Royal Profile: 39 Facts about King Philippe of The Belgians

1. King Philippe Léopold Louis Marie of Belgium was born on 15 April 1960, as first child of  King Albert II and Queen Paola {Source}.
2. He was named:
1. Philippe: not sure
2. Léopold: Likely for his grandfather, King Leopold III.
3. Louis: not sure
4. Marie: Popular among the Catholic Royals, for The Virgin Mary
3. He has two younger siblings {Source}:
1. Princess Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este (1962)
2. Prince Laurent (1963)
4. He also has two siblings-in-laws:
1. Prince Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este (1955)
2. Princess Claire (1974)
5. Through his wife, he is brother in law to:
1. Countess Elisabeth Marie Hedwige Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz (1977) 
2. Countess Hélène Marie Michele Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz (1979)
3. Count Charles-Henri Marie Ghislain d'Udekem d'Acoz (1985)
6. He is also uncle to:
1. Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1986)
2. Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (1988)
3. Prince Joachim of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1991)
4. Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (1995)
5. Princess Laetitia Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria (2003)
6. Princess Louise of Belgium (2004)
7. Prince Aymeric of Belgium (2005)
8. Prince Nicolas of Belgium (2005)
7. He is also uncle through his wife to:
1. Margravine Olympia Edoarda Matilde Pallavicini (2008)
2. Margrave Adalberto Domenico Carlo Patrizio Maria Pallavicini (2009)
3. Baroness Cordélia Janssen (2012)
4. Baron Alistair Janssen (2013)
8. He is a nephew of:
1. Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1921-)
2. Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, Princess of Belgium (1927-2005)
3. Queen Fabiola of Belgium (1928-2014)
4. King Baudin of Belgium (1930-1993)
5. Prince Alexander de Belgique (1942-2009)
9. He is a cousin of:
1. Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg (1954)
2. Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1955)
3. Prince Jean of Luxembourg (1957)
4. Princess Margaretha of Luxembourg (1957)
5. Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (1963)
6. Miss Alexandra Leopoldine Moncada (1998)
7. Master Leopoldo Daniel Moncada (2001)
10. He is a first cousin 1x removed to:
1. Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1981)
2. Archduchess Marie Christine of Austria (1983)
3. Prince Félix of Luxembourg (1984)
4. Prince Leopold  of Liechtenstein (1984-1984)
5. Archduke Imre  of Austria (1985)
6. Princess Maria-Anunciata of Liechtenstein (1985)
7. Prince Louis of Luxembourg (1986)
8. Princess Marie-Gabrielle de Nassau (1986)
9. Princess Marie-Astrid of Liechtenstein (1987)
10. Prince Constantin  de Nassau (1988)
11. Archduke Christophe of Austria (1988)
12. Prince Josef-Emanuel Leopold Marie of Liechtenstein (1989)
13. Archduke Alexander of Austria (1990)
14. Prince Wenceslas  de Nassau (1990)
15. Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg (1991)
16. Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg (1992)
17. Prince Carl-Johan  de Nassau (1992)
18. Archduchess Gabriella of Austria (1994)
19. Prince Paul Louis de Nassau (1998)
20. Prince Léopold  de Nassau (2000)
21. Princess Charlotte  de Nassau (2000)
22. Prince Jean de Nassau (2004)
11. He is son-in-law to Count  Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz (1936-2008) and Countess Anna Maria Komorowsk d'Udekem d'Acoz (1946-).
12. At the end of secondary school, which he attended both in French and in Dutch, the Prince continued his education at the Royal Military Academy from which he graduated in 1981 {Source}. 
13. He then subsequently qualified as fighter pilot (1982) and as a paratrooper- and commando officer before assuming command over a paratrooper platoon {Source}. 
14. The Prince's military career further led him to his current rank of Lieutenant-General and Vice Admiral in the Armed Forces (as from 2010) {Source}.
15. Prince Philippe completed his academic training at Trinity College, University of Oxford (UK) and at the Graduate School of Stanford University (USA) where he took a “Master of Arts Degree” in political science in 1985 {Source}.
16.  The King holds an Honorary Doctorate of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (conferred in 2002) {Source}.
17. When his royal duties began to increase, the government created the "Household of Prince Phillippe" in 1992 {Source}.
