Queen Mathilde of Belgium

Mathilde (born Jonkvrouw Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz – [matild dyd(ə)kɛm dakɔ] – on 20 January 1973) is the wife of King Philippe, who ascended the throne following the abdication of his father, King Albert II, on 21 July 2013. She is the first Belgian-born Queen of the Belgians.

Mathilde
Queen consort of the Belgians
Tenure21 July 2013 – present
BornJonkvrouw Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz
(1973-01-20) 20 January 1973
Uccle, Brussels, Belgium
Spouse
Issue
Housed'Udekem d'Acoz
FatherCount Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz
MotherCountess Anna Maria Komorowska

Early life and family

Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz was born on 20 January 1973 in Uccle, Belgium. Mathilde is the oldest of five children. The d'Udekem d'Acoz family are of aristocratic origins; her grandfather and her uncle were barons while she and her father were a part of the untitled nobility. Mathilde grew up at the family estate, Losange Castle, Bastogne.

Mathilde's father was Count (formerly Jonkheer) Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz (Uccle, 28 April 1936 – Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, 25 September 2008), son of Baron Charles d'Udekem d'Acoz (Ghent, 8 March 1885 – Proven, 7 December 1968), who was of Belgian noble ancestry; her mother is Countess Anna Maria Komorowska (born 24 September 1946 in Białogard, Poland), daughter of Count Leon Michael Komorowski (Siedliska, 14 August 1907 – 1992) and Polish Princess Zofia María Sapieha of Krasiczyn, Clan Lis (Bobrek, by birth member of House of Sapieha, 10 October 1919 – Herstal, 14 August 1997).

Upon her marriage to Prince Philippe of Belgium, the Duke of Brabant in 1999, King Albert II of Belgium elevated the family d'Udekem d'Acoz from the baronial to the comital rank, hereditary in the male lineage. Upon the accession of her husband, Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant to the throne of Belgium she became the first Belgian queen consort of native Belgian nationality.[1]

Education

Mathilde attended primary school in Bastogne.[2] She then attended secondary school at the Institut de la Vierge Fidèle in Brussels, and then studied speech therapy at the Institut libre Marie Haps in Brussels from 1991 to 1994, earning a diploma with high honours (magna cum laude).[2]

Mathilde worked as a speech therapist in her own practice in Brussels from 1995 to 1999.[3] She also studied psychology at the Université catholique de Louvain and earned a master's degree in psychology in 2002 with honours (cum laude).[4][5]

She speaks French, Dutch, English and Italian. Her mother, who has lived most of her life outside Poland, did not teach her Polish, thinking that it would not be necessary. Therefore, Mathilde knows only a few words of Polish.[6]

Marriage and children
Main article: Wedding of Prince Philippe and Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz

The announcement of Mathilde's engagement to the Belgian heir-apparent Prince Philippe came as a surprise to the country. Mathilde married Philippe on 4 December 1999 in Brussels, civilly at the Brussels Town Hall and religiously at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. Mathilde's bridal gown was designed by Édouard Vermeulen. She was made Duchess of Brabant and a Princess of Belgium on 8 November 1999 (published on 13 November 1999 and effective from 4 December 1999).

Queen Mathilde alongside Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore

The couple have four children:

Princess Elisabeth, the couple's eldest child, is the first in line to the throne and ahead of her younger brothers and sister, who are second, third, and fourth in line to succeed, owing to a change in Belgian succession laws in 1991, allowing for the eldest child to succeed, regardless of gender.

Activities

Queen Mathilde is concerned with a range of social issues including education, child poverty, intergenerational poverty, the position of women in society and literacy.[3]

Since 2009, Queen Mathilde has been the honorary president of Unicef Belgium.[3] She serves as the World Health Organization’s Special Representative for Immunization.[7] She also the honorary president of the Breast International Group, a non-profit organisation for academic breast cancer research groups from around the world.[3]

She set up the Princess Mathilde Fund (now the Queen Mathilde Fund) in 2001, which promotes the care of vulnerable people and awards an annual prize for good works in a particular sector.[8] The sector changes each year: examples include early years education, women's health, and protecting young people from violence.[9]

Queen Mathilde deploys the Queen's Charities to offer help to citizens who are struggling to cope with financial hardship in their daily lives and often turn to her as a last resort.[3] The Queen is honorary president of Child Focus, foundation for missing and sexually exploited children.[3]

