His Majesty the King Albert II of the Belgians, the modest, self-effacing Sovereign of the Belgians, addressed the nation at 1600 (GMT) on Wednesday and announced that he is to official abdicate on 21 July, Belgium’s National Holiday, in favour of his son Filip after two decades at the helm of the tiny country torn between its French and Flemish speaking halves. At 53 years of age, Crown Prince Filip is to become the 7th king of the Belgians. He was poised to succeed his father sooner or later, but it was not really expected that his father would abdicate from the throne. Belgium has no real tradition in this respect. King Albert’s decision to step down is the first abdication in the history of Belgium, follows in the footsteps of Dutch Queen Beatrix, who abdicated in January. The country gained independence from the Netherlands in 1831. Prince Filip will take the oath of allegiance to the Belgian Constitution on the same day as the abdication before a meeting of both houses of parliament.