Tender Moments

Two pictures taken by the royal photographer Robert Marchand capture some moments of family tenderness.  Above, we see Queen Astrid with one of her children.  Below, Astrid's daughter, Josephine-Charlotte, and her half-brother Alexandre, play with their baby sister Marie-Christine. 

Argenteuil: Pour garder intacte la mémoire du domaine royal

This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. Published by the late Prince Alexandre of Belgium, son of Leopold III and Lilian Baels, it is a magnificent pictorial history of the estate of Argenteuil. Superb photographs, in black and white, and in color, help to trace the development of Argenteuil, from the construction of the mansion in the Sonian Forest by American entrepreneur William Tuck in 1930 to the sale of the property to industrialist and philosopher, Jean-Marie Delwart, in 2004. Purchased by the Belgian government in 1949, Argenteuil was placed at the disposition of Leopold, Lilian, and their children from 1960-2002. 

The arrival of this politically inconvenient, rejected, but richly talented branch of the royal family inaugurated the golden age of the chateau. Lilian's lavish but exquisitely refined tastes transformed the bare and dilapidated mansion into a distinguished and elegant home for the former King of the Belgians. Here, with energy and passion, yet with discretion and delicacy, the royal couple devoted themselves to scientific, cultural and humanitarian pursuits; Leopold to his Fonds Léopold III Pour l'Exploration et la Conservation de la Nature and Lilian to her Fondation Cardiologique Princesse Lilian. 

After Leopold's death in 1983, Lilian cherished his memory and hoped to preserve the royal heritage of Argenteuil for future generations. In her Will, she requested that she be buried on the estate and that the chateau be maintained, essentially, as she left it, as a memorial to her husband and as a centre for scientific and cultural reunions. She hoped that, in the future, her descendants would be able to visit Argenteuil often, on their vacations. After Lilian's death in 2002, the Verhofstadt government respected none of these rather poignant last wishes. Instead, Lilian was interred at Laeken and the mansion was stripped bare and sold to the highest bidder. Nonetheless, books like Prince Alexandre's help to preserve at least the memory of the legendary royal estate. 

Little Prince Alexandre

I thought these were quite handsome pictures of Prince Alexandre Emmanuel (1942-2009), the first child of King Leopold III and Lilian Baels. 

Here is an obituary of Prince Alexandre of Belgium from The Telegraph.

Interview with Prince Alexandre

Here is a brief, but touching interview with the late Prince Alexandre of Belgium, son of King Leopold III and Princess Lilian, and older brother of the lovely Princess Esmeralda, fourteen years his junior. The interview took place during the production of Nicolas Delvaulx's documentary, Léopold III, mon père, featuring the testimonies of Alexandre and Esmeralda. In the interview, Alexandre soberly discusses his youthful traumas. As a boy, he witnessed the tensions of the Royal Question at close hand. He slept badly during the royal family's exile in Switzerland, overhearing representatives of the Belgian government coming and going and raised voices in his father's study until the early hours of the morning. Later, as a teenager, Alexandre suffered severely from a heart condition which required surgery in Boston. The real reason for his trip to the United States was carefully hidden from him until the last moment. Journalists who arrived at the hospital to interview Leopold were instructed not to mention the impending operation.

The clip also touches on Alexandre's marriage to Léa Wolman, who had already been twice divorced. Esmeralda explains that her mother, who disapproved of Léa, initially refused even to consider the possibility of meeting her. Alexandre, who was very close to his mother, yet unable to contemplate life without his beloved, was placed in a painful dilemma. In the end, he decided to marry Léa without telling Lilian for seven years... I am not sure how he squared this step, however emotionally understandable, with his religion, since the Catholic faith prohibits divorce and remarriage while someone's first spouse is still alive. The clip includes a letter written by Alexandre to Lilian, imploring her to accept his choice of wife:

"Dear Maman, I want you to read this letter in all tranquillity, in the beautiful place of Hinteriss, which you love...I must speak to you of Léa. After 48 years, I am certain of knowing the most important woman of my life, except for you, of course. I profoundly wish that you would meet her. It is now four years since I discovered her. It is no longer possible for me to live without her. The happiness I feel with Léa is essential to me. I cannot do without it. ...Dear Maman, I would be so sad to make you unhappy. But you must accept to know her. What is certain is that you have many points in common. After fifty years, I will never find another such chance at happiness. Your son who loves you more than anything, Alexandre." 

Today, we also remember Alexandre's grandfather, King Albert I, who died so tragically on this day in 1934. What a pity that Leopold's children by Lilian never had a chance to meet him. May he rest in peace +

Desolation at Argenteuil

Here is a rather sad slideshow of the estate of Argenteuil fallen into disrepair. The photographs date from 2004, two years after the death of Princess Lilian, and the same year that Jean-Marie Delwart purchased the property. Although I have nothing against Monsieur Delwart, I wish Argenteuil could have been maintained, as Lilian had hoped, as she left it, as a memorial to Leopold III and his second family. It seems tragic that such a rich chapter in Belgian royal history should slip into oblivion. I can understand why Madame Jeannine Degrève, the most faithful member of the household of Argenteuil, who had remained in Princess Lilian's service for 53 years, locked up the empty, deserted mansion for the last time with tears in her eyes.

