Princess Claire, have a daughter, Princess Louise, and two sons, Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric.





King Albert II

King Albert II was born in Brussels, at the Chateau of Stuyvenberg, on 6 June 1934. King Albert II, who was given the title of "Prince of Liège" on birth, is the son of King Leopold III nd of Queen Astrid, born Princess of Sweden. He is the grandson of King Albert I and of Queen Elisabeth. On 29 August 1935, the Prince of Liège lost his mother, Queen Astrid, who died in a car accident at Küssnacht, Switzerland. On 10 May 1940, at the time when Belgium was being invaded, Prince Albert, his elder sister Princess Josephine-Charlotte and his elder brother Prince Baudouin, left the country for France and later Spain. The Prince and the Princess returned to Belgium on 2 August 1940. They continued their studies until 1944, either at Laeken, or at the Chateau of Ciergnon in the Ardennes. In June 1944, at the time of the Allied landings, Leopold III, Princess Lilian - who he married in 1941 - and the royal children were deported by the Germans to Hirschstein in Germany, and later to Strobl in Austria, where they were liberated by the American Army on 7 May 1945. Due to the political situation in Belgium, King Leopold and his family moved to the villa "Le Reposoir" in Pregny, Switzerland, when they left Austria in October 1945. They would stay there until July 1950. During that time, Prince Albert would continue his education in a secondary school in Geneva. King Leopold III, accompanied by Prince Baudouin and Prince Albert, returned to Belgium on 22 July 1950.

On 2 July 1959, Prince Albert married Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria, born of a princely family in Italy. King Albert II and Queen Paola have three children: Prince Philippe (born on 15 April 1960), Princess Astrid (born on 5 June 1962) and Prince Laurent (born on 19 October 1963). Prince Albert was asked in 1962 to exercise the function of Honorary President of the Board of Directors of the Belgian Foreign Trade Office, which he performed for 31 years. In this capacity, he presided over a hundred trade missions throughout the world and made many visits to Belgian companies operating in the export field. To pay tribute to the Prince who made such an active contribution to boosting foreign trade over all those years, a Prince Albert Fund for training foreign trade specialists was set up in 1984. Moreover, Prince Albert also assumed the Presidency of the Board of the Caisse Générale d'Epargne et de Retraite from 1954 to 1992. He was President of the Belgian Red Cross from 1958 to 1993. Apart from these various functions, Prince Albert carried out actions in the field of town planning, housing, nature conservation, listed monuments and sites, and in general, management of the environment. In this context, he has presided or attended many international conferences. In 1969, he was invited by the Council of Europe to assume the Presidency of the European Ministerial Conference on the protection of the cultural and architectural heritage. After the death of his brother, King Baudouin, Prince Albert was sworn in before the combined chambers of parliament on 9 August 1993 as the sixth King of the Belgians.

Queen Paola

Queen Paola was born Princess Ruffo di Calabria, on 11 September 1937, at Forte del Marmi in Italy. She is the youngest of seven children of Prince Fulco Ruffo di Calabria, a First World War flying ace, and Countess Luisa Gazelli. Her grandmother on her father's side, Laure Mosselman du Chenoy, was Belgian. The Queen spent her entire youth in Rome, where she completed her classical secondary education in Latin and Greek. She married Prince Albert of Belgium on 2 July 1959. The couple have three children: Prince Philippe (born on 15 April 1960), Princess Astrid (born on 5 June 1962) and Prince Laurent (born on 19 October 1963). The Constitution did not provide for any particular official role for the Queen. Nevertheless, Belgian queens have always played a role in the public life of the country. So the Queen assists the King in carrying out his functions as Head of State: many visits to institutions, contacts with the population, ceremonies in Belgium and abroad, State visits, audiences with representatives of various groups in society and many cultural and social activities. Towards this end, the Queen pays special attention to her role as hostess. Apart from her activities in the company of the King, the Queen also devotes time to topics that are close to her heart, mainly in the social and cultural sphere.

Social activities

The Queen deploys the Queen's Charities to offer help to citizens who are struggling to cope with financial hardship in their daily lives and often turn to her as a last resort. On her own initiative or by invitation, she regularly visits social institutions or medical centres throughout the country. These contacts enable her to keep her finger on the pulse of the people and their needs and requirements and of the many initiatives taken every year in Belgium to help others. Set up in 1992 the Queen Paola Foundation provides the Queen with an opportunity to focus on the issue of integration and training for young people. The Queen Paola Foundation's activities are primarily based on three themes:

• Meaningful support offered to agencies providing help to young people struggling to be included in the main social networks.
• The Queen Paola Prize for Education (launched in 1997) seeks to highlight and reward innovative schemes undertaken by educationalists from all academic levels and networks.
• The School of Hope (set up in 1999): this initiative lends support to schools operating in a disadvantaged social and economic environment.

In April 2002, the Queen was made Honorary President of Child Focus (www.childfocus.org), the charity which searches for children who have disappeared, combats sexual abuse and helps the parents concerned. Thanks in particular to her international contacts, the Queen is trying to facilitate the creation of similar operational centres in other countries.


Cultural activities

Having lived a long time in Rome, the Queen soon developed an appreciation of beauty and good taste in all areas: Heritage. The Queen takes a keen interest in the protection and preservation of Belgium's heritage as a result of the very many visits she pays to gain "on the ground" experience. These include visits to Beguine convents and industrial facilities from the early 19th century. In this connection, the Queens devotes a lot of her time to facilitating the restoration and maintenance of the Royal estates and residencies. Crafts. The Queen is interested in both new and traditional crafts. She takes every opportunity to encourage the exercise and teaching of craft professions. Contemporary art. The Queen is in constant contact with artistic circles and regularly supports major exhibitions or artistic performances both in Belgium and abroad by her presence or via High Patronage. On the initiative of the Queen, contemporary artists have had the opportunity to design and make original works within the Palace of Brussels. Music. As a result of organising activities in the Palace, attending concerts, particularly those held against the background of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition, and visits to innovative initiatives, the Queen above all aspires to lend support to training and to emerging young professional musicians.

Private life


The Family plays a key role in the Queen's life. In common with all grandmothers, the Queen is delighted to spend time in the company of her grandchildren. She is also keen on going on longs walks in the forest with the King, as this offers her the opportunity to enjoy the rich variety of natural resources there and the changing seasons. The Queen is also passionately fond of books, music and travel, particularly in Europe and Africa.


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