A Who’s Who Of The Belgian Royal Family

It may have a smaller, more understated public profile than some of Europe’s bigger dynasties, but the Belgian royal family still has its share of intrigue, drama and occasional controversy. At the centre of it all is King Philippe, who has reigned since 2013 alongside his wife Queen Mathilde and their four children.

The family’s story – which as royals only dates back to 1830 – is far more modern than many other royal families of Europe, and slightly less glamorous as the 10th wealthiest royal family on the continent. Image, reputation and the importance of succession are right at the heart of it, meaning the Belgian royal family is more synonymous with stability than scandal. That said, beneath the polished surface, there are naturally human complications – especially when it comes to characters like King Albert II and Prince Laurent.

Intrigued? Here’s everything you need to know about the Belgian royal family, including a rundown on all the living royals today.

Belgium’s Royal Family: A Guide

Royal Palace of Brussels (Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

At A Glance

Like the UK, Belgium – officially the Kingdom of Belgium, a small lowland country in Western Europe with a population of 11.8 million – has a constitutional monarchy. This means the royal family doesn’t rule in a political sense, but they do play an important ceremonial and diplomatic role.

The Belgian monarchy is relatively young, dating back to 1830 when the nation gained independence from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Congress decided on a constitutional monarchy as the nation’s form of government, and eventually appointed Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld as Belgium’s first king in 1831 thanks to his diplomatic connections across the royal houses of Europe – including the UK.

The youngest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, before this appointment Leopold enjoyed high status in the UK as husband to Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of George IV who sadly died after delivering a stillborn son in 1817. In 1830, after the Greek War of Independence, Leopold was offered the throne of Greece, but he turned it down. A year later, he accepted the Belgian throne instead, backed by the UK. As King, he remarried – this time to French princess Louise of Orléans – and had four legitimate children (and two illegitimate), all while protecting Belgium from the Dutch attempts to recapture the nation. He died in 1865, and was succeeded by his son Leopold II – and the crown remains in his lineage.

The Belgian royal family’s main residence is the Palace of Laeken in Brussels, while the Royal Palace of Brussels is used for official work and state occasions.

Palace of Laeken

King Philippe

King Philippe has been King of the Belgians since 21 July 2013 when his father King Albert II abdicated the throne for health reasons. Born in 1960, he is the eldest child of Albert and Queen Paola, and with two younger siblings, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent, and a younger half-sister Princess Delphine (more on that below).

Considered a relatively steady, low-key monarch, Phillipe was educated at the Belgian Royal Military Academy, at Trinity College, Oxford in the UK, and at Stanford University in California, USA. Before becoming king, he prepared for public life through military training and a long apprenticeship in royal and diplomatic work.

But he was called up to the throne amid controversy, when it was rumoured that the then-Prince Phillipe’s father King Albert II had a secret illegitimate daughter, Delphine Boël. While Albert maintained he, aged 79, was abdicating for health reasons, what ensued was a long legal battle resulting in Delphine finally being officially recognised as a Princess in 2020. Backdropped by unrelated political shifts, Phillipe became an image of calm continuity and national unity.

 

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Queen Mathilde

Queen Mathilde, born Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz in 1973, has been married to Phillipe since 1999, ascending the throne alongside him in 2013, making her the first native-born Belgian queen. But, the daughter of a Count and Countess, Mathilde is far from common.

Before her marriage, Mathilde trained and worked as a speech therapist, attending the Institut Libre Marie Haps in Brussels and the Université catholique de Louvain – also making her the first Belgian royal with a Belgian university degree. She is fluent in several languages, including English and Italian.

In 1996, Mathilde reportedly met the then Prince Phillipe while playing tennis; the two married three years later. They share four children: Elisabeth, Gabriel, Emmanuel and Eléonore.

As queen, Mathilde has developed a reputation for warmth and accessibility. She is heavily involved in charity work, with a strong emphasis on children, education, mental health and social inclusion.

 

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Princess Elisabeth

Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, is the eldest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and the first in line to the throne. Born in 2001, she is the future queen of Belgium and has already taken on a growing number of public duties. Because Belgium follows absolute primogeniture, Elisabeth is ahead of her younger brothers in the succession.

Born and raised in Brussels, Elisabeth was educated at St John Berchmans College in Marollen, Brussels – making her the first future Belgian monarch to begin their education in Dutch. She completed her studies at UWC Atlantic College in Llantwit Major, Wales, studying the International Baccalaureate before going on to her one-year military training at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, before returning to the UK to study history and politics at Lincoln College, University of Oxford. She then continued her studies across the Atlantic at Harvard University.

Making her first public appearance aged 5 in 2006, giving her first public speech in 2011 and reading her first self-written speech in 2014, Elisabeth is a modern heir who reflects Belgium’s next generation.

King Albert II

Though he abdicated in 2013, King Albert II is alive and kicking. Reigning over the nation from 1993, he took over the throne from his older brother King Baudouin, who ruled from 1951 to his sudden death in 1993, and didn’t have any children. The two shared an elder sister, Joséphine-Charlotte, who married the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Jean.