It must have been even more painful for Prince Alexandre and Princess Esmeralda to see their youthful home stripped bare. While the state furnishings, borrowed in 1961, returned to Laeken, the children had to preside over the sale of many family treasures, including Princess Lilian's wardrobe and much of King Leopold's library, since they were unable to keep them at Argenteuil or accommodate them in their own homes. Their sister Marie-Christine's insistence on receiving her portion of her mother's inheritance in cash rather than in goods also made it necessary to sell family goods for profit. Furthermore, forced to empty Argenteuil in haste, Alexandre and Esmeralda could give only general instructions to those responsible for classifying the chateau's contents and setting items aside for sale. Objects of special historical value, intimately linked to the lives of past Belgian kings, were dispersed because Lilian's heirs could not oversee everything in detail.

Unfortunately, however, often unaware of these practical problems, many Belgians harshly criticized Alexandre and Esmeralda. In the press, they were portrayed as heartless, greedy individuals, crassly dilapidating the "national heritage" for money. The attacks seem quite unfair and ironic, as Lilian's heirs had battled, for months, to preserve Argenteuil, essentially intact, as a memorial to their parents' cultural, scientific and humanitarian work, and it was the Belgian state that had made this impossible... Ironically, too, there was a singular lack of public indignation at the government's sale of Argenteuil itself!


Photographs courtesy of Tatiana Faber

More photographs, of the interior of the mansion

Death of a Princess

On June 7, 2002, Princess Lilian of Belgium, born Mary Lilian Baels, widow of King Leopold III, died peacefully, after a long illness, at her home at Argenteuil, near Waterloo. One of her doctors, and close collaborators in the Princess Lilian Cardiological Foundation, Charles van Ypersele de Strihou, later testified:

During her long illness, the Princess never complained. Although aware of her prognosis, She nevertheless fought step by step with a courage that commanded the admiration of physicians and nurses. She kept her sense of humour, confronted the physicians with the limits of their art and obtained the best of their talents. She remained attached to life despite the hardship of illness and some moments of discouragement. A few weeks before her death, She confided gratefully that She had enjoyed her long, full life. (Charles van Ypersele de Strihou, "Princess Lilian: some personal recollections," in Proceedings of the Princess Lilian Cardiology Foundation Symposium to commemorate its Patron, HRH Princess Lilian of Belgium, "Cardiology and cardiovascular surgery at the onset of the XXIst century," Acta Cardiologica - An International Journal of Cardiology, suppl. to volume 59, 2004, p. 20, quoted by Michel Verwilghen in Le Mythe d'Argenteuil: demeure d'un couple royal, 2006, p. 39)

Verwilghen adds:

She who, during her life, had morally suffered so from the innumerable calumnies of which she was the victim, did not know the physical pains of the end of life. Some of her intimates said that Providence spared her a long and painful agony. As if she were falling asleep, she slipped, little by little, into unconsciousness, a few moments after the final auscultation. She ceased to breathe less than an hour later. Death came shortly before 1 pm, while Princess Lilian was surrounded only by her silent doctors and supported by her maid, whose sobs, restrained with difficulty, expressed her profound emotion.

The chatelaine of Argenteuil, who royally personified that marvelous corner of Belgium, transfigured by her talent, had left it, after living there for more than 41 years. Her mortal remains would rest there for eight days yet, before passing, for the last time, through the gates of the royal dwelling over which, at her suggestion, had been forged two "L's", interlaced and surmounted with a crown, monograms of Leopold and Lilian, evocative of their common destiny. (p. 40, translated from the French original)

Before her death, Lilian had the joy of becoming a grandmother twice, with the birth of Alexandra and Leopoldo to her youngest daughter, Marie-Esmeralda. It had been highly uncertain whether Lilian would ever have grandchildren, since Marie-Esmeralda married very late in life, and Alexandre and Marie-Christine, who had married earlier, never had children. But, at long last, Lilian had the consolation of knowing that the family she had founded with King Leopold would continue....Tragically, however, although she had hoped for a healing of the rift with her eldest daughter, Lilian died without ever being reconciled with Marie-Christine.

Sad News

Little Alexandre with his big sister, Josephine-Charlotte

Prince Alexandre Emmanuel of Belgium, son of King Leopold III and Princess Lilian, passed away today. He was only 67 years old.The sad news has been officially confirmed by the Royal Palace. Apparently the Prince, who had suffered from heart problems since childhood, died of a pulmonary embolism.

Strange, I was just thinking of Alexandre recently...all my condolences go to his widow, Princess Léa, his sisters, Princesses Marie-Christine and Marie-Esmeralda, and the whole royal family of Belgium.

May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Alexandre and his wife, Léa