Royal Profile: 60 Facts About King Philippe of The Belgians

1. King Philippe Léopold Louis Marie of The Belgians was born on 15 April 1960{Source}. 
2. As first child of King Albert II and Queen Paola {Source}. 
3. He has a younger brother, a younger sister, a younger paternal half-sister:
1. Princess Astrird, The Archduchess of Austria-Este (1962)
2. Prince Laurent of Belgium (1963)
3. Jonkvrouw Delphine Boel (1968)
4. He is a brother in-law to:
1. Prince Lorenz, The Archduke of Austria-Este (1955, m. 1981)
2. Princess Claire of Belgium (1974, m. 2003)
5. Through his sisters and brother, he has five nephews:
1. Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1986)
2. Prince Joachim of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (1991)
3. Prince Nicolas of Belgium (2005, twin)
4. Prince Aymeric of Belgium (2005, twin)
5. Master Oscar Boel O'Hare (2008)
6. Also through his siblings, he has five nieces:
1. Princess Maria Laura of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (1988)
2. Princess Luisa Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (1995)
3. Princess Laetitia Maria of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (2003)
4. Miss Joséphine Boel O'Hare(2003)
5. Princess Louise of Belgium (2004)
7. From his eldest nephew's 2014 marriage, he is an uncle in law to:
1. Archduchess Elisabetta "Lili" of Austria-Este (1988)
8. From his eldest nephew's 2014 marriage, he is a great-uncle to:
1. Archduchess Anna Astrid of Austria-Este (2016)
2. Archduke Maximilian of Austria-Este (2019)
9. He is a godson of his paternal grandfather King Leopold III of Belgium and his maternal grandmother, Donna Luisa, Princess Ruffo di Calabria.
10. His maternal grandparents were Donna Luisa, Princess Ruffo di Calabria and Fulco VIII, Prince Ruffo di Calabria, 6th Duke of Guardia Lombarda.
11. His paternal grandparents were King Leopold III of Belgium, Queen Astrid of Belgium, and was the step-grandson of Princess Lilian of Réthy.
12. His mother was their youngest child, and fifth child. 
13. He has numerous Italian cousins, 1st cousins 1x removed, etc.
14. 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}. 
15. He then subsequently qualified as fighter pilot in 1982{Source}. 
16. He was a paratrooper- and commando officer before assuming command over a paratrooper platoon {Source}. 
17. 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}. 
18. Prince Philippe completed his academic training at Trinity College, University of Oxford (UK) 
19. He also attended the Graduate School of Stanford University (USA) where he took a “Master of Arts Degree” in political science in 1985 {Source}. 
20. The King holds an Honorary Doctorate of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (conferred in 2002) {Source}.
21. When his royal duties began to increase, the government created the "Household of Prince Phillippe" in 1992 {Source}. 
22. In May 1997, Prince Philippe was appointed Honorary Chairman of the Belgian Federal Council for Sustainable Development, created after the Conference of Rio {Source}. 
23. 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}. 
24. In 2003, Prince Philippe became Honorary Chairman of BIO (Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries) {Source}.
25. Since 2004, Prince Philippe was also Honorary Chairman of the European Chapter of the Club of Rome and of the International Polar Foundation {Source}.
26. In May 2004, Prince Philippe obtained his licence as a civilian helicopter pilot {Source}. 
27. On August 6, 1993, by Government decision, Prince Philippe was appointed Honorary Chairman of the Belgian Foreign Trade Board (BFTB), which was replaced in 2003 by the Foreign Trade Agency (FTA). 
28. His role as Honorary Chair of the Foreign Trade Agency (FTA) was taken over by his sister The Archduchess of Austria-Este upon his taking the throne.
29. He succeeded to his father, who had been Honorary Chairman of the BFTB since 1962 {Source}. 
30. King Philippe has headed about seventy important economic missions, of which the most recent were India, Brazil, Ukraine and Kazakhstan (2010), Russia, the United States of America, China and Chili (2011), Vietnam, japan , Turkey, Australia and New-Zeeland (2012), Thailand and the United States of America (2013) {Source}.
