Royal siblings naturally often look alike and we had to do a double take when the Belgian royal palace shared a new photograph of Queen Mathilde and King Philippe's youngest child, Princess Eleonore, to mark her 16th birthday on Tuesday.
The princess is the image of her elder sister and future queen, Princess Elisabeth, 22, in the new portrait.
Eleonore was pictured at the Belgian royal family's residence, Laeken, in Brussels and looked elegant in a white blouse and blue flared trousers from Zara and a pair of black loafers.
The princess accessorised with gold jewellery and styled her blonde tresses in loose waves, much like her big sister, Elisabeth.
© Bas BogaertsEleonore is currently studying for her International Baccalaureate at the International School of Brussels, while Elisabeth is reading History and Politics at Lincoln College of Oxford University.
© GettyQueen Mathilde and King Philippe are also parents to sons, Prince Gabriel, 20 and Prince Emmanuel, 18.
The Belgian king also marked his 64th birthday the day before his youngest daughter on Monday 15 April.
The palace shared some heartwarming photographs of Philippe with his first cousin, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, who also celebrated his 69th birthday on Tuesday.
© Bas BogaertsThe monarchs were pictured together blowing out candles on a raspberry-covered cake at Laeken.
The Belgian royal family's Instagram caption read: "The State visit doesn't start until tomorrow but the King and the Grand Duke already have something to celebrate together: their respective birthdays, that fall within a day of each other (15 and 16 April)! Happy birthday, Your Majesty and Your Royal Highness!"
© Bas BogaertsGrand Duke Henri and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, are visiting Belgium on a state visit from 16 to 18 April.
A number of European royals share the same birthday on 16 April, as well as Grand Duke Henri and Princess Eleonore, Prince Sebastien of Luxembourg turned 32, while Queen Margrethe of Denmark celebrated her 84th birthday.
LOVE THE ROYALS? JOIN THE CLUB!
If you are reading this, the chances are you are obsessed with all things royalty – which is just as well because so are we! So obsessed, in fact, we’ve launched a club solely dedicated to covering them. So welcome to The HELLO! Royal Club. We would love you to join us there…
What is it?
Interactive community offering behind-the-scenes access, exclusive royal interviews, unmissable royal insights, and an illustrious royal Inner Circle.
Member benefits
- Two weekly newsletters, one from Emily Nash
- Video posts and audio notes from Emily Nash and the HELLO! Royal team
- Access to our royal community and opportunity to interact with club writers and members
- Participate in polls, comments and discussion threads
- Royal-themed puzzles with a weekly prize to be won
- Access to our Ask Me Anything sessions with our journalists
- Invitations to in-person and virtual events
- A subscription to the digital edition of HELLO! Magazine (Worth £82 annually)*
- Future ‘Inner Circle’ benefits
By royal decree
You are royally invited to join The HELLO! Royal Club – and then to go forth and spread the word to your fellow royal fans. See you in the club!
