King’s Day is traditionally celebrated with the Te Deum in the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels. King Albert II, his son Prince Laurent, his daughter Astrid and her husband Prince Lorenz were present for the mass celebration. Queen Paola and Princess Claire remained absent from the celebration. The queen suffered a slight fall in early November and must rest for four weeks.
Resigning Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) and Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) also arrived at the cathedral at just before 10 a.m. In addition to the government representatives, various schools, members of the diplomatic corps and patriotic organizations were also present.
Just after 10 a.m., the royal family climbed the steps of the cathedral, after which the celebration started. Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Luc Terlinden, presided over the celebration and wished Queen Paola a speedy recovery. He also spoke about the victims of the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and those affected by the floods in Spain.
Ceremony in the Senate
The members of the Royal Family then went to the Senate for a ceremony. This year the theme was ‘Growing together, pushing boundaries and experiencing unforgettable adventures’, something to which various recognized youth movements have testified.
Chirojeugd Vlaanderen, Les Guides, FOS Open Scouting, KAJ and Scouts & Gidsen Vlaanderen were present at the ceremony. Each youth movement gave its own slogan at the start of the ceremony and each group gave the three members of the Belgian Royal Family a gift. For example, King Albert II received a typical scarf from the youth movement as a gift.
Federal politicians were also present, including Prime Minister De Croo, Chamber President Peter De Roover (N-VA), Senate President Valérie De Bue (MR) and ministers Clarinval (MR), De Moor (CD&V) and Verlinden.
‘Best in the world’
De Croo, who was part of the youth movement as a boy, praised the Belgian youth movements, “which are among the best in the world, because of the inherent built-in pluralism, the democratic and open access and the inclusiveness of the youth movements”.
“The youth movements help build society and strengthen society,” De Croo continued. “Together they explore, take care of each other and learn to lead together. In this way, they realize that working together is useful.”
Peter De Roover also underlined the importance of youth and its movements. The Speaker of the House especially wants to urge all adults to respect “one right” of young people: “the right to make mistakes and be mistaken”.
Furthermore, the Speaker of the House pointed out that youth movements are the ideal training ground for taking up social commitment, referring to the late former Prime Minister and scout Jean-Luc Dehaene.
King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and their four children were not present at the Te Deum or the meeting in the Senate. Tradition has it that the king does not celebrate himself.
