Belgium celebrates first female heir to the throne
Belgium celebrated its first female heir to the throne today, a day after Princess Mathilde, wife of Crown Prince Philippe, gave birth to their first child, a daughter.
Elisabeth Therese Marie Helene was born at the Erasmus Hospital in Brussels by Caesarean section. She was born two weeks early.
‘‘This is a great day for Belgium,’’ said an elated and proud Prince Philippe who witnessed the birth.
‘‘We are very happy with our daughter ... she is very beautiful.’’
Mathilde and the baby were resting today, said Dr Genevieve Naome, who delivered the young royal. Elisabeth weighed in at 2,930 kgs.
The birth was not a simple one.
The medical team said the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck twice. A Caesarean was required to avoid a breach birth, but the baby was never in any danger during the operation, Dr Naome said.
The birth is a first of sorts for Belgium.
The country became independent from the Netherlands in 1830. It has had six male monarchs - a legacy of legislation banning women from the throne. The law was amended in 1991.
The so-called Salic law, widely adopted in Europe in the 9th century, banned female heirs from inheriting property or titles to prevent kingdoms from falling in the hands of rival princes.
Princess Elisabeth is second in line to succeed King Albert II, after her father. She is set to become the first queen to sit on the throne of Belgium.
The birth was a cause for celebration across the country.
Newspapers issued special editions and television offered special news bulletins. Belgian grenadier guards were to mark the royal event with a 101-gun salute from an artillery piece outside the royal palace. In the days when only males ascended the throne, new born royal girls merited only a 51-gun salute.
The Belgian post said it would mark the event with the introduction of a new stamp of the new-born.
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and other members of parliament were to be the first non-royals to see the new princess in hospital later today.
Mathilde, 28, married Crown Prince Philippe in December 1999 at a glittering ceremony that drew huge crowds. The couple announced in May that Mathilde was pregnant.
Philippe, 41, is the eldest son of King Albert who came to the throne in 1993 following the death of his childless brother Baudouin.
The baby is not the first grandchild for the King and Queen Paola. Philippe’s younger sister, Princess Astrid, has four children.
Under Belgium’s constitutional system, the monarch’s role is largely ceremonial, but the royal family has been a potent symbol of unity in a country split between Dutch and French speakers.
