When I was six and visiting my grandparents in Belgium

[conuly]

one day my grandmother pointed to the news on TV and told me that was the king. I wasn't quite sure what to make of either her statement or the TV screen, because the man on the screen was clearly wearing a regular suit and tie and not a robe and crown. He was also not carrying a scepter.

Anyway, this is an open letter to all news organizations: When you're talking about the monarch in Belgium, he is the King of the Belgians and not the King of Belgium.

This may seem like a trivial distinction. Even I think it's a bit petty, and I'm a major pedant about things like this, hence this post. Nevertheless, get it right.

Comments

[sonia]

That is a cool fact to carry around with me, thank you! If I ever have occasion to refer to the King of the Belgians, I will be sure to be respectfully accurate.

[jessie_c]

King of the 'oo?

[low_delta]

That's what I was thinking, too!

[archersangel]

i saw someone use both in the same post.

[calimac]

I knew that, but I'm capable of forgetting it in the casual usage of the moment. I will try to keep it more in the forefront of my mind in case I ever need it.

What bugs me is the American habit of not knowing the distinction between head of state and head of government, since in US practice there is no difference. I am always seeing prime ministers being called heads of state; they are not. Sometimes it makes a difference. Truman presided at Potsdam because he was the only head of state among the Big Three.

[oloriel]

The first time I saw Queen Elizabeth in the news, I asked my mum why Grandma Erika was on TV. It became a family running gag for a while, but how was I supposed to know? She really looked like my grandma. Same style of clothing, same hairstyle, same glasses, very similar face, and no crown or red robe in sight! Disappointing.

My father (who grew up near the border to Belgium and the Netherlands) is always super annoyed when the news refer to the "King of Belgium". It's the principle of the thing, I guess?

[elainegrey]

Do you know if it's because the position of king was created at the same time as the country? (Just went down a long rabbithole of wikipedia pages)

[conuly]

Seems logical, but I don't know.

[swingandswirl]

Huh, I did not know that. Interesting!