King Philippe celebrates his 60th birthday on Wednesday, 15 April 2020.

However, he will invite 100 Belgian citizens to join in the festivities with Queen Mathilde at the Castle of Laeken on Saturday, 16 May 2020.

If you were born on 15 April 1960 and wish to be part of the celebrations, send an e-mail to 60@monarchie.be before Friday, 6 March 2020.

The first 100 participants (and their partner) will be officially invited, so hurry, it is a case of first in, best dressed!

The Belgian Royal Palace also released the first official photo of Prince Philippe shortly after his birth.

Prince Philippe was born in Brussels, the eldest son of King Albert II and Queen Paola and the grandson of King Leopold III and Queen Astrid.

He is a direct descendant of Queen Victoria’s uncle, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and is related to Queen Elizabeth II through another ancestor, Franz, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Both King Philippe and Queen Elizabeth are both descended from Christian IX of Denmark, who was known as ‘the Father-in-Law of Europe’.

Prince Philippe married Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz in 1999 and they have four children.

Following his father’s abdication, Prince Philippe was sworn in before the combined chambers of parliament on 21 July 2013 as the seventh King of the Belgians.