On 10 September 1999, the Belgian royal court announced the engagement between Prince Philippe, the Duke of Brabant and Jonkvrouw Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz. Their wedding took place on 4 December 1999.
Before the wedding, Mathilde was created Duchess of Brabant and Princess of Belgium. This was published on 13 November and was effective from 4 December.
The civil wedding took place in the Brussels Town Hall, and the ceremony was held in French, Dutch and German. The couple then travelled to the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula for the religious ceremony.
Mathilde wore a wedding gown designed by Edouard Vermeulen, while Philippe wore the uniform of a Belgian Air Force colonel. Mathilde also wore her mother-in-law’s lace veil. Mathilde later said in an interview, “The celebration was really beautiful. The songs we had chosen in preparation, do you remember? And the texts. One of the girls who had speech therapy with me read a text. And we were surrounded by those who are close to our hearts.”
Mathilde wore Queen Elisabeth’s Art Deco Bandeau, which she had borrowed from her mother-in-law.
During an interview, looking back on their wedding day, the now King Philippe said, “It was an extraordinary moment. We were living on cloud nine. The weather was beautiful, and everything was wonderful.”
The couple went on to have four children: Elisabeth (born 2001), Gabriel (born 2003), Emmanuel (born 2005) and Eléonore (born 2008). Philippe succeeded his father as King in 2013.
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