{"id":174398,"date":"2026-03-25T10:37:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T10:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/174398\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T10:37:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T10:37:42","slug":"the-queen-who-changed-modern-royalty-and-no-one-noticed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/174398\/","title":{"rendered":"The queen who changed modern royalty and no one noticed"},"content":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re far from well known and considered dull by some and yet,
\nin a world that is suddenly questioning monarchy, they are the ones
\nwho are weathering the storm. Ten years ago, they would have been
\nwell down the list of sparkling royals and yet now, in 2026, there
\nare plenty of kings and queens who would happily trade places with
\nthem. Their latest appearance proves just that point as their very
\npresence appears to shore up a once apparently unassailable crown.
\nStep forward the King and Queen of the Belgians.<\/p>\n

Before we go any further, we probably need to do some
\nintroductions because, truth be told, they\u2019re not exactly household
\nnames. Philippe, King of the Belgians is a somewhat shy man of 65.
\nHis consort is Queen Mathilde who has just turned 53 and who likes
\nto wear clothes most often seen in a mother of the bride boutique
\ncirca 1995. And yet this far from glamourous pair are now the stars
\nof European royalty.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Queen Mathilde takes centre
\nstage in a portrait of royalty
(Kongehuset)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a role that neither would seek but which now seems
\ninevitable. For, from the very start of their partnership back in
\nthe late 1990s, the two have had their eye on a shared goal.
\nSteadying the Belgian royal ship so that it remains a necessary
\npart of the country\u2019s constitutional set up. Neither has ever
\nsought to be the most glitzy, the most fashionable, the most
\nstylish or the most talked about. Instead, they have looked to keep
\ntheir monarchy relevant and perhaps understood long before others
\nthat being just a little bit ordinary is the way to go there.<\/p>\n

There is a quiet confidence about the two of them that is
\nserving them really rather well right now. There\u2019s no doubt that
\nmuch of that is down to Queen Mathilde. When she married the then
\nheir to the Belgian throne, Philippe, in 1999, he was seen as an
\nawkward man who was less than comfortable in his own skin and who
\nhad inspired little confidence in some. All that changed within
\nmonths of their marriage. Mathilde brought out a calm in him that
\nallowed the real Philippe to be seen. And set against his rather
\nunusual family, that could only be a good thing.<\/p>\n

\"Crown\"CrownAs Norway\u2019s beleaguered
\nroyals look for help, it\u2019s Belgium they\u2019ve turne to<\/p>\n

Philippe\u2019s father, King Albert, was seen as a good
\nconstitutional monarch who navigated his role within Belgium\u2019s
\ncomplex political situation well. However, he was far from an ideal
\nroayl. Rumours of infidelity swirled around his marriage to the
\nvery beautiful Queen Paola who came across, more often than not, as
\nout of sorts. Albert and Paola\u2019s younger son, Prince Laurent, was
\nthe compulsory \u201dcolourful\u201d character that all royal dynasties seem
\nto require. They were the odd royals of Europe.<\/p>\n

Their monarchy had also weathered recent storms. Albert had
\nsucceeded his brother King Baudouin, who had been hugely popular.
\nBut Baudouin\u2019s reign had begun in turmoil, with the abdication of
\nhis father, Leopold III, who had staggered from crisis to crisis.
\nPhilippe\u2019s transformation from awkward heir to calm king in waiting
\nwas a turning point. Mathilde, meanwhile, soon became easily the
\nmost popular member of the royal family. When Albert unexpectedly
\ndecided to abdicate in favour of Philippe, handing over the throne
\nin July 2013, it was the new queen that everyone cheered for and
\nthe response of the new king and queen sealed their royal fate.<\/p>\n

For Queen Mathilde resolutely remained in the supporting role.
\nRather than take the spotlight that everyone wanted her to have,
\nshe steadied the sometimes obvious nerves of her husband and kept
\nhim front and centre. Within a few years, Belgium had a Head of
\nState who was known, respected and who wasn\u2019t going to cause an
\ncontroversy of his own. The king and queen were seen with their
\nyoung family and supported their first born, Princess Elisabeth, as
\nshe began her own royal career with little speeches at big
\nevents.<\/p>\n

\"Princess\"PrincessPrincess Elisabeth, wearing
\nsilver, is the heir to the throne setting the pace for all others
\nin Europe<\/p>\n

