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Queen Mathilde of Belgium

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Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine Countess d'Udekem d'Acoz[a] (pronounced [matild dyd(ə)kɛm dakɔ]; born 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen, and has four children. She formerly worked as a speech therapist. She is involved with a range of organisations which address social issues including education, child poverty, intergenerational poverty, the position of women in society and literacy.

Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz
Mathilde in 2024
Queen consort of the Belgians
Tenure21 July 2013 – present
BornJonkvrouw Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz
(1973-01-20) 20 January 1973 (age 51)
Edith Cavell Hospital, Uccle, Belgium
Spouse
​
(m. 1999)​
Issue
Housed'Udekem d'Acoz
FatherCount Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz
MotherCountess Anna Maria Komorowska

Early life and family

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Main article: d'Udekem d'Acoz family

Jonkvrouw Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz was born on 20 January 1973 at Edith Cavell Hospital in Uccle, Brussels, Belgium.[2][3] Her parents are Count Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz (1936–2008), a politician, and his wife, Countess Anna Maria Komorowska (b. 1946).[2][4][5][6] Mathilde has three sisters: Marie-Alix (1974–1997), Elisabeth (b. 1977, a speech therapist)[7] and Hélène (b. 1979, a lawyer), and one brother Charles-Henri (b. 1985, a lawyer).[8][9] Her godfather is her uncle, Count Raoul d'Udekem d'Acoz.[10]

Mathilde grew up in the Château de Losange[11] in Villers-la-Bonne-Eau [fr].[2] At the age of 17, she lived with her three sisters in an apartment at Reyerslaan Avenue, Schaarbeek.[12]

Education and career

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Mathilde attended primary school in Bastogne and then attended secondary school at the Institut de la Vierge Fidèle in Brussels.[5] At the age of 18, Mathilde did voluntary work in the slums of Cairo for six weeks.[12] From 1991 until 1994, Mathilde attended the Institut Libre Marie Haps in Brussels, where she studied speech therapy and graduated magna cum laude.[5] She worked as a speech therapist in her own practice in Brussels from 1995 to 1999.[4] She also worked in several Brussels schools.[11] She earned a master's degree in psychology at the Université catholique de Louvain in 2002 with honours (cum laude).[4] Mathilde became the first member of the Belgian royal family with a Belgian university degree.[12] She also took a ten-day leadership course at Harvard University in 2011.[12]

Mathilde speaks French, Dutch, English and Italian.[12] She is also able to speak basic Spanish.[12] Her mother, who has lived most of her life outside Poland, did not teach her Polish, thinking that it would not be necessary. Therefore, she knows only a few words of Polish.[13]

Marriage and children

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Main article: Wedding of Prince Philippe and Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz

Jonkvrouw Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz met Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant while playing tennis in 1996.[14] In September 1999, the Belgian Royal Court announced the engagement of Prince Philippe to Mathilde.[15] Mathilde was presented to the press and public at the Castle of Laeken on 13 September 1999.[12] The announcement of Mathilde's engagement to the Belgian heir-apparent Prince Philippe came as a surprise to the country. Mathilde married Philippe on 4 December 1999 in Brussels, civilly at the Brussels Town Hall and religiously at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. Mathilde's bridal gown was designed by Édouard Vermeulen. She was made Duchess of Brabant and a Princess of Belgium on 8 November 1999 (published on 13 November 1999 and effective from 4 December 1999). The couple reportedly spent their honeymoon in the Maldives and India.[12]

Upon her marriage to Prince Philippe in 1999, King Albert II of Belgium elevated the d'Udekem d'Acoz family from the baronial to the comital rank, hereditary in the male lineage.[16]

The couple have four children:

Princess Elisabeth, the couple's eldest child, is the first in line to the throne and ahead of her younger brothers and sister, who are second, third, and fourth in line to succeed, owing to a change in Belgian succession laws in 1991, allowing for the eldest child to succeed, regardless of sex.[17]

Queen Mathilde is a godmother to Princess Alexia of the Netherlands and Princess Isabella of Denmark.[18][19] Queen Mathilde is also a godmother to girls named Hyle-Mathilde Blakaj, Zaineb Tebbi and Madinah Mohammed Ibrahim, the seventh daughters of families from Charleroi and Ghent.[20][12][21][22] Belgian tradition stated that the seventh daughter from an uninterrupted line of girls has the privilege of asking the Queen to be her godmother.[23]

Queen Consort

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King Albert II announced on 3 July 2013 that he would abdicate in favour of Philippe on 21 July 2013.[24] Approximately one hour after King Albert II's abdication, Prince Philippe was sworn in as King of the Belgians.[25] Upon his accession, Mathilde became the first queen consort of native Belgian nationality. (An earlier Belgian king, King Leopold III, had a Belgian second wife, Lilian, Princess of Réthy, who was not given the title of queen). Their eldest child, Princess Elisabeth, became heir apparent and is expected to become Belgium's first queen regnant.

