It is rare to see Queen Mathilde put a sartorial foot wrong but it seems even royalty needs to put safety above style sometimes The King and Queen of Belgium slipped into protective white coats and donned blue hair nets while visiting the Materne-Confilux factory in Floreffe today But the striking outfit peaking out from underneath the protective clothing was proof enough of the 51-year-old monarch's fashion sense While touring the factory responsible for producing a large number of Europe's jams and compotes Queen Mathilde wore an off-white dress with a red paisley print from luxury Belgian clothing brand Natan She kept her makeup plain for the visit with a subtle pink shimmer on her lips and a smokey shadow on her lids to accentuate her pale blue eyes After being treated to a tour of the inner-workings of the production line the royal couple were able to show off their outfits in their entirety Queen Mathilde paired her knee-length frock flawlessly with a ruby red cape Known for her accessories - not so much safety goggles - the mother-of-four carried a mini Dior Bag in cherry red worth around £4,900 and wore pointed toe ballet flats in the same deep red colour She completed the elegant look with a simple pair of pearl earrings and her sapphire and diamond ring which she often wears in place of her ruby and diamond engagement ring was Mathilde’s tenth wedding anniversary gift from Philippe wore a navy suit with a bold orange and brown polka dot tie the Belgian royals went on to visit Ressourcerie Namuroise in Suarlee - a cooperative that employs around one hundred people in the recycling and circular economy sector The team collect bulky items of furniture and old household appliances for reuse and recycling Queen Mathilde and King Phillipe were shown round the recycling workshops where they spoke to employees using old planks of wood to make decorations and fixing bikes using parts collected from across the region Following their visit to the recycling facility the King and Queen of Belgium headed to Saint Aubain Cathedral where they were greeted by adoring royal fans Queen Mathilde stopped to thank people for turning out in the cold to see them she accepted gifts and flowers - even taking the time to engage in a conversation with an old lady Eventually Queen Mathilde headed into Namur's government building and joined King Phillipe in greeting local politicians The King and Queen of Belgium have been married since 1999 - the pair had met three years earlier while playing tennis. Their engagement came as a surprise to the public as their relationship had remained a secret But news of the nuptials was greeted warmly as Mathilde was because Mathilde was born in Uccle - making her the first Belgian woman to be in line to become her country’s queen consort When they got married at the Cathedral of St Philippe and Mathilde did not wish to receive gifts Instead they asked people to donate money to charities helping the most vulnerable and the Princess Mathilde Fund (now the Queen Mathilde fund) was thus created The King and Queen have four children: Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant, Prince Gabriel, Prince Emmanuel and Princess Eléonore. No one seems to have shared their thoughts on this topic yetLeave a comment so your voice will be heard first. {{message}} A 4-million gallon tank that was nearly filled with diesel fuel lies crumble in a lake of fuel in the Floreffe area of Jefferson Borough About 1,200 people were evacuated from homes surrounding the spill as “a precaution” against explosion As much as a million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel leaked from two tanks into the Monongahela River Copyright © 2025 Ogden Publications of Pennsylvania It was the second largest oil spill in the history of Western Pennsylvania and one of the worst inland oil spills in the nation only a 14 million gallon spill into the Delaware River in 1975 and a 2 million gallon spill after an explosion in Brooklyn the next year involved larger quantities Arlen Specter called the Monongahela oil spill “a super a 3.8-million gallon diesel oil tank collapsed and failed dumping an estimated 1 million gallons of diesel fuel into the Monongahela River in Floreffe 18 miles south of Pittsburgh; 2.5 million gallons were trapped by retention dikes around the riverside storage area threatening wild life and drinking water supplies for about 1 million people in more than 80 communities across three states “the tank looked like someone stepped on a marshmallow.” spreading bank to bank had grown to 33 miles long as it flowed past Pittsburgh’s Point State Park and 10 miles up the Ohio River The spread of the fuel was unstoppable; foot by foot it moved forward conquering the water surface of the Mon and carrying it all the way to the Ohio River reporters described the asphyxiating smell of diesel fumes in the air As the Associated Press reported at the time “approximately 23,000 suburban Pittsburgh residents lived for a week without tap water while the river carried the pollution past their water intakes.” Federal agencies in collaboration with local authorities used 20,000 feet of boom and barges to contain the spill and deflect the fuel Cold January temperatures impeded the cleanup process by not only creating the mechanical issues with the equipment but also causing hypothermia and increasing the probability of contamination because oil emulsified faster in the cold Following a federal investigation which concluded that Ashland violated the industry standards when they had reconstructed the tank in Floreffe the Federal Government made Ashland pay $2.25 million in fines and cover cleanup fees which together with compensations to the distressed communities Topics related to this:pollution and smog rivers tragedies Mila digs "The Digs" and digs when others are digging it She brought "The Digs" its international fame that one time when a Russian newspaper wrote about it bit.ly/RusDigs  RSS - Posts Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker