His Majesty King Philippe was born in Brussels on 15 April 1960. He is the eldest son of H.M. King Albert II and H.M. Queen Paola.
After completing secondary school in both French and Dutch, Prince Philippe continued his education at the Royal Military School, from which he graduated in 1981. He then qualified as a fighter pilot, paratrooper and commando, before assuming command of a paratrooper platoon. In 2001, he was appointed Major General of the Armed Forces and Divisional Admiral of the Navy. In 2010, he was promoted to the ranks of Lieutenant General and Vice-Admiral. H.M. Prince Philippe completed his university education at Trinity College, University of Oxford, and attended the Graduate School at Stanford University, where he obtained a Master of Arts in Political Science.
In 1993, he was appointed Honorary Chairman of the Agency for Foreign Trade (ACE), succeeding his father, who had held this position since 1962. Since then he has led almost 70 important economic missions worldwide.
Alongside his official duties, H.M. King Philippe takes a keen interest in his country and its role in the world; social issues such as unemployment and the integration of young people into the society of the future. He also passionate about ecology and consequently, H.M. King Philippe is Honorary Chairman of the Federal Sustainable Development Council.
The Prince Philippe Fund, founded in 1998, is designed to promote dialogue between the citizens and organisations of the three communities.
In 2003, H.M. King Philippe was appointed Honorary Chairman of the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries and has been Honorary Chairman of the European Chapter of the Club of Rome and the International Polar Foundation since 2004.
H.M. King Philippe and H.M. Queen Mathilde live at the Château de Laeken with their four children Elisabeth (born 25 October 2001), Gabriel (born 20 August 2003), Emmanuel (born 4 October 2005) and Eléonore (born 16 April 2008).
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