Royal Profile: 45 Facts About Queen Mathilde of Belgium
- Queen Mathilde of Belgium was born on 20 January 1973 as Jonkvrouw Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz {Source}.
- She is the daughter of the Count Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz & Countess Anna Maria d'Udekem d'Acoz{Source}.
- She has three younger sisters {Source}:
- Jonkvrouw Marie-Alix Suzanne Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz (1974-1997, car accident)
- Countess Elisabeth Marie Hedwige Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz (1977)
- Countess Hélène Marie Michele Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz(1979)
- She has one brother {Source}:
- Count Charles-Henri Marie Ghislain d'Udekem d'Acoz (1985)
- Through her siblings, she has the following siblings-in-law {Source}:
- Margrave Alfonso Pallavicini (m. Elisabeth in 2006)
- Baron Nicolas Janssen (m. Hélène in 2011)
- She has the following nieces {Source}:
- Margravine Olympia Edoarda Matilde Pallavicini (2008)
- Baroness Cordélia Janssen (2012)
- Queen Mathilde has the following nephews {Source}:
- Margrave Adalberto Domenico Carlo Patrizio Maria Pallavicini ( 2009)
- Baron Alistair Janssen (2013)
- She was educated in Belgium{Source}
- She attended primary school in Bastogne, and attended the "Institut de la Vierge Fidèle" {Source}.
- From 1991-1994, she studied to be a speech therapist at the "Institut Libre Marie Haps" in Brussels, graduating magna cum laude{Source}.
- Upon graduation, she embarked on a professional career as a speech therapist, setting up a practice in Brussels{Source}.
- In 1999, she returned to school for a masters degree in Psychology at the Catholic University of Louvain, graduating cum laude in 2002{Source}.
- Queen Mathilde has taken patronage of many organizations, especially children.
- In 2000, just a short year after marrying into the Royal Family, the "Fund Princess Mathilde" was created{Source}.
- In addition, Princess Mathilde has given her patronage to several associations dealing with issues of concern to vulnerable people{Source}.
- She also attaches prime importance to educational subjects, the empowerment of women and supports projects to fight illiteracy{Source}.
- In May 2002, she was a member of the Belgian delegation at the UN Conference on Children in New York{Source}.
- Since 2009, Princess Mathilde has been the Honorary President of UNICEF Belgium{Source}.
- She has been on several humanitarian missions to countries including Niger and Mali {Source}.
- She is an UNICEF and UNAIDS special representative for their world campaign for orphans and other vulnerable children affected or infected by HIV/AIDS, and has visited Tanzania, China and Senegal on their behalf{Source}.
- Queen Mathilde was also a UN emissary for the International Year of Microcredit 2005 and visited in that capacity projects in China, Mali, India and Washington/USA{Source}.
- In 2007, the Princess became a member of the Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum{Source}.
- She married Prince Philippe of Belgium, The Duke of Brabant on 4 December 1999, thus becoming Princess Mathilde of Belgium, The Duchess of Brabant{Source}.
- Upon his succession in
- They have two daughters{Source}:
- Princess Elisabeth, The Duchess of Brabant (2001)
- Princess Eléonore (2008)
- They also have two sons{Source}:
- Prince Gabriel (2003)
- Prince Emmanuel (2005)
- She is the daughter-in-law of King Albert II of Belgium and Queen Paola of Belgium{Source}.
- She is the sister-in-law of{Source}:
- Princess Astrid of Belgium, The Archduchess of Austria-Este (1962)
- Prince Lorenz of Belgium, The Archduke of Austria-Este (1955, m. 1984)
- Prince Laurent of Belgium (1963)
- Princess Claire of Belium (1974, m. 2003)
- Miss Delphine Boel (1968, alleged)
- Through her husband, she has the following nephews{Source}:
- Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1986)
- Prince Joachim of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1991)
- Prince Nicolas of Belgium (2005)
- Prince Aymeric of Belgium (2005)
- Through King Philippe, she is the aunt to{Source}:
- Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (1988)
- Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (1995)
- Princess Laetitia Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (2003)
- Princess Louise of Belgium (2004)
- Through her nephew Amedeo, she is the aunt-in-law of{Source}:
- Archduchess Elisabetta "Lili" of Austria-Este (1987, m. 2014)
- She is the great aunt of{Source}:
- Archduchess Anna Astrid of Austria-Este (2016)
- Queen Mathilde often accompanies her husband abroad for various duties, mostly to promote Belgium for its commercial and economical interests{Source}.
- She enjoys classical music, and playing the piano{Source}.
- In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis, swimming, and enjoying nature and open-air activities{Source}.
- She is also a fan of literature{Source}.
- She speaks several languages, including French, Dutch, English, Italian and some Spanish{Source}.
- She shares a birthday with The Countess of Wessex, who is eight years her senior.
- The Belgian consort shares a birthday with Carlos Hugo Roderik Sybren Klynstra de Bourbon-de Parme of The Netherlands who is 24 years her junior.
- The Queen of Belgium shares a birthday with Prince Tassilo Preslavski of Bulgaria, who is 29 years her junior.
- She is also fourty years older than the Prussian Twins, Carl Friedrich, Hereditary Prince of Prussia and Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia.
- Queen Mathilde is a godmother to:
- Princess Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentien of The Netherlands (2005){Source}
- Princess Isabella Henrietta Ingrid Margrethe of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat (2007)
- Miss Zaineb Tebbi-Sadki (2016) {Source}
- She is close friends with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands.
- Her astrological sign is Aquarius.
- Her name Mathilde is a form of Mathilda, which comes from the Germanic name Mahthildis meaning "strength in battle"
Comments
Post a Comment