Belgium’s former King Albert II was hospitalised earlier today with signs of dehydration, a palace spokesman has said.
The ex-King of the Belgians, to give him his correct title, 89, ‘was admitted to hospital as a precautionary measure,’ the spokesman, Xavier Vaert, told AFP.
‘Examinations are being done. He is conscious,’ Albert II, the father of Belgium’s current King Philippe.
King Philippe cancelled his planned engagement at the University of Ghent in order to visit his father in the hospital, according to P Belgian press.
Other relatives including Prince Laurent, King Albert’s younger son, and Prince Emmanuel were reportedly spotted arriving at the Saint-Luc hospital in Brussels to be by his side.
Albert II was king of Belgium from 1993 to 2013, when he abdicated in favour of his son Philippe after 20 years on the throne.
Image: By Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών – Σύνοδος Κορυφής Ευρωασιατικής Διάσκεψης- ASEM, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=129041332
