Albert II announced abdication, Philippe takes over as Monarch of Belgium

Belgium's King Albert II announced abdication after completing 20 years of monarchy. The decision came on the National Day of Belgium, ie, 21st of July. His 53 years old son Prince Philippe took the charge as the new monarch.

The monarchy has been more than a symbol of unity in this complex country, where divisions run deep between the Dutch-speaking majority and French speakers who make up 40 percent of the population’s 10 million people.

Philippe, 53, studied at Oxford and Stanford universities and served as fighter pilot and paratroop commander in the Belgian military. He was being groomed to take the throne when his childless uncle King Baudouin died suddenly from a heart attack in 1993, but his father was crowned instead because Philippe was judged unready.

Lesser known facts about the capital city (Brussels): 

• It’s the third-richest region in the European Union — behind London and Luxembourg — according to data released in March by the EU's statistics office. At 17.4 percent, however, its unemployment rate is among the highest in Europe outside crisis-wracked Spain and Greece.

• A large part of Brussels' wealth comes from the presence of the European Union and NATO headquarters, which have brought thousands of well-paid expat officials to the city and attracted legions of lobbyists, journalists and business executives.

• The high unemployment can be put down largely to the complex and contentious relations between Belgium's divided linguistic communities. Most jobs in the capital require candidates to be fluent in both French and Dutch. Many also demand English.

• Meanwhile an estimated 300,000 people commute into the city to work every day.The commuters’ taxes go to regional governments that leaves the capital starved of revenues and forced to rely on the generosity of its reluctant neighbors. 

                          

Courtesy: Global Post

Image Courtesy : Guardian