Royals Queen Mathilde of Belgium Stars in New 50th Birthday Portraits — Which Will Also Grace Stamps! Queen Mathilde of Belgium turns 50 on Friday, and her gorgeous birthday portrait will soon make its way into the mail By Janine Henni Janine Henni Janine Henni is a Royals Staff Writer for PEOPLE Digital, covering modern monarchies and the world's most famous families. Like Queen Elizabeth, she loves horses and a great tiara moment. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 20, 2023 04:27PM EST Photo: Michel Gronemberger/Belgian Royal Palace Queen Mathilde of Belgium is celebrating a milestone birthday! The Queen of Belgium turned 50 on Friday, and the Belgian Royal Palace released two formal portraits in honor of the occasion. "🎂 Hooray, the Queen turns 50 today! We are therefore happy to share two new photos with you," the palace wrote on Instagram. Mathilde looked relaxed in both pictures, standing in a doorway in the first, and posing before the Winter Garden at the Palace of Laeken, the home of the Belgian royal family, in the second. In a second message, courtiers confirmed that the Winter Garden portrait of King Philippe's wife will be released on special stamps. The palace said that the Queen worked with the Belgian Post Group on the design, sharing a peek into the production process in a Twitter video. PHOTO: Michel Gronemberger/Belgian Royal Palace PHOTO: Michel Gronemberger/Belgian Royal Palace Belgium's Royal Family Will Host Ukrainian Families in Three of Their Royal Properties "The postman brought… the Queen's new stamp!" the caption read. Set to twinkling music, the clip showed heavy machinery pushing out sheets, which an official subsequently inspected for any imperfections. The Queen's stamps will be stocked in post offices Monday, and the Belgian Post Group said its next edition of royal postage will be issued in June for King Philippe's decade on the throne. MICHEL GRONEMBE/BELGA MAG According to her royal bio, Queen Mathilde was born in Uccle, Belgium in 1973. She worked as a speech therapist after completing her education and married then-Prince Philippe in 1999. They went on to welcome four children — Princess Elisabeth, 21, Prince Gabriel, 19, Prince Emmanuel, 17, and Princess Eleonore, 14. Mathilde became Queen Consort when her father-in-law, King Albert II, abdicated in 2013. Today, the royal dedicates her time to charitable work for key causes involving parenting, education, poverty, and mental health, among others, while supporting her husband as head of state. The Next Queen Elisabeth (of Belgium!) Celebrates 21st Birthday with Stunning New Portraits Bas Bogaerts/Belgian Royal Palace In another formal portrait, the Belgian Royal Palace recently released a new photo of Mathilde and her family for their 2022 Christmas card. In the classic snap, the King and Queen's kids stood around their parents, the family dogs adorably snuggled up at the royal couple's feet. Spreading Christmas cheer times four, the festive message was shared in Belgium's three official languages — Dutch, French and German — plus a translation in English. "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year," the inset message read.