Entourage: Ladies-in-waiting

Queen Mathilde has 5 ladies-in-waiting.

1. Vicountess Laurence de Ghellinck d'Elseghem Vaernewijck (°1970) studied economics and international relations.

She's married to Xavier van de Werve de Schilde, a major in the Belgian army. They live in Hoegaarden and have 3 children: Wauthier (°1996), Pierre (°1999) and Elodie (°2003).

Laurence's sons Wauthier van de Werve (on the right)...

...and Pierre van de Werve 

Laurence's daughter, Elodie van de Werve

Laurence grew up at the castle Nieuwermolen in Dilbeek which is now owned by her brother Marc, who lives there with his family.

Laurence is the sister-in-law of Mathilde's close friend, Stéphanie de Radiguès de Chennevière - who was one of Mathilde's witnesses at her wedding. Stéphanie's husband and Laurence's husband are brothers.

2. Melissa Maas: Pharmacist Melissa Maas-Van Waeyenberge owns two pharmacies, in Antwerpen en Wijnegem. When her brother died of leukaemia she founded the "Jeugd Leukemie Fonds", a Foundation for children suffering from the disease. Melissa lives in Schoten.

3. Clotilde Boël: Clotilde de Peñaranda de Franchimont (°1968) studied art history.

She is married to Harold Boël, CEO of financial holding "Sofina". They have two daughters, Agnès Boël (°1997) and Charlotte Boël (°1995). The Boël family are among the wealthiest and most powerful families of Belgium.

Clotilde's daughters: Agnès (left) and Charlotte Boël (right)

According to Clotilde the new job she was offered in 2013 came as a surprise, even though the Boël family is on good terms with the royal house. Even though Clotilde & Mathilde had met at several occasions where they talked to each other, they were not personal friends (yet). Mathilde rang Mrs Boël personally to ask if she would become her lady-in-waiting.

4. Baroness Patricia Vlerick: Patricia Bouckaert is the daughter of the late Léon Bouckaert, who founded the Waregem horse races. She's also an inlaw of the wealthy Beaulieu textile group. Patricia's husband, Philippe Vlerick is a major real estate owner, a succesful manager in the textile industry and a director of KBC group. He's also an advisor for Belgian Foreign Trade. Philippe Vlerick was ennobled by King Albert in 2009. Patricia carries her husband's title as well.
Patricia and Philippe Vlerick have 4 children: Michael, David, Elisa and Barbara (married to Alexandre Cardon).

5. British born Lindsay Edwards studied Dutch in London and has been living in Belgium for over 20 years. She runs a translation company in Schaerbeek that's employed by court and by the Belgian embassy in London. Lindsay's husband is a diplomat.