10 billion euros is, in Belgium, the sum of savings that the federal government wants to find. Last week, Prime Minister Bart de Wever, at the head of the “Arizona” coalition, said that everyone was going to have to make an effort. The royal family too.
According to Sud Info and the rest of the Belgian press, the House of Saxe-Cobourg, which has ruled Belgium since 1831, will have to reduce its lifestyle, although it is incomparable to that of its British cousin.
A week ago, during his presentation of the federal budget, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, head of the Arizona coalition, warned that everyone was going to have to make an effort. This “everyone” therefore includes King Philippe and his wife Queen Mathilde, Philippe’s father, King Albert I, who lives most of the time in the south of France sheltered from his past scandals, and his brother Laurent and sister Astrid. Crown Princess Elisabeth could have received an endowment when she reached the age of majority, but she chose to complete her studies before then, and should therefore be a beneficiary next summer.
Members of the royal family who are paid in this way are not allowed to work, in order to maintain the neutrality of the crown. And anyone who has taken a trip to Belgium will have noticed this: unlike the very familiar faces of Charles, Camilla, William or Kate, used in mugs, biscuit boxes or key rings across the Channel, there is no derivative product bearing the image of King Philippe or his family. So no royalties.
43,575 million euros in 2025
Different members of the House of Belgium receive a subsidy from the Belgian state each year to fulfill their commitments and pay their staff. Upon his arrival on the throne in 2013, King Philip established perfect transparency of the “Royal Endowment”, and agreed to submit to tax. Several checks are carried out, in particular by the Belgian Court of Auditors.
For this year 2025, according to the House of Representatives, the cost of the monarchy will amount to 43.5 million euros, an envelope increasing by 275,000 euros compared to 2024 due to inflation.
But this lifestyle will have to be reduced by two million euros over four years, or 4.6% of the annual budget. According to RTL Belgium, the Royal Palace is discussing with the federal government to consider structural reforms so that these 2 million will no longer be necessary in the long term. In particular, costs intended for the opening of the royal palace in Brussels to the public each summer, and for the cultural promotion of the flat country abroad, would be threatened.