Sultan Haitham bin Tarik is making a two-day state visit to Belgium, at the invitation of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. The Sultan of Oman's first day in Belgium ended with the traditional state banquet, the first opportunity given to the Belgian sovereigns to wear their new distinctions. King Philippe wore the insignia of the Order of Al Said, while Queen Mathilde, wearing the Wolfers tiara, wore the insignia of the Order of Oman.
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King Philippe confers the Order of Leopold on the Sultan of Oman and receives the Order of Al Said in exchange
This Tuesday, December 3, 2024, the Sultan of Oman, Haitham ben Tarek, began his state visit to the Kingdom of Belgium. King Philippe and Sultan Haitham have enjoyed excellent relations since the start of the new sovereign's reign in 2020. Sultan Haitham succeeded his cousin, Sultan Qaboos, himself linked to Belgium through his cancer treatment. the intestine that he followed to Louvain. King Philip went to Muscat, capital of the Sultanate of Oman, from the first days of the reign of the new Sultan Haitham to deliver his congratulations in person.
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King Philippe and Queen Mathilde then traveled to Oman in 2022, passing through the Middle East on their way to the Dubai World Expo. Now it is up to Sultan Haitham to visit Belgium. After a military welcome in front of the royal palace in Brussels in the morning, the Sultan of Oman met the Belgian authorities and visited the capital's town hall, from where he made an appearance on the balcony next to the royal couple . In the evening, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde invited their Omani guest to their home, Laeken Castle, to offer him the traditional state banquet.
Earlier in the day, the two heads of state exchanged distinctions, as is diplomatic tradition during such trips. The Sultan of Oman conferred the order of Al Said on the King of the Belgians. This order, which bears the name of the dynasty ruling Oman since 1744, was created in 1913 by Sultan Faisal. Formerly divided into different grades, Sultan Qaboos reformed this order in 1982, reducing it to a single grade. This is the highest distinction of the Sultanate of Oman, awarded only to sovereigns. King Philip, in exchange, gave Leopold's order to his guest. This order was founded in 1832 by Leopold, the first king of the Belgians, and it is also the highest distinction of the Kingdom of Belgium.
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Queen Mathilde also distinguished by Sultan Haitham of Oman
Queen Mathilde was also honored by Sultan Haitham. The Queen of the Belgians received the insignia of the Order of Oman, which is the second highest distinction of the sultanate. At the state banquet, King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and the Sultan of Oman wore their new honors. The sultan wore the amaranth cord and the insignia of the order of Leopold. While King Philippe and Queen Mathilde wore the insignia of their respective new Omani order. The two cords, although different, look similar. They are red edged with green.
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Queen Mathilde wore the Wolfers tiara, a relatively discreet piece of jewelry that originally was a necklace. The collar can be worn on the head when mounted on a structure. Even though it seems relatively modest, it still has more than 200 diamonds which are aligned in two rows at the base of the necklace. Seven “points,” made up of three diamonds, hang from the double row. The points wax and wane in size with the largest in the center.
The Wolfers necklace tiara is a piece of jewelry that had long disappeared from the public eye. In 2015, for the first time since the death of King Baudouin in 1993, Queen Mathilde brought out this little tiara during a state visit. The Wolfers necklace tiara, which belonged to Queen Fabiola, is one of those jewels of which we did not know whether it had been passed down to the royal family or whether it was part of Fabiola's legacy at its foundation.
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