Queen Astrid: The Mother

The beautiful young Duchess of Brabant, with her two eldest children, Princess Josephine-Charlotte and Prince Baudouin. It is said that, at the birth of her first son, the heir to the throne, Astrid proudly proclaimed: "Now I truly feel Belgian!" 

Another photograph of Astrid, Josephine-Charlotte and Baudouin. I love this image; it is so tender and Astrid looks so happy.

The Queen in the nursery with her daughter and her second son,  Prince Albert. 

It is so unfortunate that Astrid never had the opportunity to see her children grow up, marry and have children of their own. I'm sure she would have been a wonderful, warm grandmother and a supremely elegant, regal and loving matriarch of the royal family. Her influence has been much missed. Queen Paola, for instance, in an interview to mark her 65th birthday, mentioned she had a great admiration for Queen Astrid and regretted she had never been able to benefit from her mother-in-law's guidance as a young woman.