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

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 ...

, father = Albert II of Belgium , mother = Paola Ruffo di Calabria , 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 , religion =

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Philippe or Filip ( nl, Filip Leopold Lodewijk Maria ; french: Philippe Léopold Louis Marie ; born 15 April 1960) is

King of the Belgians Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's ...

. He is the eldest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola. 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 (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 aristocrat Fulco VIII, Prince Ruffo di Calabria, 6th Duke of Guardia Lombarda. His mother descends from the French House of La Fayette, and the king is a descendant of

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...

, and Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles. Philippe was baptised 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, 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 was so severe that child psychologist described it as justifying intervention by

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

s. Philippe has a half-sibling, Princess Delphine of Belgium (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 Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

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 Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and he attended graduate school at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

, California, where he graduated in 1985 with an MA degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

. He obtained his fighter

pilot's wings An aviator badge is an insignia used in most of the world's militaries to designate those who have received training and qualification in military aviation. Also known as a Pilot's Badge, or Pilot Wings, the Aviator Badge was first conceived to rec ...

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 ...

. In 1993, King Baudouin died in Spain, Albert 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 in the Naval Component.

Marriage

Belgian King Philippe and Queen Mathilde

Philippe married

, daughter of a Walloon count of a Belgian noble 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 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 A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns '' suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigni ...

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. In May 2019, Philippe met with

Vlaams Belang , ideology = , predecessor = Vlaams Blok , position = , europarl = Identity and Democracy , european = Identity and Democracy Party , youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren , colours = ...

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 The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

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 In heraldry, purpure, () is a tincture, equivalent to the colour "purple", and is one of the five main or most usually used ''colours'' (as opposed to ''metals''). It may be portrayed in engravings by a series of parallel lines at a 45-degree angl ...

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)