Mathilde, a first lady at the Elysee Palace

For the first time in weeks, President Francois Hollande had a first lady at his side at the Elysee Palace. Queen Mathilde of the Belgians took a starring role in the official visit to Paris that she paid with husband, King Philippe, on February 6th.  The trip had been booked in way in advance of the decision of President Hollande and his long time partner, Valerie Treiweiler, to separate.  But the end of that relationship in such high profile circumstances meant the Belgian king and queen got a lot of attention on their trip to French capital.

The President of France with a first lady at his side - the King and Queen of the Belgians on their official visit to Paris on February 6th 2014

The king and queen were accompanied by the Belgian Prime Minister, Elio di Rupo, and the visit included talks as well as a tribute to King Albert I of the Belgians.  And there was also a lot of shuffling people around for official photographs and plenty of rain - the Belgian monarchs spent most of their time under umbrellas.  There was a time that visiting first ladies had to do fashion battle with former French first lady, Carla Bruni.  But on this trip Mathilde, in pink, was sure of winning the style wars - the Belgian queen, on her visit, was the only first lady at the Elysee Palace.

Mathilde's solo stint in France

In just under two weeks' time, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians will find herself taking a solo stance as she and King Philippe make an official visit to France.  The couple have been scheduled to pop next door to say hello to the neighbours for several weeks but the visit will take on an added significance - it will be one of the first official visits hosted by President Francois Hollande following his official separation from his former partner, Valerie Trierweiler.  And it means that Mathilde will have no First Lady to accompany her on her welcome to France.

No worries about clashing clothes for the Queen of the Belgians on her official visit to France in a few weeks' time - the French President has just announced there will be no First Lady to welcome the royals on their arrival

The king and queen of the Belgians, six months into their reign, will be visiting France to introduce themselves as monarchs and hold meetings about closer relationships between the two countries.  And now that Francois Hollande has said he'll be steering a solo course, with no First Lady at his side, it means that this visit will be one of the first chances to see the president welcome dignitaries without a companion to help do the honours.  Mathilde will be going solo in France and has the best outfit of the visit award sewn up already.

A queen's coat and arms get everyone talking

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands can be forgiven for forgetting to put her arms through her coat.  She's had a busy week on the European heads of state front.  The Dutch king and queen started the week with a major state visit on home soil and have ended it with a brief trip to another European country for the day.  And on both occasions, the queen's arms have taken centre stage.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands arrive in Rome for a one day visit to Italy.  They were greeted by the country's president, Giorgio Napolitano.

First of all, the consort and hubby, Willem-Alexander, played host to the President of France.  Francois Hollande, sans Valerie Trierweiler, had been due to visit the Netherlands for a while but arrived with a media storm about his private life in his wake.  Queen Maxima pulled one of her finest fashion moments out of the bag for the occasion and by the end of his visit all anyone wanted to talk about was her sleeves.

Francois Hollande looks relieved as he realises that the sleeves on Queen Maxima's dress will keep everyone talking long enough to avoid any more questions about his private life

And then on January 23rd 2014, the king and queen paid a one day introductory visit to Italy where the queen decided to wear her coat draped over her shoulders.  She looked very stylish and the outfits is one of her best yet.  But it can't have been easy balancing a coat on royal shoulders while greeting another president.  But it did mean that Maxima ended the week as she began it - with everyone talking about her arms.

Queen Maxima does effortlessly stylish draping in Rome