New King

From the BBC:
"Philippe becomes new Belgian king as Albert II abdicates"

Crown Prince Philippe has been sworn in as the new Belgian king after the emotional abdication of his father Albert II. The Oxford- and Stanford-educated, trained air force pilot took the oath as the country's seventh king in a ceremony in parliament. To warm applause, King Philippe, 53, promised to uphold the constitution. Belgium has a constitutional monarchy in which the king plays a largely ceremonial role. One of the duties the monarch does have is trying to resolve constitutional crises.

In his final address before signing a legislative act to step down, 79-year-old King Albert said his country must remain a "source of inspiration" to Europe.  His resignation on the grounds of ill-health came after nearly 20 years on the throne and was timed to coincide with Belgium's national day. He stressed his wish that Belgium - split between the Dutch-speaking north and the French south - remained united. In a colourful ceremony topped off by trumpet fanfare and cannon-fire, Philippe took his oath in the country's three official languages - Dutch, French and German.

---

Along with the national football team, the monarchy is often regarded as one of the few institutions that actually holds Belgium together.  Even so, opinion polls suggest French-speaking Wallonia is now a good deal more royalist than Dutch-speaking Flanders, and the new king will have to convince some citizens of his credentials.  His big challenge will come next year when national elections are due to be held, and separatist parties in Flanders are expected to do well.  After the last election it took more than 500 days to form a national government, because of the deep divisions between Flanders and Wallonia.  As king, Philippe (or Filip in Dutch) has an important constitutional role to play, and he will need to prove that he has the political skills to mediate between very different visions of his country's future.  This was a reminder of the delicate political task that awaits him - trying to mediate across the divide between French-speaking Wallonia and Dutch-speaking Flanders, where support for independence has been rising fast, says BBC Europe correspondent Chris Morris.

Flag-waving supporters gathered in the midday sun waiting for their new king and his wife, Mathilde, to greet them from the balcony of the nearby royal palace. "The new king is a bit of history," said Xavier De Graef, draped in the red, yellow and black of the Belgian tricolour. "That doesn't happen very often so we wanted to be here," Mr De Graef, from French-speaking Liege, told Reuters news agency. King Albert's abdication comes only three months after Queen Beatrix of the neighbouring Netherlands vacated the Dutch throne in favour of her son Willem-Alexander.

^ Hopefully the new king can do what his father couldn't - effectively keep a Belgian government. The Belgian Monarchy has been ridden with problems in the past. The current King's grandfather was forced to abdicate in the 1950s for his role in World War 2. The current King's uncle died childless. The current King's father couldn't get a Belgian government for 500 days - the longest in word history. I don't know much about how ordinary Belgians feel about their Monarchy, but from what I can see it doesn't look good. Maybe the new one will bring good change. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23393963