18.  In May 1997, King Philippe was appointed Honorary Chairman of the Belgian Federal Council for Sustainable Development, created after the Conference of Rio {Source}.
19.  In 1998, the Prince Philippe Fund was created, with the aim of fostering exchanges between citizens or organisations from all three Communities of our country. {Source}.
20. In 2003, King Philippe became Honorary Chairman of BIO (Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries) {Source}.
21. Since 2004, King Philippe is also Honorary Chairman of the European Chapter of the Club of Rome and of the International Polar Foundation {Source}.
22. In May 2004, King Philippe obtained his licence as a civilian helicopter pilot {Source}.
23. On August 6, 1993, by Government decision, King Philippe was appointed Honorary Chairman of the Belgian Foreign Trade Board (BFTB), which was replaced in 2003 by the Foreign Trade Agency (FTA). 
24. He succeeded to his father, who had been Honorary Chairman of the BFTB since 1962 {Source}.
25. Upon his succession in 2013, he was succeeded by his sister, Princess Astrid in the role.
26. King Philippe has headed about seventy important economic missions, of which have included {Source}
1. Spain (1993)
2. Saudi Arabia (1993, 2001, 2009)
3. Japan(1994, 1997, 2005, 2012)
4. Vietnam(1994, 2002, 2012)
5. Argentina (1994, 1995, 2000, 2008)
6. South Africa (1995, 2006)
7. India(1995, 1998, 2005, 2010)
8. Sweden(1995)
9. Malaysia(1995, 2002)
10. Philippines (1996)
11. China (1996, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2013)
12. Turkey(1997, 2004, 2012)
13. United Arab Emirates(1997, 2004, 2009)
14. Germany (1997)
15. Mexico(1998, 2003, 2009)
16. Poland (1998, 2003)
17. Egypt (1999)
18. Brazil (1999, 2005, 2010)
19. Hong Kong (2000)
20. Uruguay (2000, 2008)
21. South Korea (2000, 2009)
22. Hungary(2000)
23. United States (2000, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2013)
24. Thailand (2001, 2013)
25. Russia (2001, 2006, 2011)
26. Morocco (2001, 2009)
27. Chile (2001, 2009, 2011)
28. Kuwait (2001)
29. Australia (2001, 2012)
30. New Zealand (2001, 2012)
31. Oman (2004)
32. Algeria (2004)
33. Tunisia (2004)
34. Canada (2006)
35. Bulgaria (2006)
36. Romania (2006)
37. Bahrain  (2007)
38. Qatar (2007)
39. Egypt (2008)
40. Indonesia (2008)
41. Singapore (2008)
42. Panama (2009)
43. Kazakhstan (2010)
44. Ukraine  (2010)
27. On June 21, 1994, he became a member of the Senate. {Source}. 
28. On the 4th of December 1999, the Prince married Miss Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz {Source}.
29. Together, they have four children {Source}:
1. Princess Elisabeth, The Duchess of Brabant (2001)
2. Prince Gabriel (2003)
3. Prince Emmanuel (2005)
4. Princess Eléonore (2008)
30. He almost shares a birthday with his youngest child,  Princess Eléonore (2008), who was born on 16 April 2008.
31. His astrological sign is Aries.
32. His life path number is 9.
33. The King is keenly interested in the situation of young people and their integration in the society of tomorrow {Source}. 
34. He therefore visits schools and universities, but also follows closely various social issues such as unemployment and the struggle against poverty and exclusion {Source}.
35. He spends his rare leisure moments at home with his family and also likes to read, especially on subjects related to the problems and challenges confronting men and women in today's society {Source}. 
36. He practices sports regularly and is keen to maintain a healthy physical condition {Source}.
37. His godparents consisted of:
1. King Leopold III of Belgium (paternal grandfather)
2. Donna Luisa, Princess Ruffo di Calabria. (maternal grandmother)
38. He is godfather to Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1986, his nephew).
39. He holds orders from:
1. Belgium
2. The Netherlands
3. Luxembourg
4. Norway
5. Sweden
6. Finland
7. Denmark
8. Portugal
9. Spain
10. Germany 
11. Austria
12. Holy See
13. Malta
14. Greeece
15. Poland
16. Hungary
17. Japan
18. Bolivia
19. Argentina