"Belgium's queen of etiquette"

In september 2025 was Isabelle uitgenodigd op de Britse ambassade voor de première van de nieuwste Downton Abbey-film. Daar ontmoette ze de heer Dennis Abbot, een Britse journalist. Hij raakte geboeid door haar traject in de etiquettewereld en stelde een interview voor. Dat gesprek groeide uit tot dit uitgebreid artikel over hoe etiquette vandaag relevanter is dan ooit, in een professionele context én daarbuiten.

"Meet the Belgian expert who’s teaching us good manners. 

Is it rude to put your phone on the table? How much should you spend on a wedding gift? And does etiquette still matter today? Isabelle Coppens, Belgium’s leading authority on manners, says it does. Trained in London and grounded in European tradition, she tells Dennis Abbott that good etiquette is less about rules than respect, clarity and consideration.

Fittingly, I first meet Isabelle Coppens, Belgium’s queen of etiquette, at a refined afternoon tea hosted by the British ambassador’s official residence in Brussels. Arriving at the embassy moments after your scribe, Coppens instantly catches the eye, sipping a glass of Champagne as she peruses the polished trays of crustless finger sandwiches and crested bone china tableware. There’s no Ferrero Rocher, mercifully. Impeccably turned out (“dressing well is a form of good manners,” she tells me, citing an adage attributed to fashion designer Tom Ford), Coppens looks very much at home in the sophisticated surroundings of the former Hôtel de Croÿ in swanky Rue Ducale. I sheepishly congratulate Coppens on her elegant outfit, a colourful, long Scapa jacket. She politely thanks me for the compliment. And then, the introductions: Coppens is Belgium’s foremost authority on etiquette and codes of behaviour.
“You sound perfect for The Brussels Times Magazine,” I tell her. We agree to meet for a sit-down at the Prince Albert Club a couple of weeks later."

Het hele artikel is hier te lezen. 

(The Brussels Times - maart 2026)