King Philippe paid tribute to victims of the two2 World Wars and to Belgian soldiers who have lost their lives during peace-keeping missions 1945, at the 97th anniversary of the World War I Armistice on Wednesday morning. The King laid a wreath at the Column of Congress in Brussels, followed by a minute’s silence. A few hundred people were present at the ceremony which ran smoothly.
Twenty-one rifle shots were fired, and then the King shook hands with veteran representatives and spoke briefly with several veterans. Representatives of the legislative, executive, and judiciary powers also laid wreaths, as did representatives from the police force, the Ministry of Defence, NATO, and other troops present in Belgium. Senate President Christine Defraigne and her colleague from the Lower House Siegfried Bracke led a group of 11 children from the 10 regions and the capital. King Philippe greeted the four military detachments present at the ceremony when he arrived. He briefly mingled with the crowd at the end.
(Source: Belga)
