For ten years now, Belgium's National Day has also been a de facto King's Day: Philippe took the oath as the seventh King of the Belgians on 21 July 2013. Against expectations and speculation, he walked a near-flawless course.
On Friday, Philippe will have been on the throne for a full decade, and just over half of the population (55%) is "fairly or very satisfied" with how he fulfilled his role, according to a Monarchy Barometer carried out by Ipsos for Le Soir, Het Laatste Nieuws, RTL and VTM.
"In terms of exceeding expectations, King Philippe has certainly earned a great distinction," De Croo told VRT ahead of Belgium's National Day. "He and his wife, Queen Mathilde, have definitely modernised the Belgian Monarchy enormously."
Overall, the Belgian population gave King Philippe a score of 5.9 in 10. Still, barely 12% of those questioned said they were "fairly or very dissatisfied," while a third had no opinion. Additionally, two-thirds of Dutch-speaking respondents felt that King Philippe had developed "rather or very positively," compared with 59% of Walloon and Brussels respondents, coming to an average of 62% nationally.
'Groundbreaking' decisions
Like De Croo, about one in four (39%) of those polled thought that Philippe had modernised the monarchy, and 58% indicated that they saw him as a good ambassador for Belgium abroad.
Only two months ago, Philippe's good professional relationship with the Sultan of Oman played a role in helping to release aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who had been unjustly detained in Iran for nearly 1.5 years.
On 30 June 2020, on the 60th anniversary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)'s independence from Belgium, Philippe unexpectedly sent a letter to Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi to express his deepest regret about the colonial cruelties – a sentiment that he repeated in a speech during a visit to the country two years later.
The King's attitude towards the Congo is "absolutely groundbreaking," said De Croo. "With how he expressed his regret about the colonial atrocities of the past, he set the course and made it possible to have an open debate on the topic in our country, I think."
King Philippe immediately invited half-sister Delphine into his home. Credit: Belgian Royal Palace
Additionally, with how Philippe managed the situation of his half-sister Delphine, he took the sting out of a case that had long plagued the Monarchy. He invited her into his home as soon as the judge's ruling recognised her as the daughter of former King Albert – a decision that was greatly appreciated by the Belgian population.
"His attitude towards Delphine was groundbreaking and very human as well. It is as if he thought 'you are my half-sister, and we are going to see and speak to each other regularly," De Croo said. Since then, Delphine has been present at several Royal occasions and festivities.
However, the King has not only been dealing with difficult diplomatic cases; last year, he surprised again by appearing in a playful clip aiming to warm up the country for the World Cup in a commercial with then-coach Roberto Martinez for the Red Devils.
"The clip with Martinez was very clever, and the Lost Frequencies concert on the roof of the Royal Palace shows a certain modernity as well," De Croo said, adding that these subtle nods to Belgium's popular culture are becoming more and more frequent as the King gets more comfortable.
King Philippe of Belgium rides a skateboard, assisted by Queen Mathilde of Belgium and local youngsters in Johannesburg, during a state visit of the Belgian Royal Couple to the Republic of South Africa, Friday 24 March 2023. Credit: Belga / Benoit Doppagne
One of the King's greatest challenges will come next year, however, when Belgium's Federal Government will have to be formed after what are expected to be difficult national elections. While the first government that was formed under his reign (led by PM Charles Michel) went smoothly, the formation of the current government (led by PM De Croo) took nearly 500 days.
Still, Philippe's succession is also assured: Crown Princess Elisabeth has been increasingly present over the past ten years. While she is currently still studying, she will one day take over the throne. "He is very proud of his daughter. And from what we saw at the celebration of her 18th birthday, that pride is quite justified," De Croo said.
"With Elisabeth, we have someone who is very well prepared [to take over her father's duties], but they both will determine what the right time is," he added. "In 2030, Belgium will celebrate its 200th anniversary. The expectation is that the King will still lead those. What happens after that, I am sure they will decide together."
