The Royal Palace confirmed that King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will attend the coronation ceremony of British monarch King Charles III on Saturday, 6 May. Their daughter and heir to the throne Princess Elizabeth will take part in the reception at Buckingham Palace the evening before.
The royal couple's appearance breaks with tradition as the reigning Belgian King Baudoin had not attended Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. He instead sent his younger brother Albert, who would succeed him as monarch 40 years later, before abdicating in favour of Philippe in 2013.
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The Belgian King and Queen had already made the trip to the United Kingdom to attend Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. Eight months later they will join 2,000 other guests in attending the ceremony which will be held at Westminster Abbey in London.
Other European sovereigns are also expected to be in attendance, including King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and his wife Princess Mary.
