Queen Paola appears to have accidentally hinted at how she voted in Belgium’s European Parliament elections over the weekend.
On Sunday, the European royal, 86, was seen arriving at the Laeken polling station, near her home in Brussels, with her husband King Albert.
The mother-of-three looked dapper in a camel jacket, floral silk scarf and gray trousers, while the former king, who abdicated in 2013, looked dapper in a navy suit and matching cardigan.
When she got out of her car, the former Queen was photographed holding a scarf to her face.
In images published by a local media. HLNThe royal’s scarf appears to have “MR” and “2 Wilmès” written in black pen.
In the photo: King Albert and Queen Paola arrive at the Laeken polling station in Brussels to cast their vote.
Politician Sophie Wilmès was the highest-ranking member of the centre-right Reform Movement (MR) party standing in the EU Parliament elections.
However, it is not known if these were notes from Queen Paola herself and if she voted as this suggests.
The politician was Prime Minister of Belgium from 2019 to 2020 before serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Although votes are still being counted, the MR party has garnered 12.6 percent of the vote at the time of writing.
King Albert and Queen Paola were not the only royals doing their civic duty on Sunday, as the couple’s grandchildren were also seen at the same polling station hours later.
Crown Princess Elizabeth, 22, the Oxford-educated eldest daughter of King Philip and Queen Matilda, smiled as she presented her ballot at a polling station in the Laeken district of Brussels.
The heir to the Belgian throne, a graduate in History and Politics, dressed casually in a beige open-neck sweater, navy blue pants, navy blue Adidas sneakers and a tan shoulder bag.
Princess Elizabeth was accompanied by her brothers Prince Gabriel, 20, and Prince Emmanuel, 18, and her sister Princess Eléonore, 16, who patiently queued to enter the polling station.
In the photo: Queen Paola of Belgium presents her ballot on Sunday at the Laeken polling station in Brussels.
The surname of politician Sophie Wilmes appeared on the back of Queen Paola’s scarf on Sunday.
Crown Princess Elizabeth, 22, smiled as she presented her ballot over the weekend in Brussels.
Crown Princess Elisabeth (left), heir to the throne, was accompanied by her siblings Prince Emmanuel (second from left), 18, Princess Eléonore (second from right), 16, and Prince Gabriel ( right), 20.
The voting age in Belgium was lowered to 16 in 2022, making Sunday’s election the first in which Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore were able to participate.
In Belgium, it is mandatory for those over 16 years of age to vote in elections to the European Parliament, the House of Representatives and the community and regional parliaments.
King Philip and Queen Matilda will remain neutral in the election and will not cast their vote.
In 2010, King Albert had to mediate between political leaders to form a government after elections failed to produce a clear winner.
Between 2010 and 2011, the country set a world record of 589 people without a government. 11 political parties were elected to the House of Representatives, but none of them obtained more than 20 percent of the seats.
In October 2020, King Albert’s love child with Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps was officially recognized as his daughter.
The statement came after Princess Delphine had a “warm meeting” with her half-brother King Philip (pictured) at Laeken Castle.
After their wedding in 1959, King Albert and Queen Paola were plagued by divorce rumors throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
In 1968, King Albert had a daughter, Delphine, with the aristocratic Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, with whom he had an 18-year affair.
In 2020, Princess Delphine was officially recognized as the beloved daughter of the former king of Belgium, something the elderly monarch had fought tooth and nail to avoid since paternity rumors became public in 1998.
Delphine revealed in October 2020 that she last spoke to Albert in 2001, saying at the time that she “doesn’t expect anything more.”
A joint statement said: ‘A new chapter began on Sunday 25 October, rich in excitement, tranquility, understanding and hope.
‘During our meeting at the Belvédère Castle each of us, with serenity and empathy, managed to express our feelings and experiences.
‘After the turmoil, the suffering and the hurt, the time has come for forgiveness, healing and reconciliation.
‘Together we have decided on this new path. This will take patience and effort, but we are determined.
‘These are the first step of a path that we will travel in peace. Delfina, Paola and Albert.’
The statement came after Princess Delphine had a “warm meeting” with her half-brother, King Philip, at Laeken Castle.
