Queen Mathilde of Belgium looks trendy in leather skirt as she returns to Brussels following trip to Costa Rica where she narrowly avoided disaster when her plane made an emergency landing

Queen Mathilde of Belgium looked typically chic in a grey cape today as she visited a secondary school in Brussels alongside an award-winning Belgian author. The royal, who last month celebrated her 52nd birthday, joined pupils at the College Matteo Ricci secondary school in Anderlecht, in the south-western part of the Belgian capital, for a special literary event with writer Genevieve Damas. Beneath her grey wool cape, which she was first pictured in last March at a seminar in the Belgian city of Tournai, the mother-of-four wore a burgundy ensemble.

Smiling Mathilde paired a fashionable, dark red, patent leather skirt with a turtleneck blouse in the same shade. Her top had blouson sleeves while her knee-length skirt featured a side split and a belt. The Belgian queen teamed her outfit with burgundy, pointed toe heels and a petite leather handbag, also in dark crimson. Mathilde's earrings were similarly burgundy and gold, and she wore a gold watch on her left wrist.

With her hair in a classic blow-dry and a slick of red lipstick, she looked radiant and elegant. Queen Mathilde of Belgium (left) donned a stylish grey cape for her visit to a secondary school in the south-west of Brussels on Monday. During the course of her visit on Monday, Mathilde was seen shaking hands with school children assembled for her arrival before joining pupils in a classroom for a special seminar with novelist and playwright Genevieve Damas.

Genevieve Damas was invited to College Matteo Ricci as part of the 'Authors in the classroom' programme. The Belgian queen also beamed as she posed for a photograph with students and staff members in the school grounds. February has been a busy month for Queen Mathilde - but not everything has gone smoothly. She experienced a terrifying start to her state visit to Costa Rica when her plane was forced to make an emergency landing.

Mathilde had been on her way to Costa Rica in Central America when the plane was forced to make a priority landing having suffered a crack to the windshield. She was travelling to the country for a three-day solo trip organised by UNICEF Belgium and UNICEF Costa Rica. Onboard staff were fortunately able to steer the royal to safety, with the aircraft landing safely at San José Juan Santamaria International airport just 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

The Belgian queen, 52, wore a burgundy ensemble to attend a literary event at the secondary school featuring award-winning author Genevieve Damas (third from right). Mathilde smiled as she posed for a photograph with author Genevieve Damas, school children and staff members. While the incident sparked concern for the crew, it appeared that passengers were unaware of the ordeal. Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, royal commentator, Wim Dehandschutter, wrote: 'The airplane with Belgian Queen Mathilde landed in Costa Rica with a cracked windshield, according to this account and local media.

'I was on that flight. As passengers, we didn't notice anything, and we didn't receive any notification during the flight or upon landing.'. He added: 'Our KLM flight did leave Schiphol 20 minutes late, there was turbulence - as on many flights - and the landing was quite hard, but nothing seemed to be alarming. So I was a bit surprised when I read reports in the local media and on X about the 'emergency landing'.

Having arrived safely, Mathilde enjoyed a fruitful visit to Costa Rica which included several royal engagements. She first met with Costa Rica's president Rodrigo Chaves and first lady Signe Zeikate at the Presidential Palace. There, she discussed the joint work of UNICEF Belgium and UNICEF Costa Rica - the main reason for her visit. On Tuesday, Mathilde attended a a public childcare centre where she was met by excited children waving the Costa Rican flag and the UNICEF flag.

The royal delighted school children by shaking their hands outside before entering the building. Mathilde looked typically elegant with a petite, dark crimson handbag and high heels in a similar shade. She also visited La Cometa, a public childcare center in Tirrases in the province of San José and later went to  Lloverá Foundation (Fundación Lloverá), an organisation that supports and guides homeless people in Costa Rica.

Next, Mathilde went to a coffee plantation that supports the children of seasonal workers and runs a community programme for vulnerable children. The trip aimed to highlight UNICEF'S work in Costa Rica where it is currently focused on tackling the issue of childhood obesity. Statistics suggest that one in five children in Costa Rica are obese. Queen Mathilde has previously worked with UNICEF Belgium and the World Health Organisation.