Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Queen Mathilde is a dedicated consort and in the twelve years since becoming Queen of the Belgians has truly made the role her own. However, she made history on the day that her husband took the throne.
The Queen of the Belgians was born Mathilde Marie Christine Ghislaine d’Udekem d’Acoz with the honorific Jonkvrouw (the lowest title in the Belgian aristocracy). She was born to Count Patrick d’Udekem d’Acoz and Countess Anna Maria Komorowska on 20 January 1973 at the Edith Cavell Hospital in Brussels.
This makes Mathilde the first queen consort of the Belgians to actually be born in Belgium.
Queen Paola was born in Italy, Queen Fabiola was born in Spain and Queen Astrid was a Swedish princess before she married into the Belgian royal family. Queen Elisabeth was born in Bavaria while Queen Marie Henriette was the daughter of Archduke Joseph of Hungary. The first Queen of the Belgians, Queen Louise-Marie, was born into the French royal family.
Queen Mathilde will be celebrating her 52nd birthday on 20 January.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in December and have four children together.
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, is 23 and the heir to the Belgian throne; she will be Belgium’s first queen regnant. Prince Gabriel is 21 and is currently studying geopolitics in France on an exchange from the Royal Military Academy. Prince Emmanuel is 19 and Princess Eleonor is 16. And all can claim their own piece of royal history as the first royal children of a Belgian queen born in Belgium.