Their father, King Leopold III, controversially surrendered Belgium to German invasion in 1934, abdicating in 1951. Their mother, Queen Astrid, died in a car crash in 1935, aged just 29, while pregnant with her fourth child. Their father remarried in 1941, having three more children with Lilian Baels.

Albert stepped down from the throne in 2013, citing health issues; following his father, King Leopold III, Albert II was the second ever Belgian monarch to abdicate. Before and after his abdication, Albert II was shrouded in controversy due to his rumoured illegitimate child, Delphine Boël – and, upon abdication, he was eligible for a legal battle. For years, Delphine fought to prove the former King was her father, and in 2020 she was proved right with a DNA test.

Despite the controversy, Albert II remains married to Queen Paola, who he wed in 1959 after meeting her at a reception at the Belgian Embassy in Rome to celebrate the coronation of Pope John XXIII. They share three children: King Phillipe, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent. Delphine was born of an affair with Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, who claims she and Albert shared an 18-year-long affair.

Queen Paola

Paola Margherita Maria-Antonia Consiglia dei Principi Ruffo di Calabria is an Italian noble woman, and wife of King Albert II; she ruled alongside him as Queen of the Belgians until he abdicated in 2013.

Born in Italy in 1937, she is one of the family’s senior living members, and over the years has supported charitable causes and remained a familiar figure in the royal circle. She married Albert in 1959, giving birth to their three children in the three subsequent years.

Though Paola has remained by Albert’s side in recent years, the couple faced turmoil in the 70s when Albert embarked on his affair with Sybille de Selys Longchamps. They even entered divorce negotiations, but reconciled in the 80s. When the issues resurfaced in the 2010s with Delphine demanding justice, Paola’s role was defined more by silence and discretion than by public confrontation.

This dignified former queen is fluent in Italian, German, French and English – but her less fluent Dutch (the mother tongue of 60 percent of Belgians) is the cause of occasional criticism.

Prince Gabriel

Prince Gabriel is King Philippe and Queen Mathilde’s second child, born in 2003. He is second in line to the throne, behind his older sister Elisabeth.

He was raised alongside Elisabeth, attending St John Berchmans College with her before moving to the English-language International School of Brussels and the National Mathematics and Science College in Warwickshire, UK. In August 2022, he entered the Royal Military Academy of Belgium, and in August 2024 started studying geopolitics at the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr in Coëtquidan, France.

Like many younger royals, he tends to stay out of the spotlight compared with the heir, but he remains an important part of the immediate royal family. In his own time, he likes hockey taekwondo, football, cycling, tennis, swimming, skiing, sailing and hiking.

Prince Emmanuel

Prince Emmanuel, born in 2005, is the third child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. He is third in line to the throne and, like his siblings, has largely grown up away from intense publicity. Belgian royal children are often kept relatively private while still being introduced to public life in a controlled way. He appears at family milestones and official moments, but otherwise keeps a low profile.

Like Elisabeth and Gabriel, he attended St John Berchmans College before moving to Eureka Special School in Kessel-Lo and then the English-language International School of Brussels. Away from school, he enjoys cycling, swimming, skiing, and sailing. He is also a keen musician, playing the flute and saxophone and DJing under the name Vyntrix.

Princess Eléonore

Princess Eléonore is the youngest child of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, born in 2008. She is fourth in line to the throne and rounds out the king’s immediate family. As the youngest, she has benefited from a more private upbringing, though she remains a visible presence at important state and family occasions.

Like her siblings, Eléonore attended St John Berchmans College, followed by the Heilig Hart College; she is currently finishing school at the International School of Brussels. Away from school, she plays the violin and enjoys skiing, sailing and tennis.

Princess Astrid

The second child and first daughter of King Albert II, Princess Astrid is the younger sister of King Philippe and was named for her grandmother Princess Astrid of Sweden. Born in 1962, she wed Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este in 1984 in Brussels, and the two share five children: Amedeo, Maria Laura, Joachim, Luisa Maria and Laetitia Maria.

They in turn have their own children: Amedeo is married to Lili Rosboch von Wolkenstein, and the two share Anna, Maximilian and Alix. Maria Laura is married to William Mark Isvy, and the two share one son, Albert.

Prince Laurent

The younger brother of King Philippe, Prince Lauret is one of the most publicly recognised extended members of the Belgian royal family – thanks to also being one of the family’s more outspoken and occasionally controversial figures. His passion for animal welfare and the environment along with his eccentric personality and lack of interest in royal protocol has led to the nickname écolo-gaffeur (the eco-blunderer) in the popular Belgian press.

Laurent has been married to British-Belgian land surveyor Claire Louise Coombs since 2003, and the couple have three children: Princess Louise and twins Prince Nicolas and Prince Aymeric.

But before that, Laurent had a son out of wedlock with actress and singer Iris Vandenkerckhove , better known as Wendy Van Wanten. Laurent publicly acknowledged their son Clément Vandenkerckhove in September 2025.