On the occasion of the Belgian national holiday, this July 21, 2025, King Philippe delivered a televised speech against the current of monarchical uses.
Abandoning the traditional reserve, the sovereign took a firm and unprecedented position on the situation in Gaza, evoking a “shame for humanity” and denouncing the violation of international law.
In a serious and without detour tone, Philippe de Belgique surprised beyond the borders of the kingdom: “For decades, international law was the keystone on which states could rely. Today, it is openly questioned. »»
Rarely had a royal speech had not been so direct. If it is customary that the king’s interventions be reread by the Prime Minister and written with the help of his advisers, the choice to approach Gaza, we are told, comes from him.
He says he wants to echo “all those who denounce the serious humanitarian drifts in Gaza”, where, in his own words, “innocents die of hunger, fall under bombs, stifled in their own enclave”.
The sovereign denounces a situation “which has lasted too much”, indignant at the passivity of the world in the face of the suffering inflicted on the civilian population. He stresses that “when international law is flouted, it is the whole world that pays the price”.
This unequivocal discourse breaks with the traditional prudence of the Belgian monarchy on sensitive international files. In a context where European diplomacies are struggling to speak with a single voice on Gaza, this royal position is an exception.
