Humour is one of the traits of the Belgian Court under new King Philip. It was evidenced as the Court responded to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by posting pictures of buckets getting filled with (supposedly cold) water at the Royal Palace.
The message - tongue in cheek, as explained later - was clear: the King had taken note of the invitation by Q Music-presenter Sven Ornelis, and even nominated others, including the National Football Squad. At the same time the King of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, indicated he would not accept the challenge issued by young DJ Martin Garrix. The DJ understood. "President Barack Obama did not accept either."
Neither Royal Court would say if their Kings had donated money, but Willem-Alexander's wife Queen Máxima in 2012 famously took part in the Amsterdam City Swim, braving the cold waters of Amsterdam's canals as part of a fund raising for ALS *).
The #icebucketchallenge, as explained by Will Oremus of Slate, is a viral phenomenon whose purpose is to raise money for charity. The challenge is simple: Either donate $100 to a given cause, or douse yourself with ice, film it, and pass the challenge on to others via social media. The challenge has recently been successfully linked to ALS, but could work for any good cause.
© Royalblog, Hans Jacobs; Photo of Twitter message Belgian Royal Court
Wikipedia: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—also referred to as motor neurone disease (MND), Charcot disease, and, in the United States, Lou Gehrig's disease—is a neurodegenerative disease with various causes.
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