A UFO hat, racing bike and elegant state banquet: this was the first day of Filip and Mathilde’s visit to Lithuania | Royalty

The war in Ukraine runs like a thread through the state visit. Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union until 1990. The southernmost of the three Baltic states fears that they will become the next target of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

On arrival in the capital Vilnius, King Philippe addressed Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda about the war. “The Russian aggression against Ukraine has brought us into a new era. An era that reminds us of the darkest pages of our continent’s history. I can only imagine that it also evokes painful memories in Lithuania”, said Filip.

“I would like to reiterate our solidarity with the people of Ukraine and their legitimate right to protect the integrity of their territory. This reckless conflict, deliberately directed against the civilian population, has already caused too much suffering right on our doorstep. It also puts pressure on Europe and the rest of the world, especially low-income countries, for which basic goods are becoming increasingly unaffordable.”

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The war will be discussed in various parts of the program during this state visit. Tomorrow, Filip will attend an economic forum with Belgian and Lithuanian entrepreneurs. How we depend on Russia for gas will be an important agenda item.

The military cooperation between Belgium and Lithuania will be discussed on Wednesday on the third and final day. Filip visits the military base in the town of Pabrade, where Belgian soldiers help ensure NATO’s “strengthened forward presence” in the Baltic States. At the same time, Mathilde visits a Ukrainian center in Vilnius, which opened a few months ago. Refugees are helped by psychologists, lawyers and educators.

Queen Mathilde wore a coat from the Italian fashion house Armani in Vilnius. But it was her bright blue hat that really stood out. Her headgear was immediately compared on social media to candy: a fruit UFO. The website ‘Wardrobe Royale’ believes the hat was supplied with the cloak by Armani.

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At a meeting between heads of state, it is customary for business gifts to be exchanged. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, at whose invitation the Belgian royal couple is on a state visit, had a special gift for King Philippe: a racing bicycle. He knew that Belgians love cycling. This is how he came up with the idea to order a two-wheeler from a Lithuanian bicycle manufacturer for his guest from Brussels. Filip and Mathilde, in turn, had brought Belgian products with them: a crystal decanter and glasses from Val Saint Lambert, a candle from the Baobab brand, chocolate from Neuhaus and… a photo of themselves.

The host and his guests also awarded each other decorations. Filip and Mathilde both received the highest award in Lithuania: the Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great, named after the Lithuanian Grand Prince who lived some six hundred years ago.

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“Am I that good?” King Philippe asks the photographers.

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Filip took a picture with Mathilde on the Cathedral Square of Vilnius. The eye-catcher at that location is the neoclassical cathedral, the main Catholic church in Lithuania. Next to it – recognizable by the red flag on the roof – is the Palace of the Grand Princes of Lithuania, the political, administrative and cultural center of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

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In that palace of the grand dukes, Filip and Mathilde concluded the first day with a state banquet, at the invitation of the Lithuanian president. For the occasion, the queen had bought a new prom outfit: a long dress made of orange-red silk fabric with floral motifs. She found him at her favorite Brussels fashion house Natan Couture, so she knew Wardrobe Royale to find out. Mathilde also wore the diamond Wolferstiara from the family collection, paired with long diamond earrings with aquamarines.

Again the king returned to the war in Ukraine. “Like Belgium, Lithuania is always looking for dialogue and not conflict,” he said. “That does not mean that Europe can and should accept that a brutal aggressor invades or swallows a sovereign country. Lithuanian history teaches us to beware of that. Only a united and determined Europe can respond to such aggression. Belgium also shares that important message.”