All About the Belgian Royal Family, from Royal Duties to the Line of Succession

1. Who Currently Represents the Belgian Monarchy?

King Philippe of Belgium (63) and Queen Mathilde of Belgium (50) are the current heads of the Belgian monarchy. And according to the official website, Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary and parliamentary monarchy.

2. Who Is King Philippe of the Belgians?

His Majesty is the eldest son of King Albert II and Queen Paola. In July 2013, he succeeded his father and became the seventh King of the Belgians, after King Albert II announced his abdication. 

The King made history as the first Crown Prince to not receive a private education. After attending the Royal Military Academy, he continued his studies at Oxford University in the U.K. and spent two years at Stanford University in the U.S., where he earned his Master's in political science. In 1993, he took over the Honorary Presidency of the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency (BFTA) and served as Honorary Chair of the Federal Council for Sustainable Development.

Now, the king is the country's head of state and commander-in-chief of the Belgian Armed Forces. His duties include supporting initiatives in Belgium, traveling abroad for royal engagements and overseeing government negotiations.

3. Who Is Queen Mathilde of the Belgians?

Queen Mathilde is the daughter of Count and Countess Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz. After studying speech therapy at the Haute École Léonard de Vinci and earning her Master's in psychology at the Université Catholique de Louvain, she worked as a speech therapist from 1995 to 1999. 

Her Majesty tied the knot with King Philippe (formerly His Royal Highness Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant) in December 1999. And since then, she has been quite involved with initiatives relating to parenting, education, child poverty, financial literacy and mental health. The queen is also Honorary Chair of multiple organizations, including Child Focus, UNICEF Belgium and the Belgian Federal Council for Sustainable Development.

4. How Many Children Do the King and Queen Have?

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde currently have four children: Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant (21), Prince Gabriel (19), Prince Emmanuel (17) and Princess Eléonore (15).

5. What Is the Belgian Line of Succession?

The current line of succession to the Belgian throne includes 16 members of the royal family, including King Philippe's children, his siblings and their descendants. Here’s the full list:

1. Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant 
2. Prince Gabriel  
3. Prince Emmanuel 
4. Princess Eléonore 
5. Princess Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este 
6. Prince Amedeo, Archduke of Austria-Este 
7. Archduchess Anna Astrid of Austria-Este  
8. Archduke Maximilian of Austria-Este 
9. Princess Maria Laura, Archduchess of Austria-Este 
10. Prince Joachim, Archduke of Austria-Este 
11. Princess Luisa Maria, Archduchess of Austria-Este 
12. Princess Laetitia Maria, Archduchess of Austria-Este 
13. Prince Laurent 
14. Princess Louise  
15. Prince Nicolas 
16. Prince Aymeric