They were and are an oasis of calm, never too demanding and
\nalways putting country first. Even when King Albert\u2019s indiscretions
\ncaught up with them again, they were ready to face down the
\ntrouble. Albert\u2019s admission that he had an illegitimate daughter
\ncaused huge headlines but Philippe and Mathilde took it all on the
\nchin. The king welcomed his half sister to his home and made little
\nfuss over her decision to accept the title of Princess Delphine
\nwhich was hers by law. She\u2019s now invited to big public events,
\nincluding National Day celebrations. It was another example of
\nPhilippe and Mathilde\u2019s ordinary approach to their extraordinary
\nlives.<\/p>\n

And in March 2026, their own version of royalty is becoming the
\none everyone wants a part of. A few years ago, a State Visit by the
\nKing and Queen of the Belgians to Norway would have been a \u2018so
\nwhat\u2019 in the regal calendar. A minor flutter of excitement from
\nroyal watchers over the tiaras and then back to other things. Now,
\nthe very presence of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde in Oslo is
\nhelping bolster the Norwegian crown which is beset by so many
\nproblems that its once unshakeable popularity seems in permanent
\ndanger.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"King Philippe has steadied
\nBelgium\u2019s monarchy
(Bas Bogaerts)<\/p>\n

The controversy around Crown Princess Mette-Marit, whose
\nfriendship with Jeffrey Epstein was laid bare in the papers
\nrelating to the convicted sex offender, shows no signs of abating.
\nThe wife of the heir to the throne gave a TV interview in which she
\nclaimed she had been manipulated and in which she declined to
\nanswer some questions.. All the while, her husband sat at her side
\nwith little to say for himself. Mette-Marit\u2019s son from a previous
\nrelationship, Marius Borg Hoiby, is now on trial for rape. Both
\nsituations have had a negative impact on the Norwegian royals who,
\njust ten years ago, enjoyed popularity ratings of over 90% at
\ntimes.<\/p>\n

Enter Philippe and Mathilde. A long planned State Visit saw the
\nBelgian royals arrive for an official welcome ceremony with King
\nHarald and Queen Sonja before heading inside for an almost
\nimpossible job \u2013 the reintroduction of Mette-Marit to public life
\nafter that interview. The Crown Princess of Norway appeared at
\ntheir sides for a photocall ahead of lunch. She kept to the
\nsidelines until Queen Mathilde brought her into conversation. There
\nwas an official photo. And then, later, at a State Banquet, it was
\nMathilde again who was sat with King Harald as he declared that the
\nCrown Princess was \u201ddear\u201d to him and would have come to the gala
\nevent if she hadn\u2019t been unwell. It was a major endorsement and
\nhaving Europe\u2019s steadiest royals along for the ride did more than
\nhelp.<\/p>\n

\"King\"King<\/p>\n

Philippe and Mathilde are constructing a new form of monarchy in
\nsome ways. There are still the usual engagements but they have long
\nsought to put community ventures at the heart of what they do.
\nMeanwhile, their own children are growing up and putting a new spin
\non the age old tradition of the Crown. King Philippe\u2019s heir,
\nElisabeth, was the first princess of her generation to do military
\nservice with every other female first in line following suit. It
\nwas a real turning point for the Belgian crown and for European
\nroyalty. Princesses were sidelined no more and Princess Elisabeth
\nshowed that equality meant just that. The women who would inherit
\nare no different from the men.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Philippe and Mathilde\u2019s other children are building
\ntheir own lives away from the spotlight. Their elder son, Prince
\nGabriel, continues his own military service while their younger
\nson, Prince Emmanuel, had a year\u2019s football training before moving
\non to further education. Their youngest child, Princess Eleonore,
\nis a talented musician.<\/p>\n

Eleonore turns 18 in just a few weeks\u2019 time and King Philippe
\nand Queen Mathilde will find themselves heads of a fully fledged,
\ngrown up royal family. It will bring its own questions and
\npressures but the seem more than ready for them. For this is a
\nroyal couple who have proved that sure and steady really does win
\nthe race. In an age when monarchy is under scrutiny like never
\nbefore and where it\u2019s been sucked into a celebrity spiral that
\ndoesn\u2019t necessarily suit this ancient institution, Belgium\u2019s king
\nand queen are offering a template that clearly works. Somehow, the
\nones everyone forgot about have become an example for all
\nroyals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They\u2019re far from well known and considered dull by some and yet, in a world that is suddenly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-174398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}