The Belgian and Dutch royal couples took time out on Tuesday afternoon to interact with spectators gathered at the Grand-Place in Brussels.
For 15 minutes, Kings Willem-Alexander and Philippe, and Queens Máxima and Mathilde indulged in a veritable meet-the-people exercise as part of the Dutch royals’ three-day state visit.
Brussels Mayor Philippe Close also received the two royal couples at the Town Hall, on whose balcony the sovereigns then appeared.
A few hundred people attended the event at the Grand-Place, some of them dressed in orange. The audience was a mix of royal-family lovers, young people, schoolchildren, the curious, and foreign tourists who just happened to be there. The schoolchildren, in particular, chanted the name of Dutch Queen Máxima en masse.
The monarchs took time to greet the population: handshakes, brief conversations and even a selfie between King Willem-Alexander and a group of young people.
The two couples later headed for Laeken Palace, where a State banquet was due to be held on Tuesday evening.
Two other meet-the-people sessions are scheduled for the remainder of the State visit: on Wednesday at around 3.30pm at the Institut Saint-André in Charleroi, and on Thursday at around 11.30am at the Grote Markt (Big Market) in Antwerp.
