All of Belgium was celebrating this Friday, November 15, 2024 on the occasion of the day which pays tribute to the monarchy of the flat country. But this King's Day – celebrated since 1866 on Saint-Leopold's Day, the first name worn by three of the Belgian sovereigns – was tinged with a little bitterness. Family disagreement? Disenchantment with the royal family? You are far from the mark!
If King Philippe and his family were very well received on this auspicious day, something was still missing for the celebration to be complete. Or rather someone. Indeed, Queen Paola, mother of the current sovereign, had to give up participating in these long-awaited festivities. Victim of a bad fall at the beginning of November, the wife of the former King Albert II, 87, was forced to rest by the medical profession. And this for a period of four weeks. Time needed for her injured foot to consolidate and no longer cause her pain.
Those concerned about the state of health of the honorable lady were, however, quickly reassured at the end of the mass given in the Cathedral of Saints-Michel-et-Gudula in Brussels. Lending her arm to her dear dad as she left the religious building, Princess Astrid made a point of responding to the people who were rushing to ask her for news of her mother. “Mom is fine. She is still in the south of France and it was too difficult to move her here. I haven't been able to see her yet but we should celebrate Christmas together.” And Paola's only daughter minimizes the extent of the injury. “It’s not too serious.” Phew!
Read also>> Injured in the foot, Paola from Belgium will not attend King's Day
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