Princess Astrid of Belgium inadvertently forced her country’s prime minister to clear his schedule on Tuesday after a bizarre incident involving a starting pistol.
Charles Michel, 41, was stood slightly too close to the 54-year-old princess as she fired the gun to signal the start of the Brussels 20km road race on Sunday.
A photograph that’s now going viral shows Michel wincing as the gun noise rings out:
Michel reportedly brushed off the incident at first.
But after consulting a doctor on Monday over a ringing in his ears, he was diagnosed with tinnitus.
He had to cancel all appointments Tuesday — including a speech in Parliament.
“The Prime Minister must follow a number of treatments within 48 hours after this incident,” said Michel’s spokesman, Barend Leyts.
Belgium’s royal family has not yet commented on the incident.
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