Incoming State Visit #4: Jordan

Tuesday 17 May 2016

King Abdullah & Queen Rania of Jordan arrived in the late afternoon in Belgium for an official state visit.

They were welcomed by King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and their children. The Jordanian couple were staying with the family at the castle of Laeken for the duration of the visit.

Wednesday 18 May 2016

In the morning the Jordanian and Belgian royal couple assisted at an official welcome ceremony at the Place des Palais in Brussels.

Clotilde Boël and Melissa Maas acted as ladies-in-waiting for the two Queens during the state visit.

After meeting prime minister Michel, both royal couples had lunch together at the royal palace in the company of Belgian and Jordanian ministers.

Queen Mathilde and Queen Rania had a meeting with participants of "Boost", a project supported by the King Baudouin Foundation that encourages young people to develop their talents and launch a career.

with Françoise Pissart, Director of the social projects of the Foundation.

Both couples then headed to Louvain-La-Neuve where King Abdallah gave a speech at the Centre for Islamic Studies of the UCL University. 

At 20:00 a banquet was hosted by the Belgian King & Queen at the castle of Laeken.

 

 PM Charles Michel and his partner, Amélie Derbaudrenghien

  The Prince & Princess de Ligne

The ladies-in-waiting.

Thursday 19 May 2016

Queen Mathilde and Queen Rania visited Bruges together. Their flower bouquets were created by florist Frederik Van Pamel. Rania had requested flowers without smell or pollen, because of her allergies.

Both Queens visited the Heilige Familie Maricolen secondary school where migrant teenagers get intensive Dutch language training on top of their everyday schooling.

They got on a chartered tourist bus to visit the Oud Sint-Janshospitaal Museum.

Then it was on to Dominique Persoone's The Chocolate Line shop for some chocolate tasting.

Afterwards they were joined by their husbands for a walk through the historic city and a reception at the city hall of Bruges.   

Hendrik Van de Velde, the Belgian ambassador to Jordan & Iraq.

A lunch at the Residence of the Governor of West-Flanders concluded the state visit.

Philippe & Mathilde accompanied the King & Queen of Jordan to Ostend Airport where they said their goodbyes.