Mathilde, queen of Belgium

Mathilde, queen of Belgium (born January 20, 1973, Uccle, Belgium) is the queen of Belgium, consort of Philippe, king of Belgium, and mother of Princess Elisabeth, the heir to the Belgian throne.

Mathilde was the daughter of a judge and a countess, and she completed her education in Bastogne before attending the Institut de la Vierge Fidèle in Brussels. In 1994 she graduated with a degree in speech therapy from the Institut Libre Marie Haps, also in Brussels, and set up a practice there. The circumstances under which she first met the prince have not been made public, but the two reportedly had been involved for several years before announcing their engagement in September 1999. The country, long divided by the political and cultural differences between French-speaking Wallonia and Flemish-speaking Flanders, welcomed Mathilde, who was fluent in both languages as well as in English and Italian.

In three months’ time, Mathilde went from a life of relative anonymity to becoming one of Belgium’s most well-known and popular public figures. Her youth, charisma, and beauty led many to compare the December 4, 1999, royal wedding to the 1981 union of Britain’s Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

Mathilde immediately assumed the duties of her station, serving on numerous United Nations panels, with special attention paid to the rights of children. In 2000 the Princess Mathilde Fund was established to reward groups or individuals who worked to support children or other at-risk populations. Mathilde and Philippe’s first child, Princess Elisabeth, was born on October 25, 2001. Their succeeding children were Prince Gabriel (born August 20, 2003), Prince Emmanuel (born October 4, 2005), and Princess Eléonore (born April 16, 2008). Upon the abdication of Albert II on July 21, 2013, Philippe succeeded to the throne and Mathilde became the first Belgian-born queen in the country’s history. Princess Elisabeth, as heir apparent, became duchess of Brabant.