On Thursday, December 17, 2015, Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium attended a theatre performance of, Histoires is’t Waar!?, in Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium.
This afternoon’s performance was held on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the organization Digital Aktie Kureghem-Stad (MAKS). The organization provides young people the opportunity to develop their acting skills through various projects and performances as well as multimedia training.
On Wednesday, December 16, 2015, Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium arrived at the Design Museum Gent to view the exhibition, Design Derby: België en Nederland 1825-2015.
The exhibition, developed in collaboration with the Design Museum Gent and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam, displays 200 years of design from Belgium and the Netherlands. Over 500 design objects, ranging from intricately engraved silver, glassware and ceramics to contemporary furniture, fashion and graphic design, are exhibited in chronological order and in parallel.
From the Empire through neo-Renaissance to Art Deco and more recent developments such as eco-design and social design the exhibition reveals striking similarities and surprising differences between the two countries. It is the first time that design practices in the Netherlands and Belgium are compared on this scale.
Design Derby: België en Nederland 1825-2015 will be open to the public until March 13, 2016, at the Design Museum Gent.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, December 16, 2015, Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium accompanied by their four children — Princess Elisabeth, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel, Princess Eleonore — enjoyed a Christmas concert held at the Palais Royal in Brussels.
The royal family and guests listened to Georg Friedrich Händel’s, Messiah, performed by the Concert d’Anvers and the Vlaams Radio Koor under the direction of Mr. Bart Van Reyn with soloists from the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth.
On the evening of Monday, December 14, 2015, Their Imperial and Royal Highnesses Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este and Prince Lorenz of Belgium accompanied by TI&RHs Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este and Princess Elisabetta of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este attended the Roll Back Malaria farewell reception held at Château de Val-Duchesse in Auderghem.
Since 2007 Princess Astrid has been the Special Representative to the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM).
On the morning of Tuesday, December 15, 2015, Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium visited the charity organization, Resto du Coeur, in Charleroi.
Established in 1985 Resto du Coeur provides hot meals in a large warm building to homeless individuals and families. Each day over 250 meals are prepared and served by dozens of volunteers.
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On Saturday, December 12, 2015, Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium attended a special Mass at the Sint-Romboutskathedraal (St. Rumbold’s Cathedral) in Mechelen for the new Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Msgr. Jozef De Kesel. Last month, November 6, His Holiness Pope Francis named Msgr. Jozef De Kesel to succeed Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard.
Twenty bishops, 140 priests and 30 deacons presided over this afternoon’s Eucharistic celebrations which was attended by over 250 people including Belgian politicians, religious leaders, and of course the faithful.
On the afternoon of Thursday, December 10, 2015, His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium attended the 11th Edition of the Prix Belgodyssée for Young Journalists held at the Palais Royal in Brussels.
Established in 2004, the Belgodyssée is an initiative of Belgian Public Radio network, VRT VivaCité, and the Fonds Prince Philippe, in collaboration with the Belgian newspapers Metro and L’Avenir as well as with the support of the Chancellerie du Premier Ministre and Brussels Airlines.
The overall goal of the prize is to promote collaboration among future journalists of the three communities within the country. Held under the theme, New Forms of Solidarity, sixteen young journalists traveled throughout Belgium producing variety of reports for radio and print media while sharing their experiences on social media.
The Royal Correspondent 