Czech President Petr Pavel presented the Order of the White Lion of the First Class to King Philippe of Belgium at Prague Castle yesterday afternoon, awarding him the highest honour for his significant contribution to strengthening friendly relations between Belgium and the Czech Republic.
The official justification for the award highlighted King Philippe’s efforts to promote and strengthen historical awareness of the common struggle for freedom.
In a short speech, Pavel said it was an honour to welcome the head of the Belgian kingdom to Prague Castle after almost a quarter of a century. “This decoration is an expression of respect to you and, through you, to all Belgian citizens for jointly maintaining freedom and building friendly relations between our countries,” Pavel said.
According to the Czech president, fate has separated the Czech Republic and Belgium by large neighbours, which have often been the source of efforts to dominate or wipe the two countries off the world map. “Thanks to this similarity, today we understand each other and are able to find common positions in solving current problems,” he said.
Pavel mentioned in this context the current joint assistance to Ukraine, as well as the contribution of soldiers from the Belgian 17th Rifle Battalion in the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945 and the contribution of Czechoslovak soldiers and airmen in the liberation of Belgium.
The Order of the White Lion is bestowed or awarded by the President of the Czech Republic to Czech citizens for particularly outstanding services to the state, for outstanding services to the defence and security of the state, or for significant promotion of the homeland abroad.
It may also be awarded to foreign nationals for particularly outstanding services to the Czech Republic. Last June, Pavel also presented the Order of the White Lion of the Civic Group First Class to outgoing Slovak President Zuzana Caputova for her contribution to the development of relations between the two countries.
King Philippe is the seventh king since the establishment of Belgium in 1830. He has been in his post since 21 July 2013, when his father Albert II abdicated for health reasons after 20 years on the throne.
King Philippe’s visit marks the first of a Belgian head of state to the Czech Republic for 25 years; Albert II and his wife Paola visited the country for three days in October 2000, meeting President Vaclav Havel and his wife Dagmar and other elected senior officials. He also visited Ostrava, North Moravia.
Philippe started his two-day visit to the Czech Republic with an official ceremony at Prague Castle, and after a welcome with military honours, he and Pavel went into the Castle for talks.
Today, Pavel and Philippe will visit Plzen, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the city by the US army. The Liberation Festival, one of the biggest celebrations of the end of the Second World War in Europe, takes place from 2-6 May. The Belgian king will attend the commemoration at the ‘Thanks, America!’ memorial, and will also meet war veterans and their descendants.
A month later, on 4-5 June, the Dutch royal couple, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, will also visit the Czech Republic.
