The Brunette
Lady in Waiting
Posts: 359
Jun 6, 2007 18:57:39 GMT -4
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Post by The Brunette on Jul 20, 2013 21:14:50 GMT -4
Time for a thread! King Albert II - who seems to be respected and admired in all of Belgium's regions for keeping the nation together amid the 2010 election crisis - is abdicating, so his son Philippe (Filip if you're Flemish) will be crowned tomorrow. My understanding is that he's not particularly bright, and most people in Flanders can't stand him. It looks like we might be in for a hot mess - and not the fun kind of hot mess we get from Monaco. ETA: NappingAthena's post from the Royalty in History thread  |
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NappingAthena
Sloane Ranger
Posts: 2,104
Mar 6, 2005 18:35:49 GMT -4
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Post by NappingAthena on Jul 20, 2013 22:20:49 GMT -4
For me, it's not that Philippe is unintelligent, but that he seems shy and kind of awkward. He seems like he might not have the backbone needed for what he has to do as king. As an awkward type myself I empathize. It's not his fault he doesn't seem friendly and smart like Willem-Alexander, or charismatic like Haakon.
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The Brunette
Lady in Waiting
Posts: 359
Jun 6, 2007 18:57:39 GMT -4
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Post by The Brunette on Jul 21, 2013 22:56:28 GMT -4
Philippe est roi. The ceremonies looked to be rather low-key, which seems to be Belgian tradition. (So I think they're happy that Cambridge Baby Watch(tm) stole their minimal thunder.) I can see how someone who's inherently awkward can come across as a "dumbass." (I'm socially awkward myself, and I couldn't imagine inheriting a nation's rule - even if it's stable!) Belgium's a cool country, so I'm hoping for the best.
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Post by chonies on Jul 22, 2013 9:06:16 GMT -4
I was reading about the Belgians last night before bed and promptly forgot everything I wanted to ask, but I do think it's interesting/kind of cool that there's another tweeny crown princess, Princess Elisabeth. I wonder if she and Catharina-Amalia will be besties.
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Post by chonies on Dec 14, 2014 22:04:20 GMT -4
I missed the death of Queen Fabiola. The DM has some very sad, solemn pictures of the family: link. Poor Prince Gabriel. |
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Post by Witchie on Dec 14, 2014 22:10:16 GMT -4
Looking at those pictures, I just realized not one member of the BRF were there. Wow! Was there bad blood between Fabiola and the Brits? Talk about bad form. Everyone was there, including the Japanese Empress.
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Post by chonies on Dec 14, 2014 22:43:12 GMT -4
The article said "none could attend," which is possible--funerals are hard to plan for, sometimes--but the part of my heart that is reserved for IRL telenovelas and celebrity shade wants some bad blood.
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Post by Witchie on Dec 14, 2014 23:01:27 GMT -4
The article said "none could attend," which is possible--funerals are hard to plan for, sometimes--but the part of my heart that is reserved for IRL telenovelas and celebrity shade wants some bad blood. Something's going on. I just checked over at RoyalDish and the circular was empty. Everyone was available. Ooh...I want to know what's the dealio. |
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Post by Auroranorth on Dec 15, 2014 9:42:37 GMT -4
The kids are all cute and I did not know that Belgium has a future queen- cool!
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Post by chonies on Dec 15, 2014 9:50:30 GMT -4
So, that means the majority of the heirs apparent are female, right? There's Elisabeth of Belgium, Estelle of Sweden, Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, Leonor of Spain and Ingrid of Norway. The boys are William (and George), Jacques of Monaco, and Christian of Denmark. That makes 5:3 for European royals. Did I miss anyone?
ETA: Any update on why there were no Brits at Fabiola's funeral? I thought maybe there might be some protocol issue because Fabiola was the widow of an abdicated king, so I don't know where that puts her socially; I also can't figure out how close the Windsors are to the Belgians, even though they're both Saxe-Coburg-Gothas.
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