french: Philippe Léopold Louis Marie
german: Philipp Leopold Ludwig Maria , house = Belgium , father =

Albert II of Belgium , house = Belgium , father = Leopold III of Belgium , mother = Astrid of Sweden , birth_date = , birth_place = Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium , death_date = , death_place = , signature = Albert II of Belgium Signat ...

, mother =

Paola Ruffo di Calabria Paola (born Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria;AlthougThe Belgian Monarchy websiteattributes the title of "Princess" to Queen Paola prior to marriage, Burke's Peerage 1973, The Descendants of Louis XIII 1999, ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'' 20 ...

, birth_date = , birth_place =

Belvédère Castle Belvédère Castle ( French: ''Château du Belvédère''; Dutch: ''Kasteel Belvédère'') is a Belgian royal residence in Laeken, Belgium, which currently houses Albert II of Belgium and his wife, Queen Paola of Belgium. History Belvédère Ca ...

, Laeken,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Kingdom of Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to t ...

, religion = Roman Catholicism Philippe or Filip ( nl, Filip Leopold Lodewijk Maria ; french: Philippe Léopold Louis Marie ; born 15 April 1960) is King of the Belgians. He is the eldest child of King Albert II and

Queen Paola Paola (born Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria;AlthougThe Belgian Monarchy websiteattributes the title of "Princess" to Queen Paola prior to marriage, Burke's Peerage 1973, The Descendants of Louis XIII 1999, ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'' 200 ...

. He succeeded his father upon the latter's abdication for health reasons on 21 July 2013. He married

Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz Mathilde (born ''Jonkvrouw'' Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz ; 20 January 1973) is Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Philippe. She is the first native-born Belgian queen. She has founded and assisted charities to ...

in 1999, with whom he has four children. Their eldest child, Princess Elisabeth, is first in the line of succession.

Early life

Philippe was born on 15 April 1960 at the

in Laeken north of

. His father, Prince Albert,

Prince of Liège Prince of Liège ( French: Prince de Liège, Dutch: Prins van Luik, German: Prinz von Lüttich) is a substantive title awarded by King Leopold III of the Belgians to his younger son, Prince Albert (the future King Albert II), while he was secon ...

(later King Albert II), was the second son of King

Leopold III of Belgium Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invas ...

and a younger brother of Baudouin. His mother, Paola, Princess of Liège (later Queen Paola), is a daughter of the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional It ...

aristocrat Fulco VIII, Prince Ruffo di Calabria, 6th Duke of Guardia Lombarda. His mother descends from the French

House of La Fayette The House of La Fayette was a French family of Nobles of the Sword, from the province of Auvergne, established during the Middle-Age by the lords of the fief of La Fayette held by the senior branch of the Motier family. History and members Its ...

, and the king is a descendant of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, and Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles. Philippe was

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

one month later at the church of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg in Brussels on 17 May, and named Philippe after his great-great-grandfather Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders. His godparents were his paternal grandfather,

King Leopold III Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasi ...

, and his maternal grandmother, Donna Luisa, Princess Ruffo di Calabria. Albert and Paola's marriage was unhappy, and they were usually absent from Philippe's life. The

child neglect A form of child abuse, child neglect is an act of caregivers (e.g., parents) that results in depriving a child of their basic needs, such as the failure to provide adequate supervision, health care, clothing, or housing, as well as other physica ...

was so severe that child psychologist described it as justifying intervention by social workers. Philippe has a half-sibling,

Princess Delphine of Belgium Princess Delphine of Belgium (''Delphine Michèle Anne Marie Ghislaine de Saxe-Cobourg''; born 22 February 1968), known previously as ''Jonkvrouw'' Delphine Boël, is a Belgian artist and member of the Belgian royal family. She is the daughter ...

(born 1968).

Education

As a child the future king was required to transfer from a French-language school, where he was purportedly happy, to a secondary school in Flanders, where he found it difficult to make friends. “In my youth, I had many problems at school” Philippe told a group of teenage dropouts in 2019. “I felt badly treated. It was not easy for me”. From 1978 to 1981, Philippe was educated at the Belgian Royal Military Academy in the 118th "Promotion Toutes Armes" (Promotion All Weapons). On 26 September 1980, he was appointed second lieutenant and took the officer's oath. Philippe continued his education at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Oxford, and he attended graduate school at Stanford University, California, where he graduated in 1985 with an MA degree in political science. He obtained his fighter pilot's wings and his certificates as a parachutist and a commando. In 1989, he attended a series of special sessions at the Royal Higher Defence Institute. The same year, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. In 1993,

King Baudouin Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his dea ...

died in Spain,

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

became the new king, and Philippe became the new

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

, titled Duke of Brabant. On 25 March 2001, Philippe was appointed to the rank of major-general in the Land Component and the Air Component and to the rank of

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in the Naval Component.

