King Philippe did not yet apologize. He 'only' expressed his 'deepest regret' (which is considered a weaker form as it apparently doesn't have legal consequences as it doesn't admit wrongdoing).
In addition, Filip's family's relation to the cruelties are a lot more direct: Congo Free State was privately ruled by his forefather - unlike other colonies that were ruled by foreign powers.
Exactly. I guess March 2020 feels like years ago with the pandemic going on
His mother already wanted to do so in the 90's but at that point it was considered too political (and especially painful for the many veterans who had fought to keep Indonesia - nowadays there aren't that many left), so, just like Philippe 26 years later, she expressed her regret ("it makes us very sad...").
Nonetheless, it's great that Philippe follows his neighbor's example (the hope that others would follow Willem-Alexander's example was expressed in for example
this article) and made an important first step in acknowledging the past with the deepest regret - even though he started that same paragraph by referencing a history of 'shared/common achievements' that had painful episodes... While, it mainly was Belgium enjoying the achievements and Congo living through the painful episodes. Nonetheless, it was very different from the way his uncle talked about Congo's colonial past.