Royals remembering

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians have attended the annual service held to remember members of their Royal Family who have passed away. And the king and his consort were joined by two lesser known princesses at the memorial which took place at Laeken on Wednesday.

Queen Mathilde of the Belgians outside Notre Dame church in Laeken where she attended a service in memory of lost royals

(photo @MonarchieBe Twitter)

They were joined by Princess Esmeralda, half sister of Philippe's father King Albert II, and Princess Lea, widow of Esmeralda's brother, Prince Alexander, for the ceremony which commemorates all those royals who have passed away. Prince Nikolaus and Princess Margaretha were also there - Margaretha is the daughter of Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte who was born a princess of Belgium.

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The service was held at Notre Dame church in Laeken where the royal crypt is located. The service is held every year on the anniversary of the death of King Albert I who died in 1934.  Following the memorial, members of the public could visit the crypt which is usually open on anniversaries of royal deaths as well as on Sunday afternoons.

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  The Belgian Royal Family recently shared images on Facebook of some of those being remembered at the special service - a reminder that the grief remains real and current for them as among those being remembered was the much loved Queen Fabiola who died at the end of 2014.