Marriage

Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde

Philippe married

, daughter of a Walloon count of a Belgian

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family and female line descendant of Polish

noble families Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...

such as the princes Sapieha and counts Komorowski, on 4 December 1999 in

, in a civil ceremony at the

Brussels Town Hall The Town Hall (french: Hôtel de Ville, Dutch: ) of the City of Brussels is a landmark building and the seat of the City of Brussels municipality of Brussels, Belgium. It is located on the south side of the famous Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Br ...

and a religious ceremony at the Cathedral of Saint Michel and Saint Gudule in Brussels. They have four children: * Princess Elisabeth, * Prince Gabriel, * Prince Emmanuel, and * Princess Eléonore.

Foreign trade

On 6 August 1993, the government named Philippe as honorary chairman of the Belgian Foreign Trade Board (BFTB). He succeeded his father, who had been honorary chairman of the BFTB since 1962. On 3 May 2003, he was appointed honorary chairman of the board of the Foreign Trade Agency, replacing the BFTB. In this capacity, Philippe has headed more than 60 economic missions. Upon his accession as seventh King of the Belgians, this role was taken over by his sister Princess Astrid.

Accession

King Albert II announced on 3 July 2013 that he would abdicate in favour of Philippe on 21 July 2013. Approximately one hour after King Albert II's abdication, Prince Philippe was sworn in as King of the Belgians. His eldest child, Princess Elisabeth, became his heir apparent and is expected to become Belgium's first queen regnant.

Reign

Philippe played a role in forming a coalition government after the

2014 Belgian federal election Federal elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected, whereas the Senate was no longer directly elected following the 2011–2012 state reform. These were the first elections hel ...

. Political meetings with the King were moved from the

Palace of Laeken The Palace of Laeken or Castle of Laeken (french: Château de Laeken, nl, Kasteel van Laken, german: Schloss zu Laeken) is the official residence of the King of the Belgians and the Belgian Royal Family. It lies in the Brussels-Capital Regi ...

to the

Royal Palace of Brussels The Royal Palace of Brussels (french: Palais royal de Bruxelles, , nl, Koninklijk Paleis van Brussel , german: Königlicher Palast von Brüssel) is the official palace of the King and Queen of the Belgians in the centre of the nation's capita ...

. In May 2019, Philippe met with

Vlaams Belang Vlaams Belang (, , VB) is a Flemish nationalist, Opposition to immigration, anti immigration, right-wing populist List of political parties in Belgium, political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels, Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. Vlaams ...

President

Tom Van Grieken Tom Jozef Irène Van Grieken (born 7 October 1986) is a Belgian politician and author who has served as leader of Vlaams Belang since October 2014. Early life Van Grieken was born in Antwerp and later moved to Mortsel where he served as a muni ...

, the first time the party had received a royal audience. In 2020, Philippe announced regret for the "acts of violence and cruelty" committed in Belgian Congo.

Honours and arms

Royal Standard of King Philippe of Belgium

National honours

Foreign honours

Arms

nl, Eendracht maakt macht
german: Einigkeit macht stark , other_elements = The whole is placed on a mantle purpure with ermine lining, fringes and tassels or and ensigned with the Royal crown of Belgium. , previous_versions = Previously as monarch, Philippe used the royal coat of arms of Belgium undifferenced.

Ancestry

References

External links

Official biography from the Belgian Royal Family website

(''French'') about Prince Philippe's education and military career. , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Philippe Of Brabant, Duke, Prince 1960 births 21st-century Belgian monarchs 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century Roman Catholics Royal Military Academy (Belgium) alumni Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Belgian monarchs Members of the Senate (Belgium) Belgian people of Danish descent Belgian people of German descent Belgian people of Italian descent Belgian people of Swedish descent Belgian Roman Catholics Roman Catholic monarchs Dukes of Brabant House of Belgium Living people People from Laeken Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Stanford University alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of Aviz Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Grand Crosses of the Order of Honour (Greece) Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (civil) Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Grand Crosses of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Knights of Malta Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Belgium)