Inside King Philippe's Relationship With Queen Mathilde

Even though Queen Mathilde came from a noble family (her mother is a Polish countess and her Belgian-born father also has aristocratic roots) and ran in the same social circles as the royal family, she saw herself as more than just a socialite born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Instead, she pursued her university studies, then opened and ran her own practice in Brussels as a speech therapist before getting married. During her practice, she pursued additional studies in psychology.

Her interest in language and speech seems appropriate for someone taking on the role of a spokesperson for life in a multinational, multiethnic country. She is fluent in both of Belgium's major languages (Dutch and French) as well as in English and Italian. And while she's no longer in a position to coach her subjects through their speech, she's managed to channel her interests into her charitable work, which focuses largely on education and teaching.

For professional purveyors of gossip, nothing stings worse than getting scooped on a good story. So when Belgium's royal family announced that then-Prince Philippe was engaged, jaws across the country dropped and reporters were in shock. How could they have possibly missed a royal romance that had been going on right under their noses for three years? 

But frustrated as they were, thankfully, they did not take out their frustrations on the newly public couple. It helped that the princess-to-be provided nearly zero fodder for gossip. Out of all the glamorous, high-profile women Philippe could have fallen for — Belgium's previous kings had all married women from other European countries — he chose a cheerful, grounded Belgian-born speech therapist whom his compatriots took to immediately. Even better, her deep roots in both the Dutch-speaking north and French-speaking south of the country made her universally relatable — a nearly impossible task in a country whose two regions can barely tolerate each other. "She's perfect! She's the Bionic Princess!" University of Liege historian Francis Balace told The Washington Post.

For some people, the idea of marrying a prince is a cherished fantasy. But the rare few for whom this fantasy becomes a reality know that royal life means significant burdens as well as privileges. As a walking, talking symbol of your country, your life and your choices are no longer truly your own. And good luck trying to enjoy any privacy outside of the home — your every move will be scrutinized and documented.

When she accepted then-Prince Philippe's proposal, soon-to-be Princess Mathilde understood what lay ahead, and spent the last few days before their public engagement announcement savoring her final days of freedom as an ordinary citizen. "The rumors started about me on Friday, three days before the official presentation," she said in an interview with RTBF. "But no one had a photo or anything yet. Me, feeling that I shouldn't stay in places where I could be identified, you know my love of books? Well, I went to a bookstore. I [sic] heard the 'Journal Parlé' on the radio, in the bookstore, talking about the possible engagement of Prince Philippe and I was reading." Her lack of a photo record served her well — she managed to continue browsing and slip out of the bookstore unrecognized.

From the moment their engagement became public, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde made it clear they didn't intend to be just another stuffy, distant royal couple. Mathilde set the tone at their first public photo opportunity, where she wore down-to-earth beige slacks. While their wedding had all the luxurious trappings one would expect (the post-ceremony luncheon featured lobster, venison, and chocolate cake), extravagant gifts were nowhere to be found. This was at the couple's request: They asked guests for charitable donations to support vulnerable populations.

The couple obviously didn't need more stuff, and it freed guests from the vexing matter of trying to decide what to get people who already had everything. It also set the tone for their future philanthropic work. As a working royal, Queen Mathilde has focused on supporting vulnerable populations such as children and those living in poverty. Youth empowerment is another theme in the queen's work as she works to help young adults who are aging out of foster care get the support they need to transition smoothly to adult life. In addition, the Queen Mathilde Fund supports initiatives proposed by young people to help other youth.

Marrying into a royal family and being born into one are both difficult situations to navigate. At least those who marry royalty today mostly do so by choice. But being born into a royal family is no picnic either. "You have to abide by certain rules for which you never chose," Belgian historian Mark Van den Wijngaert explained to Politico. King Philippe knows this from personal experience. His parents had a difficult marriage and were often absent. "He [Philippe] has said a few times in the media in recent years that he did not have such a nice childhood," child psychiatrist Peter Adriaenssen told The Brussels Times.

He and Queen Mathilde had no intention of letting their children repeat this cycle. Instead, they strive to give them as normal a childhood as their roles allow and work to keep them out of the public eye, apart from planned appearances. When the Belgian press published photos of their son Prince Gabriel playing with friends, for instance, the royal family was outraged. Unremarkable and unrevealing as the photos were, the family considered them an invasion of their son's privacy. Prince Gabriel's college-age older sister, Princess Elisabeth, however, has been gradually making more public appearances with her parents, as they prepare her for her future role as queen.

Looking back on Belgium's long and distinctive history of arts and culture, from painters such as Bruegel and Rubens to Flemish tapestries and famed Trappist beers, it may seem hard to believe that Belgium has only been an independent nation since 1830. Moreover, it's a nation that's never been truly unified. The country's history has been largely defined by persistent conflicts between its two major ethnic and linguistic groups, the Dutch-speaking majority that occupies the northern part of the country, and the smaller population of French speakers to the south. The groups rarely intermingle voluntarily, and some French speakers have vocally advocated for annexing the country's Francophone region to France.

As the reigning monarchs over a divided nation, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde see one of their central responsibilities as honoring and unifying both communities. "I begin my reign with the will to serve all Belgians," the king said in a speech following his coronation in 2013 (via The Denver Post). "Belgium's strength lies in giving meaning to our diversity." Queen Mathilde herself is seen as embodying the unity her husband hopes to foster. She is fluent in both Dutch and French, and while her family's roots are in the north, she pursued her studies and pre-marriage career in the French-speaking south. The king founded the King Philippe Fund in 1998 to foster dialogue between the two communities and promote cultural interchanges between them.