31. On June 21, 1994 he became a member of the Senate. {Source}.
32. On the 4th of December 1999, the Prince married Countess Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz {Source}. 
33. 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)
34. The King is keenly interested in the situation of young people and their integration in the society of tomorrow {Source}. 
35. He visits schools and universities, but also follows closely various social issues such as unemployment and the struggle against poverty and exclusion {Source}.
36. 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}. 
37. He practices sports regularly and is keen to maintain a healthy physical condition {Source}.
38. He is a paternal nephew of:
1. Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg (1927-2005)
1. Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg (1921-2019)
2. King Baudouin of The Belgians (1930-1993)
1. Queen Fabiola of Belgium (1928-2014)
3. Prince Alexandre of Belgium (1942-2009)
1. Princess Léa of Belgium (m. 1991)
4. Princess Marie-Christine of Belgium (1951)
5. Princess Marie-Esméralda of Belgium, Lady Moncada (1956)
1. Sir Salvador Moncada (m. 1998)
39. On his paternal side, he is first cousins with:
1. Archduchess Marie Astrid of Austria (1954)
2. Archduke Carl Christian of Austria  (m. 1982)
3. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg (1955)
1. Grand Duchess María Teresa of Luxembourg (m. 1981) 
4. Prince Jean of Luxembourg (1957) 
1. Hélène Vestur  (m. 1987-2004, div) 
2. Diane de Guerre (m. 2009)
5. Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, Princess by birth of Luxembourg (1957)
1. Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein (m. 1982)
6. Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg (1963)
1. Sibilla Weiller (m. 1994)
7. Alexandra Leopoldine Moncada (1998)
8. Leopoldo Daniel Moncada (2001)
40. He has the following first cousins 1x removed:
1. Prince Guillaume, The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1981)
1. Princess Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, Countess de Lannoy (1984, m. 2012)
2. Archduchess Marie-Christine of Austria, Countess de Limburg-Stirum  (1983)
1. Count Rodolphe de Limburg-Stirum (1979, m. 2008)
3. Prince Félix of Luxembourg (1984)
1. Princess Claire of Luxembourg
4. Prince Leopold Emmanuel Jean Marie of Liechtenstein (1984-1984)
5. Archduke Imre  of Austria (1985)
1. Kathleen Elizabeth Walker (1986, m. 2012)
6. Princess Maria-Anunciata Astrid Joséphine Veronica of Liechtenstein (1985)
7. Prince Louis Xavier Marie Guillaume of Luxembourg (1986)
1. Tessy Antony-de Nassau(1985, m. 2006-2019, div)
8. Princess Marie-Gabrielle de Nassau (1986)
1.  Antonius Benedikt Clemens Douglas Emanuel Willms (1988, 2017)
9. Archduke Christoph of Austria (1988)
1. Adélaïde Marie Béatrice Drapé-Frisch ( 1989, m. 2012) 
10. Princess Marie-Astrid Nora Margarita Veronica of Liechtenstein (1987)
11. Prince Constantin de Nassau (1988)
12. Prince Josef-Emanuel Leopold Marie of Liechtenstein (1989)
13. Prince Wenceslas de Nassau (1990)
14. Prince Sébastien of Luxembourg (1992)
15. Prince Carl-Johan Félix Julien Marc d'Aviano of Nassau (1992)
16. Archduke Alexander Hector Marie Karl Leopold Marcus d'Aviano of Austria (1990)
17. Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg (1992)
