An awful story, from the life of Albert I:
When Albert was returning by automobile to Brussels from Louvain in January [1921?] his vehicle knocked down two children in the village of Kesselds; a girl of five was killed outright and a boy of eight, seriously injured.
Albert, who was in the car, was greatly perturbed and carried the body of the little girl to her parents' cottage and sought to console them in their loss. He fetched two doctors to attend the injured boy. They had dashed out into the road from behind a truck which obscured the oncoming car and were under the wheels of the royal automobile before the driver saw them. (Wanda Larson, Elisabeth: A Biography: From Bavarian Princess to Queen of the Belgians, 1997, p. 87)
In a strange way, it almost seems a foreshadowing of the tragic accidents that would claim the lives of Albert himself, and his daughter-in-law, Astrid, in the not-so-distant future.
5 comments:
Was the King driving the car?
From the way it's described in the book ("Albert, who was in the car" , not "Albert, who was driving"), I don't think so. It must have been his chauffeur. Still, it must have been very upsetting for all those involved.
Thank you. Indeed, very upsetting.
I wonder if the family recognized the King when he arrived carrying the body of their little girl?
How sad.
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