"The Whole of Belgium Fell for Your Charms": The Royal Wedding of Philippe and Mathilde, 25 Years Later

This week, the King and Queen of the Belgians celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. Today, we look back at their 1999 wedding celebrations, which took place amid turmoil in the nation

On Wednesday, the Belgian royal court celebrated the silver wedding anniversary of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde by releasing a series of new portraits. The images show a united and happy royal couple, 25 years after their wedding day. Following my recent article on the couple’s tumultuous royal engagement period, today I’m bringing you a deep dive into the wedding day itself, which many hoped would herald a new period of prosperity for Belgium.

The Duke of Brabant was visibly nervous as he waited inside the medieval town hall in Brussels. The wooden cladding and heavy tapestries of the Gothic Room, where Philippe had gathered with the mayor and members of the royal family, added an extra level of visual weight to the surroundings. Standing alone in his Belgian Air Force uniform and the bright purple sash of the Order of Leopold, Philippe pressed his lips together in a firm line and glanced anxiously around the room, waiting for his bride to walk through the door.

Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz arrives for her civil wedding to the Duke of Brabant on December 4, 1999 (screencapture)

Only when Princess Mathilde, whose royal title had become official at the stroke of midnight, appeared in the doorway on the arm of her father, the newly-elevated Count Patrick d’Udekem d’Acoz, did Philippe appear to relax. A small smile crossed Philippe’s face as Mathilde moved forward slowly in her heavy wedding gown, carrying an enormous bouquet. Philippe gallantly reached forward to take the flowers from his bride as her little bridesmaids arranged her voluminous train. Whether from nerves or exertion, Mathilde was still breathing heavily as the mayor began to address the assembled guests, including Philippe’s parents, King Albert II and Queen Paola, and his aunts and uncle, Queen Fabiola of Belgium and Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg.

Thirty-nine-year-old Philippe was known to be one of the most private and reserved royal men in Europe, carefully guarding his feelings and his personal life even as he ascended to become Belgium’s crown prince. The people of Belgium had been pleasantly surprised when he had announced his engagement to Mathilde, a 26-year-old speech therapist, earlier in the autumn. Despite their thirteen-year age difference, the couple appeared to be well matched, with Mathilde’s gentle, smiling personality smoothing out the edges of Philippe’s awkward public image. For years, he had worked to counter the perception that he was unfit for the throne, and his choice of a partner offered the press another reason for increased optimism about his prospects as a future head of state.

Mathilde and Philippe are married in a civil wedding ceremony in Brussels on December 4, 1999 (screencapture)

The fact that Mathilde was a native Belgian was a plus, too, as was her ability to speak both French and Flemish. Belgians were divided by geography, culture, and language, and commentators expressed the hope that having a Belgian queen consort who could communicate capably with the entire populace would be a unifying force. But even Mathilde’s presence by Philippe’s side couldn’t fully compensate for his perceived rigid persona. In their write-up on the wedding day from across the Channel, the Sunday Mirror characteristically declared that Mathilde was the “Continental Diana,” while calling Philippe her “Prince Boring.”

Though the promise of a royal wedding had prompted many Belgian journalists to paint Philippe in a more favorable light, scandal dogged the couple in the weeks following their engagement announcement. Philippe had managed to shake off damaging comments from courtiers who had expressed hopes that he would be passed over in the line of succession in favor of his dynamic sister, Princess Astrid. But as he celebrated his forthcoming wedding, the press discovered that the family had been hiding something: Philippe’s half-sister, Delphine, who had been conceived during one of King Albert’s affairs in the 1960s. By 1999, Albert and Paola had managed to reconcile, but Delphine’s place in the family would continue to be a sticking point for decades after the revelation of her royal parentage.