Belgian Minister Rebuked by Royal Palace Over AI Video of Queen Mathilde
Belgian Minister and Mayor of Charleroi Thomas Dermine has been formally rebuked by the Royal Palace after sharing an AI-manipulated video of Queen Mathilde on his Instagram and TikTok accounts, sparking a debate about the responsibilities of public officials in the age of artificial intelligence.
According to VRT NWS, Dermine shared the video on Tuesday, June 18, with the caption “Elle m’a bluffé!” (“She amazed me!”). The Palace contacted Dermine directly, expressing its displeasure and requesting the video’s removal — a demand he promptly complied with.
Context
The controversy began during Queen Mathilde’s visit to the U-Charleroi Campus on Wednesday, June 17, where she viewed AI applications in healthcare training alongside Mayor Dermine. The visit was meant to showcase both the benefits and limitations of AI in medicine, with observers noting that “we see that AI can be improved.”
Authentic footage from that visit was later manipulated by the satirical account “Coucou Charles,” which is well-known in French-speaking Belgium for creating caricatures and AI-altered content targeting political figures. The account’s name is a play on the French greeting “Coucou” and likely references King Philippe, whose full name includes Charles.
The manipulated video starts with genuine footage of the Queen’s visit but transitions into an AI-generated sequence showing the Queen climbing onto a stair railing and sliding down like a professional skateboarder. The satirical post was accompanied by the caption “La reine Mathilde a craqué son slip” — a colloquial French expression meaning the Queen has “gone crazy” or “cracked under pressure.”
Key Developments
Dermine, a prominent member of the Parti Socialiste (PS) who serves both as a federal minister and as mayor of one of Belgium’s largest cities, shared the AI-generated video on his personal social media accounts. As RTL Info reported, the Royal Palace’s response was swift: they contacted Dermine directly and requested the video be taken down.
The Palace did not, however, contact the satirical account “Coucou Charles” that created the video. As RTL Info noted, “A distinction thus seems to be made between a satirical account and a political figure sharing this type of content.”
According to L’Avenir, the Palace’s core concern was clear: “The Palace wishes to prevent politicians from using such images.” Brussels Today further reported that the Palace directly contacted the mayor to express its displeasure and concerns about preventing political figures from contributing to “trivializing or amplifying the circulation of manipulated images.”
Dermine has declined further comment on the matter.
Analysis
The incident highlights a growing challenge at the intersection of AI technology, political communication, and institutional dignity. The Royal Palace’s differential treatment of Dermine versus the satirical account establishes a clear precedent: while satirical content creators may operate with relative freedom, elected officials who amplify such content face direct consequences.
This case carries particular irony given the context of the Queen’s visit. The June 17 event was specifically focused on showcasing AI applications in healthcare — both their benefits and their limitations. The technology that was being presented as a tool for medical training was almost immediately repurposed to create manipulated content involving the very royal who came to learn about it.
As deepfake technology becomes increasingly accessible and sophisticated, the line between harmless satire and potentially damaging misinformation continues to blur. The Palace’s proactive monitoring of social media and direct intervention represents a modern approach to protecting royal dignity in the digital age, but it also raises questions about where the boundaries of acceptable political communication should lie.
What’s Next
The incident raises several open questions: Will the Royal Palace develop formal guidelines for politicians regarding AI-generated royal content? Could this case prompt new legislation around AI-generated content in political communications? And what broader public reaction will emerge across Belgium’s linguistic communities?
For now, the Palace has drawn a clear line in the sand: politicians bear a special responsibility when it comes to sharing AI-manipulated content involving the monarchy — and crossing that line carries consequences.