2023-05-04 16:17:58
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde made one of their regular visits to the provinces of Belgium. This Thursday, May 4, the sovereigns headed for West Flanders, where they made two main visits.
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The King and Queen of the Belgians visit Roularta in Roeselare
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde were traveling in the province of West Flanders on Thursday. This Flemish province, at the northwestern end of the country, notably includes the entire Belgian coast. The province, which has 1.2 million inhabitants, has major cities, among others, Bruges, Ypres, Kortrijk and Ostend.
The first visit of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde took place at the headquarters of Roularta, an important multimedia group, which publishes numerous Dutch and French-speaking magazines such as Le Vif, Télépro, Trends-Tendances, Gaël or Flair. Roularta also owns the financial channel Canal Z and publishes the economic newspaper L’Écho and its Dutch counterpart, De Tijd.
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King Philippe and Queen Mathilde visited the offices of Roularta, located in Roeselare, as well as the editorial offices. The royal couple then visited the impressive printing press of the group, which also publishes internationally.
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King Philippe and Queen Mathilde enjoy a walkregarding following visiting a fire station
The visit continued a few kilometers away, in Deerlijk, where the King and Queen of the Belgians discovered the new fire station. The Sovereigns then go to the new “Post Belgiek” fire station. This barracks is part of the Fluvia intervention zone which was formed in 2025. This zone includes 14 municipalities and acts under the supervision of the Minister of the Interior.
In particular, the sovereigns were able to attend a demonstration of extinguishing a fire and an evacuation exercise using a ladder truck, following taking part in a round table with several mayors of the 14 municipalities of the River area. The area commander was present as well as volunteers.
The visit ended with the traditional walkregarding, as is customary during all royal visits to the provinces. The population was gathered in front of the town hall of Deerlijk in the hope of shaking hands with the King or handing a bouquet to the Queen.
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