Activities

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Queen Mathilde is involved with a range of social issues including education, child poverty, intergenerational poverty, the position of women in society and literacy.[4]

Since 2009, Queen Mathilde has been the honorary president of Unicef Belgium.[4] She serves as the World Health Organization's Special Representative for immunization.[26] She also the honorary president of the Breast International Group, a non-profit organisation for academic breast cancer research groups from around the world.[4]

She set up the Princess Mathilde Fund (now the Queen Mathilde Fund) in 2001, which promotes the care of vulnerable people and awards an annual prize for good works in a particular sector.[27] The sector changes each year: examples include early years education, women's health, and protecting young people from violence.[28]

Queen Mathilde 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.[4] The Queen is the honorary president of Child Focus, a foundation for missing and sexually exploited children.[4]

Queen Mathilde is also a patron of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, an international competition founded in 1937 as an initiative of Queen Elisabeth and Belgian composer and violist Eugène Ysaÿe.[4]

In 2018, Queen Mathilde became the honorary president of the Federal Council for Sustainable Development.[4] According to the royal tradition, Queen Mathilde became an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium.[4]

Queen Mathilde is a member of the board of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. She was a United Nations Emissary for the International Year of Microcredit 2005, which focused in particular on financial inclusion and financial literacy. The Queen also attends the annual World Economic Forum in Davos.[4]

Queen Mathilde was named a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Advocate in 2016, promoting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (an agenda for global sustainable development).[29][30]

The Queen also presided at the ceremony awarding the King Baudouin International Development Prize. She also received an Honorary Doctorate from Hasselt University on 30 May 2023.

Honours

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See also: List of honours of the Belgian royal family by country

National

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Foreign

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Arms

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Alliance coat of arms of King Philippe
and Queen Mathilde 		 
Dual cypher of King Philippe
and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians 		 
Coat of arms of the House of d'Udekem d'Acoz 		 
Coat of arms of Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Belgian women do not change their surname upon marriage.[1]

