CAIRO: Queen Mathilde of Belgium and her daughter Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant visited King Tutankhamun’s tomb and other historical monuments in Luxor on Thursday.
They were received by Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Waziri said the royals’ visit would create “the same charming memories” as the time, 100 years ago, when Queen Elisabeth of Bavaria visited Egypt to witness the unveiling of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1923.
The queen and princess began their tour at the offices of the Belgian archaeological missions in Elkab, Deir El-Medina before moving on to the Tombs of the Nobles.
They then visited the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, where Waziri explained its history and discovery by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1923.
Later, the royals visited Luxor’s lost Golden City, which dates back to the reign of King Amenhotep III but was also used by Tutankhamun.
Egypt’s most renowned archaeologist, Dr. Zahi Hawass, took Queen Mathilde and Princess Elisabeth on a tour of the city, which was the largest administrative and industrial settlement during the time of the Egyptian empire.
The queen described it as the most important archaeological discovery of the 21st century.
Earlier in the day, the royals attended the opening of an exhibition of photographs of Queen Elisabeth’s trip to Egypt accompanied by her son Crown Prince Leopold.
The event was held at the Baron Empain Palace, which was founded by Belgian businessman Edward Louis Joseph Empain between 1907 and 1911, with help from French architect Alexander Marcel.