Queen Mathilde is a patron of YouthStart Belgium.[10] Queen Mathilde is also a patron of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, an international competition founded in 1937 as an initiative of Queen Elisabeth and Belgian composer and violist Eugène Ysaÿe.[3]

In 2018, Queen Mathilde became the honorary president of the Federal Council for Sustainable Development.[3] According to the royal tradition, Queen Mathilde became an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium.[3]

Queen Mathilde is a member of the Schwab Foundation Board for Social Entrepreneurship. She was a United Nations Emissary for the International Year of Microcredit 2005, which focused in particular on financial inclusion and financial literacy. The Queen also attends the annual World Economic Forum in Davos.[3]

Queen Mathilde was named a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Advocate in 2016, promoting the 2030 Agenda for global sustainable development.[11]

The Queen also presided at the ceremony awarding the King Baudouin International Development Prize.[4]

Honours

National

Foreign

Arms

Alliance Coat of Arms of King Philippe
and Queen Mathilde
Dual Cypher of King Philippe
and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians
Coat of arms of the House of d'Udekem d'Acoz
Coat of arms of Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz
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References
  1. Her predecessors were, in order of succession, French, Austrian, Bavarian, Swedish, Spanish, and Italian.
  2. "Queen Mathilde of Belgium". Unofficial Royalty.
  3. "The Queen". The Belgian Monarchy Official Website.
  4. "Who is Queen Mathilde of the Belgians?". royalcentral.co.uk. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  5. "QUEEN MATHILDE". Focus on Belgium. Retrieved 13 August 2020. She worked as a speech therapist at her own practice in Brussels, while studying psychology at the Catholic University of Leuven.
  6. "Królowa polsko-belgijska". Wprost.Pl (in Polish). Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  7. "Princess Mathilde of Belgium to visit Albania as WHO special representative: focus on frontline health workers and immunization". Euro.who.int. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  8. "The Belgian Monarchy". Monarchie.be. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  10. "QUEEN MATHILDE VISITS YOUTH START TRAINING PROGRAMME". royalfashionblog.com. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  11. Martin. "Sustainable Development Goals Advocates". Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  12. "Photographic image : Queen Mathilde of Belgium" (JPG). C7.alamy.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  13. "The Royal Watcher : Photo". Royalwatcher.tumblr.com. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  14. "HELLO! Special Zoom". Hellomagazine.com. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  15. "Photographic image : Queen Mathilde of Belgium with King William of the netherlands" (JPG). C7.alamy.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  16. "Modtagere af danske dekorationer". kongehuset.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  17. "Finnish President Visit To Belgium – Day One Photos and Images". Getty Images. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  18. "Photographic image : Queen Mathilde of Belgium" (JPG). 4.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  19. "Photographic image" (JPG). 1.bp.blogpsot.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  20. "Archives – sudinfo.be". Sudpresse.be. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  21. "Belga Image – Editorial". Portal.belgaimage.be. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  22. "Belga Image – Editorial". Potal.belgaimage.be. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  23. "Nuevo duelo de reinas: una Rania muy demodé no puede con una Matilde sublime. Noticias de Casas Reales". Vanitatis.elconfidencial.com. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  24. "Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembou Photos and Images". Getty Images. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  25. "Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembou Photos and Images". Getty Images. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  26. "Dutch Royal State Visit To Belgium". Getty Images. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  27. "Norwegian State Visit To Belgium". Getty Images. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  28. "Long Live all the magic we made". Pinterest.com. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  29. "Photographic image" (JPG). 2.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  30. "The Belgian Monarchy". Monarchie.be. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  31. "Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 18 października 2004 r. o nadaniu orderów". prawo.sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  32. "La reina Matilde de Bélgica, una burbuja Freixenet en su cena de gala en Portugal". El Confidencial. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  33. "Photographic image" (JPG). 3.bp.blogspot.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  34. "Crown Prince Philippe and Crown Princess Mathilde – Picture Thread – Page 6 – The Royal Forums". Theroyalforums.com. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  35. "Photographic image : Queen Mathilde of Belgium Arrives at the Royal Apalce" (JPG). C7.alamy.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  36. "Photographic image : Crown Princess Mathilde of Belgium and Princess Letizia of Spain" (JPG). C7.alamy.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  37. "Photographic image : Queen Mathilde of Belgium" (JPG). C7.alamy.com. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
Queen Mathilde of Belgium
House of d'Udekem d'Acoz
Born: 20 January 1973
Belgian royalty
Preceded by
Paola Ruffo di Calabria		 Queen consort of the Belgians
2013 – present		 Incumbent

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