References

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  1. ^ "Giving a name". Diplomatie Belgium. 4 May 2022. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023. Under Belgian law, marriage does not have any effect on the spouses' surnames. You keep the surname that you had before you were married.
  2. ^ a b c "Kroonprins Filip huwt Belgische Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz" [Crown Prince Filip marries Belgian Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz]. tijd.be (in Dutch). 11 September 1999. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Découvrez l'enfance de Mathilde". 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "The Queen". The Belgian Monarchy Official Website. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Mathilde, queen of Belgium". Britannica. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020. Mathilde was the daughter of a judge and a countess, ...
  6. ^ "Fietsreporter Wouter Deboot belandt "Met de wind mee" bij gravin Anna, de moeder van koningin Mathilde" [Bicycle reporter Wouter Deboot ends up "with the wind" at Countess Anna, Queen Mathilde's mother]. vrt.be (in Dutch). 14 April 2023. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  7. ^ "IN BEELD. Bijna voltallig gezin van koning Filip aanwezig op huwelijk van broer koningin Mathilde" [IN PICTURE. Almost the entire family of King Philippe present at the wedding of Queen Mathilde's brother]. HLN (in Dutch). 3 September 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  8. ^ Dicelli, Paola (5 September 2022). "Le mariage de Charles-Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz et Caroline Philippe en Normandie" [The wedding of Charles-Henri d'Udekem d'Acoz and Caroline Philippe in Normandy]. Point de Vue (in French). Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  9. ^ Rey y Cabieses, Amadeo-Martín (27 September 2008). "Fallece a los 72 años Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz, padre de la princesa Matilde de Bélgica" [Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz, father of Princess Mathilde of Belgium, dies at 72]. monarquiaconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  10. ^ El Bakkali, Lina (25 March 2023). "Graaf Raoul d'Udekem d'Acoz, oom van koningin Mathilde, is overleden" [Count Raoul d'Udekem d'Acoz, uncle of Queen Mathilde, has passed away]. vrt.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  11. ^ a b François, Anne (20 January 2023). "La reine Mathilde fête ses 50 ans : portrait d'une femme exceptionnelle" [Queen Mathilde celebrates her 50th birthday: portrait of an exceptional woman]. vrt.be (in French). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cardoen, Sandra (20 January 2023). "Schoenmaat 39, een eindwerk tussen de luiers en "mama Robocop": 50 weetjes over koningin Mathilde die vandaag 50 is" [Shoe size 39, a thesis between diapers and "mama Robocop": 50 facts about Queen Mathilde who is 50 today]. vrt.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Królowa polsko-belgijska". Wprost.Pl (in Polish). 14 December 2008. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Princess Elisabeth of Belgium: Facts about the future queen". Hello. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Philippe, king of Belgium". Britannica. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Royal Decree of 8 November 1999" (PDF). www.ejustice.just.fgov.be. 14 July 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  17. ^ "The King, the Queen and their Family". Monarchie.be. The Belgian Monarchy. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2018. In the past, only boys could become Kings. The Constitution was changed in 1991: Princesses can now also ascend the throne and become Queen. Princess Elisabeth, who is the eldest of four children of King Philippe, is therefore the heiress of the Belgian monarchy. When she succeeds her father King Philippe, Princess Elisabeth will be the first woman to become Head of State in Belgium.
  18. ^ "Princess Alexia". Dutch Royal House. 14 January 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  19. ^ "H.K.H. Prinsesse Isabellas dåb" [HRH Princess Isabella's christening]. Danish Royal House. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  20. ^ Grossard, François (8 October 2020). "La petite Hyle Mathilde est la première carolo a devenir la filleule de la Reine Mathilde" [Little Hyle Mathilde is the first Carolo to become Queen Mathilde's goddaughter]. Telesambre (in French). Charleroi. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Koningin Mathilde schenkt Gentse metekind... zilveren schaal" [Queen Mathilde presents Ghent godchild... silver bowl]. HLN (in Dutch). 13 April 2017. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  22. ^ "Zevende dochter op rij van dit Gents gezin krijgt koningin Mathilde als meter: "Misschien komt er nog een achtste"" [Seventh daughter in a row of this Ghent family will have Queen Mathilde as godmother: "Maybe there will be an eighth"]. HLN (in Dutch). 9 July 2021. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  23. ^ Desmecht, Jeroen (9 July 2021). "Koningin Mathilde wordt meter van Gentse Madinah" [Queen Mathilde becomes godmother of Ghent Madinah]. vrt.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  24. ^ Price, Matthew (3 July 2013). "Belgium's King Albert II announces abdication". BBC News. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  25. ^ "Belgium's King Albert II gives up throne to son". CNN. 21 July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  26. ^ "Princess Mathilde of Belgium to visit Albania as WHO special representative: focus on frontline health workers and immunization". Euro.who.int. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  27. ^ "The Belgian Monarchy". Monarchie.be. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  28. ^ KBS [dead link‍]
  29. ^ Martin. "Sustainable Development Goals Advocates". Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  30. ^ "SDG ADVOCATES 2019–2020". United Nations. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  31. ^ "Royal Decree". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Cooperation. 22 December 2001. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  32. ^ "Modtagere af danske dekorationer". kongehuset.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  33. ^ "Philippe et Mathilde de Belgique déroulent le tapis rouge pour Brigitte et Emmanuel Macron" [Philippe and Mathilde from Belgium roll out the red carpet for Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron]. Point de Vue (in French). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  34. ^ "Archives – sudinfo.be". Sudpresse.be. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  35. ^ "Le Roi et la Reine sont devenus chevaliers de collier".
  36. ^ "外国人叙勲受章者名簿" [List of Foreign Conferment of Decorations (2016)]. Ministry of Foreign Affair of Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  37. ^ "Nuevo duelo de reinas: una Rania muy demodé no puede con una Matilde sublime. Noticias de Casas Reales". Vanitatis.elconfidencial.com. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  38. ^ "Lithuanian president confers state awards to King and Queen of Belgium ahead of visit". Archived from the original on 10 June 2023.
  39. ^ "Visite d'Etat de LL.MM. le Roi et la Reine des Belges au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg – Première journée" [State visit of TM The King and Queen of the Belgians in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg – First day]. Luxembourg Grand Ducal Court (in French). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  40. ^ "Staatsieportret voorafgaande aan staatsbanket" [State portrait prior to state banquet]. Dutch Royal Court (in Dutch). 28 November 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  41. ^ "Tildelinger av ordener og medaljer" [Awards of orders and medals]. Norwegian Royal Court (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  42. ^ The Royal Reporter [@saadsalman719] (3 December 2024). "Sultan Haitham has appointed The Queen of the Belgians to be a Member of the Order of Oman" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  43. ^ "The Belgian Monarchy". Monarchie.be. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  44. ^ "Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 18 października 2004 r. o nadaniu orderów". prawo.sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  45. ^ "La reina Matilde de Bélgica, una burbuja Freixenet en su cena de gala en Portugal". El Confidencial. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  46. ^ "BOE núm. 115" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado. 13 May 2000. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
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Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Born: 20 January 1973
Belgian royalty
Preceded by Queen consort of the Belgians
2013–present 		Incumbent
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