Stay our King for a long time to come

BRUSSELS — King Albert, who will celebrate ten years on the throne on 9 August, has just experienced the longest festival weekend of his life. On Sunday and yesterday, the ten-year reign and the national holiday were exuberantly celebrated in the capital. Over the course of two days, the monarch made no fewer than nine appearances and was welcomed everywhere with equal enthusiasm: from the aperitif concert on Sunday morning, through the motorcycle parade and the garden party, to the Te Deum and the concert "From A to Z" last night. Both ordinary citizens and Prime Minister Verhofstadt wished the king many more years on the throne: "Stay our king for a long time to come, Sire." The other members of the royal family also shared in the festive joy. Only the two youngest children, the little princesses Elisabeth and Laetitia Maria, stayed at home with the babysitter. (PhG) Speech is a tribute to Baudouin BRUSSELS — In his speech on the national holiday, King Albert paid tribute to his brother, King Baudouin, who died ten years ago. He also thanked Queen Fabiola and expressed the wish that Baudouin's values, such as solidarity and tolerance, would continue to inspire us. "Indeed, those values are universal, as Father Guy Gilbert recalled during the wedding of Laurent and Claire," said the king. A few months before his death, Baudouin made a plea for the fundamental values of our civilization: respect for the family, the dignity of every person, solidarity, justice, and tolerance. "His actual living of those values explains the deep emotion of the population at the time of his passing," the king said. He pointed out that his brother was a "fervent advocate of the unity of the country." But then "in full respect of its diversity." Baudouin considered the multicultural character of Belgium to be a "fantastic asset and wealth." "The general enthusiasm at the successes of Justine and Kim also testifies to our connectedness," the king said, referring to our two tennis stars. King Albert argued for the expansion of the European Union. "Baudouin was of the opinion that European unification is indispensable for our prosperity and for the promotion of peace, justice, and solidarity in the world. The recent war in Iraq and its consequences have once again confirmed that imperative necessity." Finally, the king thanked all the people who expressed their sympathy to him and the queen on the occasion of ten years of reign. (PhG)