BRUSSELS (AP) – The people of Brussels crave open spaces in this age of pandemic restrictions, often ending in overcrowded urban parks where social distance is impossible. However, a family is above the fray.
The royal family has an extensive and lush garden right in the center of the city, almost the size of Monaco and filled with a huge palace and its own colony of rare herons.
So, is it any wonder that more and more voices are calling for King Philip to let go and open at least part of his palace garden to the public during the world’s worst health crisis in a century?
So far, however, no walls have been broken down, no iron gates have been opened.
“They hardly ever go in there. Let’s go! These gardens are simply empty, ”sighed an exasperated Brussels historian and former member of the European Parliament, Luckas Vander Taelen.
Furthermore, the gardens in the municipality of Laeken in Brussels are surrounded by some of the most densely populated, run-down and impoverished neighborhoods in the country, filled with many families who cannot afford to travel to greener surroundings.
“The vegetation gives a desire for life, especially when you are squeezed into a small apartment with an extended family,” said Laeken’s social worker, Saliha Mahdi. “So, the local population wants a park right here because they cannot afford transportation”.
The palace gardens are becoming a parable of royal privilege in times of intense need and change.
The monarchy was deaf before. Last year, at the start of the pandemic, King Philip, in an unsuccessful attempt to achieve the common touch, allowed a drone to fly over the vast domain to show that his family, like all Belgian families, was locked up at home.
In a vast expanse of green, with the shadows of old trees and shrubs licking the perfectly cut grass, the family had written in huge letters, “Courage Strong Together”.
Together? In truth.
A bang on the political background for a few years, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the issue to the forefront this spring, with government parties in Brussels and even some of the opposition behind a proposal to open the gardens to the public.
“People really need spaces, public spaces to relax, to take some oxygen, to play, to meet,” said Brussels lawmaker Hilde Sabbe.
And even though the south of the capital has many open green spaces for its resident diplomats, eurocrats and the very wealthy, parts of central and northern Brussels, where the king has his garden, are very different, with sand lining the streets, no stately trees.
“In Brussels, most people don’t have a garden. They have no terrace. They have no balcony. So, they have to go to the park, if there is one to find, ”said Sabbe.
In that sense, making part of the royal park available to the public would make a difference in the world. “Couldn’t you just let them in?” Sabbe begged the king.
However, as with all seemingly simple things, it is much more complicated.
When it comes to real estate, there is a tangle of legal complexities linked to the state and the royal family. Belgium’s Byzantine institutional structure, sometimes with overlapping authority between city, region and nation, would make the management of any open park even more complex.
In a more practical sense, the palace needs to remain safe, not only because the head of state resides there, but also because the heads of state and government visit them when they come to Brussels for trips to NATO or the European Union.
And a century of isolation from the outside world has transformed the park into a fragile biotope with unique plants and animals that need protection.
This remains an argument for some – even if Celine Vandeuren, who lives nearby, has to walk her cat Hector on a leash outside the park’s red brick wall, unable to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the countryside.
“My fear is that if we open this space, our presence, perhaps a little premature, will disturb nature,” said Vandeuren.
Sabbe disagrees, saying there may be an easy solution to open part of the 460-acre park. And she has faith in King Philippe, 60, who is constantly becoming one of the most progressive in a line of monarchs dating back to 1830.
The Royal Palace remained silent on the matter and refused to respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press.
For historian Vander Taelen, however, the solution is obvious to the king.
“It would be very positive for Casa Real to show that there is a link with the city,” he said. “Perhaps the most important thing is to show solidarity with the needs of your people, your city”.
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AP video journalist Mark Carlson contributed.
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