On Thursday, February 6, 2014, Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium arrived in Paris, France for a one-day official visit.

Their Majesties, accompanied by the Prime Minister of Belgium, Mr. Elio Di Rupo, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, Mr. Didier Reynders, were warmly welcomed to the City of Lights by the President of France, Mr. François Hollande, at the Palais de l’Élysée.

After a brief photo-op for the press Their Majesties were ushered into the Palais were they attended a luncheon meeting with President Hollande and other government officials.

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On the evening of February 5, 2014, Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium accompanied by King Albert II and Queen Paola of Belgium arrived at the Square Brussels Meeting Center in Brussels to attend an academic session in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Croix-Rouge de Belgique.

Earlier in the day, Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde met with “…heads of Belgian Diplomatic missions abroad…” at the Palais Royal as part of the 2014 Journées de Contact Diplomatiques.

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On February 3, 2014, Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid of Belgium arrived at the Palais d’Egmont in Brussels to the “…first day of Journées de Contact Diplomatiques (Diplomatic Contact Days)…” according to the Belgian royal court.

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On Friday, January 31, 2014, Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium accompanied by Queen Paola of Belgium visited the offices of Child Focus Foundation in Brussels.  Her Majesty is now Honorary President of the foundation, a position in which she recently took over from Queen Paola.

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On January 30, 2014, His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium arrived at the Banque Nationale de Belgique in Brussels to participate in an “…academic session organized by the INAMI on the occasion of 50th anniversary of sickness and invalidity insurance.”

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On the morning of Sunday, January 26, 2014, His Royal Highness Prince Laurent of Belgium arrived at the Bourse de Bruxelles to view the exhibition, The Art of the Brick, by Mr. Nathan Sawaya.

According to the official website for the Bourse de Bruxelles the exhibition:

“…is displayed on a surface of 1,300 m² more than 70 impressive objects in a new genre : exceptional works of art in simply breathtaking environments created with hundreds of thousands LEGO® building blocks. 

Among the most stunning and unexpected 3D creations, The Art of the Brick, exhibits reconstructions – often interpreted – of universally known works of art, like Rodin’s “The Thinker”, the “Venus de Milo”, Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” – where the hands and head explode from the 2-dimensional to the 3-dimensional ! – or “The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait” by Jan van Eyck – where the characters are outside the painting…”

The exhibition will be open to the public until April 21, 2014.  For more information about The Art of the Brick please click here.

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