18. Archduchess Gabriella Maria Pilar Yolande Joséphine Charlotte of Austria (1994) 
1. Prince Henri of Bourbon-Parma (1991, engaged since 2017)
19. Prince Paul Louis Jean Marie Guillaume de Nassau (1998)
20. Prince Léopold Guillaume Marie Joseph de Nassau (2000)
21. Princess Charlotte Wilhelmine Maria da Gloria de  Nassau (2000)
22. Prince Jean André Guillaume Marie Gabriel Marc d'Aviano of Nassau (2004)
41. He also has several 1st cousins two times removed:
1. Prince Gabriel Michael Louis Ronny de Nassau (2006)
2. Prince Noah Etienne Guillaume Gabriel Matthias Xavier de Nassau (2007)
3. Count Léopold  de Limburg-Stirum (2011)
4. Count Constantin de Limburg-Stirum (2013)
5. Count Gabriel de Limburg-Stirum (2016)
6. Archduchess Maria-Stella of Austria (2013)
7. Princess Amalia Gabriela Maria Teresa de Nassau (2014)
8. Archduchess Katarina Marie-Christine Fabiola of Austria (2014)
9. Archduchess Magdalena Maria Alexandra Zita Charlotte of Austria(2016)
10. Prince Liam Henri Hartmut de Nassau (2016)
11. Archduchess Sophia of Austria (2017)
12. Victoria Antonia Marie-Astrid Lydia de Bourbon de Parme (2017)
13. Felix de Nassau (2018)
14. Zeno Philippe Leopold Marcus d'Aviano Willms (2018)
15. Archduchess Juliana Marie Christine Wilhelmina Margaret Astrid of Austria (2018)
16. Prince/ss of Luxembourg (2020, the child of The Hereditary Grand Ducal Couple due any time now!)
42. He speaks fluent Dutch, French, German, Flemish and English.
43. The Netherlands's Anastasia Margriet Joséphine van Lippe-Biesterfeld van Vollenhoven was born on the Belgian monarch's 41st birthday.
44. Denmark's Leopold Christian Ingolf Rosanes af Rosenborg was born on his 45th birthday.
45. His astrological sign is Aries.
46. At age 60, King Philippe is Europe's third youngest reigning monarch, behind the Netherlands' King Willem-Alexander who is only 53, and King Felipe VI who celebrated his 52nd birthday in January.
47. Coincidentally all three men, the monarchs of Belgium, The Netherlands and Spain, have female heirs-The Duchess of Brabant, The Princess of Oranje & The Princess of Asturias.
48. Another thing these three monarchs have in common is that their parent abdicated for them-The Netherlands and Belgium in 2013, and Spain in 2014.
49. The European Royal shares his birthday with British actresses Emma Thompson and Emma Watson.
50. He is good friends with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Crown Prince Fredrik of Denmark.
51. He is the son-in-law of Count Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz (1936-2008) and Countess Anna Maria d'Udekem d'Acoz (1946)
52. Through his wife, he is a brother-in-law of:
1. Jonkvrouw Marie-Alix Suzanne Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz (1974 -1997)
2. Countess Élisabeth Marie Hedwige Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz (1977)
1. Margrave Alfonso Pallavicini  (m. 2006)
3. Countess Hélène Marie Michèle Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz (1979) 
1. Baron Nicolas Janssen  (2011)
4. Count Charles-Henri Marie Ghislain d'Udekem d'Acoz (1985)
53. On his wife's side of his family, his nieces are:
1. Margravine Olympia Edoarda Matilde Pallavicini (2008)
2. Margrave Adalberto Domenico Carlo Patrizio Maria Pallavicini (2009)
3. Baroness Cordélia Janssen (2012)
4. Margravine Constanza Carla Maria Pallavicini (2012)
5. Baroness Sophie Janssen (2016)
54. On his wife's side of the family, he has a nephew:
1. Baron Alistair Janssen (2013)
55. He has Belgian, Swedish, Danish, German, and Italian ancestry.
56. Through Countess Augusta Caroline Sophie Reuss-Ebersdorf,  he is related to Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert.
57. Countess Augusta Caroline Sophie Reuss-Ebersdorf was the maternal grandmother of Queen Victoria and the paternal grandmother of Prince Albert, but also the greatx4 grandmother of King Philippe.
58. He holds honors from Belgium, Austria, Argentina, Bolivia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Jordan, luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and Vatican City.
59. Like his father and sister who were born a day apart (6 June 1934 and 5 June 1962, respectively), he and his youngest daughter were born a day apart as well-Princess Eléonore was born on the day after his 48th birthday on the 16th of April 2008.
60. He was named:
1. Philippe: for his greatx2 grandfather, Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders
2. Léopold: his paternal grandfather, King Léopold III
3. Louis:  for his greatx4 grandfather Louis Philippe I of France
4. Marie: Popular amongst Catholic royals, for the Virgin Mary