King’s Feast in Belgium
Belgium, a constitutional monarchy in Europe, celebrates King’s Feast today. The celebration honors King Philippe, who ascended to the throne on July 21, 2013, after his father, King Albert II, who had ruled for 29 years, abdicated the throne. King’s Feast was decreed by King Leopold II in 1866. It was first celebrated in honor of King Leopold I (1790 – 1865) who was the first monarch of Belgium after it gained independence from The Netherlands in 1830. The feast coincides with the feasts of St. Leopold of Babenberg and St. Albert the Great. It is also referred to as “Dynasty Day” or “Feast of the Dynasty.”
Since 2001, the traditional celebration for King’s Day has started with a morning church service at the Brussels Cathedral. This is attended by the royal family and other dignitaries, except the King and Queen. A Te Deum is sung, after which the royal family proceeds to attend a meeting at Parliament. In the afternoon, the royal family goes to the Belgian Senate, along with government officials for a ceremony, which culminates in the singing of La Brabançonne, Belgium’s national anthem. The King watches from the balcony as the military salutes him.
Belgium shares land borders with France on the south, Germany and Luxembourg
on the east, and The Netherlands on the north.
It also has a short stretch of coastline on the North Sea. Belgium is home to an impressive wealth of architectural masterpieces that reflect the prominent styles adopted by architects over the centuries. Brussels, its capital, is the administrative, commercial, and financial center of Belgium. It is regarded as the “capital” of Europe as it hosts the headquarters of the main European Union (EU) institutions. It is also referred to as a “global city” due to the presence of the headquarters of over a thousand public and private international organizations, including the main institutions of the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Belgium on July 4, 1946, the two countries have had close cooperation towards the common aspirations of peace, freedom, democracy, and the promotion of the well-being and prosperity of their people. Bilateral development cooperation programs between the Philippines and Belgium officially started with the signing of the Agreement on Economic, Industrial, Scientific, Technical, and Development Cooperation between the Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union and the Government of the Philippines on January 15, 1987.
A milestone in the history of RP-Belgium cooperation was the decision by then Belgian State Secretary Reginald Moreels to confer on the Philippines the status of “partner country” for Belgian development assistance, during his visit to the Philippines in September 1995. An MOU on Development Cooperation for the period 1994-1997 was then signed by the two countries. One of the most visible and high-profile projects involving RP-Belgian cooperation is Manila’s LRT I. The Kingdom of Belgium has an embassy in Manila, while the Philippines maintains an embassy in Brussels. A significant number of Filipinos live in Belgium. Most of them are in the service sector while many work as professionals in private firms.
We greet the people and government of the Kingdom of Belgium led by His Majesty, King Philippe, and Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès,on the occasion of its King’s Day celebration.