King Philippe and Queen Mathilde arrived in Cape Town on Saturday for the final leg of their first royal tour of South Africa. Their whistle-stop tour of the Cape included visits to various locations and ended with a stroll through the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.
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The royals visited Pretoria on Thursday and Friday, and were greeted by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Despite a rocky start with an awkward exchange from South Africa’s president – the Presidency has since defended Ramaphosa’s call for journalists to leave the Cabinet room after being questioned about the country’s non-aligned foreign policy on Ukraine – the royals were seen in Soweto and Kempton Park before flying to Cape Town on Friday.
They visited Afrigen Biologics, where they learned more about how a South African biotech company collaborated with two Belgian companies, Univercells and eTheRNA, to develop Africa’s first COVID-19 vaccine.
The University of the Western Cape was their next stop, followed by a visit to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.
On Sunday, they went to Philippi Village to learn about Philippi’s diverse group of entrepreneurs and small traders and its sports, education and cultural facilities.
They then went to the V&A Waterfront for lunch at Den Anker and a walk along the Swing Bridge.
King Philippe and Queen Mathilde ended their first royal tour of South Africa with a stroll through Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, where they posed on the renowned Boomslang Canopy Trail.
The Belgian Royal Palace’s Instagram page shared photos from the Kirstenbosch visit, along with the message:
‘We conclude this beautiful visit to Kirstenbosch, a botanical garden listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is managed by the South African National Institute for Biodiversity, which receives support from the Flemish government. Kirstenbosch is one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world and is essential for the preservation of South African flora.’
‘Kirstenbosch is one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world,’ they concluded.
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Picture: @belgianroyalpalace / Instagram