© BELGIUM
Princess Delphine of Saxe-Coburg, who turns 56 on Thursday, has again shown a rebellious side. At the Eucharist celebration in memory of the deceased members of the royal family, she went directly against the clothing agreements by wearing a striking colorful coat. “Inappropriate,” says royalty watcher Joëlle Vanden Houden.
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 at 9:43 PM
While Queen Mathilde appeared on the steps of the Church of Our Lady in Laeken in a light gray ensemble with a matching hat, Claire wore subdued blue. Sober but stylish. The same cannot be said about Princess Delphine’s outfit. She appeared in a striking long coat with blue-purple and gold panels. With a few cool boots underneath. “Beautiful and tasteful, yes. But inappropriate for such an occasion,” says royalty watcher Joëlle Vanden Houden. “Sorry, but you don’t wear that to go to a memorial service as a princess. Certainly not if the invitation explicitly asks for modest city clothes,” says Joëlle Vanden Houden.
Queen Mathilde wore subdued gray — © BELGA
Princess Claire was in blue. — © BELGA
Perhaps she wanted to make a statement and express her dissatisfaction with the way things were going. At the end of last year, Delphine had a letter delivered to Alexander De Croo in which she was concerned about her role in official events. She regrets that she is only invited to a limited number of ceremonies and that she is treated differently than her brother and sister, Prince Laurent and Princess Astrid.
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“Princess Delphine does not perform any official functions, which means she is not invited to certain ceremonies,” the prime minister responded. Perhaps she wanted to clearly emphasize her displeasure by dressing like this. “Because last year she wore a gray coat and extended greetings to the audience after the celebration. Now she just accepted a bouquet of flowers and left, while the other members of the royal family took the time to talk to people and have their pictures taken. Only King Albert and Queen Paola left via a side exit immediately after the ceremony. But that has everything to do with the fact that King Albert has such difficulty walking and clearly had difficulty doing stairs,” says Vanden Houden.
© BELGIUM
Delphine thus becomes a bit of a second Laurent, the prince who has also regularly been obstructive in the past because he did not receive enough money. For example, he slept during the parade on the National Holiday or ostentatiously strummed on his smartphone. On Tuesday, during the memorial mass, Laurent behaved like an exemplary royal.
