Filip and Mathilde attend a State Banquet in Lisbon Entertainment

King Filip gives a speech at the beginning of the meal. He emphasized the centuries-old ties between Belgium and Portugal. "The Portuguese blood flows in my veins and my great-grandmother queen Elisabeth spoke your beautiful language with ease," he said.

The Belgian royal couple will visit the country for three days. Filip and Mathilde are Monday and Tuesday in the capital, Lisbon, Wednesday, it is the couple in the port city of Porto.

Filip and Mathilde were officially greeted early in the afternoon during a ceremony at Praca do Imperio. . The Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa then again welcomed the royal couple, this time in his residence Palaçio de Belem. The company then goes to the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, where Filip pays tribute to the greatest Portuguese poet Luís de Camões (1524-1580) on his tomb. De Sousa, but also prime minister Antonio Costa and president of the Parliament Ferro Rodrigues . The Belgian monarch also pays tribute to the Portuguese soldiers who fought during the First World War. Hundreds of Portuguese have died in combat during fighting on Belgian territory

A delegation of 170 people, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Pieter De Crem and the leaders of the federal states. During the visit, according to the press agency Belga eighteen agreements in the field of trade, culture and education were signed.