Mourning a Prince

Again, I have to apologize for a long absence. This was not due to lack of interest in the Belgian royal family, but I have been very busy with studies and pro-life work. I will still be maintaining this blog, but it seems that I will have to post here less often than in previous years.

I find many of the old prayer cards commemorating deceased members of the Belgian royal family to be quite touching and sobering, as well as helpful in shedding light on traditional Belgian religious practices. Here are memorial cards to Prince Baudouin (1869-1891), the handsome, pious and gifted elder brother of King Albert I.

Netley Lucas, in Albert the Brave: King of the Belgians, captures the mood of the Belgians during the tragic family illness that so suddenly took the life of the heir to the throne. The shattering effect of the loss of his nephew upon the ostensibly cold, formidable and impervious King Leopold II is especially striking.

Towards the end of 1890, Prince Albert caught a bad cold, which developed quickly into a species of influenza. From the Prince the illness spread to his sister Princess Josephine, and from her to Princess Henriette, whose condition grew gradually worse until it was considered necessary to publish bulletins. The life of the Princess was for some days in danger. The anxiety of the Count and Countess was lightened by the manifestations of popular sympathy with which they were overwhelmed. The Palace of the Rue de la Regence was besieged with streams of callers of all ranks and classes, who begged for the latest news or brought gifts that, in the case of the poorer donors, were indicative of the very deep sympathy felt by everyone. 

The malady ran its course, but happily the constitution of the Princess, strengthened by the simple, wholesome life she had led, withstood the strain. Towards the middle of January, 1891, Princess Josephine was pronounced out of danger. But no sooner were her parents relieved of one anxiety than another arose. On January 17th, only a day after the hopeful report of the Princess had been published, Prince Baudouin was taken ill. He took the disease in a lighter form, and though his condition gave rise to anxiety, he was not at first so ill as had been his sister, and no bulletins were issued. He was indeed well enough to take a walk. Unhappily, the illness increased suddenly, and despite every precaution, Prince Baudouin developed pleuropneumonia. He grew steadily worse, after less than a week's illness, he passed away on January 23rd, 1891.  

Prince Baudouin was in his twenty-second year. It was stated that he would probably have married his cousin Princess Clementine. By a sad coincidence his death took place on the fiftieth anniversary of the death of King Leopold's only son. Queen Victoria and all the crowned heads of Europe hastened to express their condolence with the bereaved parents and King Leopold. Court mourning in Belgium was ordered for three months.  

The funeral took place on January 29th, amidst universal signs of sorrow. The service in St. Gudule was deeply pathetic. The coffin was followed by King Leopold who, said the representative of The Times, "was quite overcome by emotion and walked with halting steps, supported on his left by the Count of Flanders, who was himself weeping bitterly...The young Prince Albert, the sole surviving son of the Count of Flanders, who walked by his father, also betrayed profound grief."(pp. 29-30)

Above is a highly symbolic scene, featuring the Cross, flowers, dynastic heraldry, mourning ribbons and a drooping Belgian flag, with the words:

"The entire Nation weeps for the beloved prince whom cruel death has snatched from our hopes."

Here, Belgian Catholics are entreated to pray for the repose of the soul of their prince, while being reassured that he died with the benefit of the Sacraments of the Church. Pious thoughts are also offered:

"My kingdom is not of this world."

"It is the Lord who heals their broken hearts and binds their wounds."

"God will clothe him in a mantle of justice and place on his head a crown of glory."

"Merciful Jesus, give him eternal rest."

Gossip

January 23 will mark the anniversary of the death of Prince Baudouin of Belgium (1869-1891), the much-regretted elder brother of King Albert I. In Albert of Belgium: defender of right (1935), Emile Cammaerts describes the king's efforts to silence the scandalous rumors surrounding the prince's passing. (The pious, conscientious young man had been portrayed as an inveterate philanderer who had fallen victim to a crime of passion or a suicide).

Talking to M. de Paeuw in July 1930, King Albert mentioned certain rumors which had been spread on the morrow of Prince Baudouin's sudden death, and asked him to seize the first opportunity of contradicting these statements."You must," he said, "help us to stop the calumnies which were circulated and which are still circulated regarding my brother's premature death. You see, M. le Directeur- Général, the higher we are placed the more exposed we are to mischievous gossip. Kings and Princes are even less free of it than others. Everything we do is looked at through magnifying glasses. The public cannot believe that we can live simply and that a Prince can die of a common illness like everyone else. Imaginations are stirred, tongues begin to wag, and invention is added to invention."

In order to comply with the late King's wishes, M. de Paeuw reproduced in his book, Albert, Troisième Roi des Belges, the series of letters, written in January 1891 by the Count of Flanders to Leopold II, showing conclusively that Prince Baudouin died of pneumonia, following a cold contracted in the course of his military duties (Appendix VI).

Ironically, however, similar lurid nonsense would be spread about King Albert's own premature death, on February 17, 1934.

More on Prince Baudouin
More on the family of the Count and Countess of Flanders

The Family of the Count and Countess of Flanders

In Amours royales et princières, Patrick Weber writes that the Belgian royal family has had a tradition of brothers with diametrically opposed characters. This was certainly true for Leopold II and Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, rivals who seemed to share only a taste for irony and sarcasm. In contrast to Leopold's ambitious overseas ventures and unhappy private life, Philippe and his wife, Princess Marie, a Catholic Hohenzollern, enjoyed a relatively retiring, peaceful and harmonious (if rather monotonous) existence together, in the shadow of the court. Due to Leopold's lack of a surviving male heir, however, they would become the ancestors of all the Belgian kings to come. Here are some of my favorite images of the family of Philippe and Marie. They all look so stoical!

The Countess of Flanders with her four children: Baudouin, Henriette, Josephine and Albert (on his mother's knee). I have posted on Princess Marie before; she was a strong, religious and artistic woman. She was a loving wife and mother, but very strict and proper, although later, as a grandmother, she was much more indulgent. Albert always spoke of her with great regard, but seems to have found her extreme conservatism too restricting, especially in his youth. He was attracted to liberal tutors whose opinions were diametrically opposed to hers, and felt he needed to break free of her "pietistic" outlook. He also commented: "My mother is a saint, but a saint of ice!" 

Baudouin and Henriette, the two eldest siblings in the family. They were very close and Henriette, in her diary, portrayed Baudouin as nothing less than a saint. Their mother was more critical of him, complaining of a certain weakness or lack of energy in his character. Nonetheless, most accounts of Baudouin paint a picture of a gifted, conscientious youth, pious and despising worldly vanities. Henriette and her mother were both deeply upset by Baudouin's early death and the subsequent efforts of gossip-mongers to besmirch his reputation. In response, the saddened Countess of Flanders paid tribute to the "pure memory" of her child.

I love this photograph of a little Henriette. The future Duchesse de Vendôme, staunch and opinionated royalist historian of France, already looks so decided! 

Josephine and Albert, the two youngest siblings in the family, also very close to each other, like their older counterparts. Josephine and Albert were the "modern" element in the family, according to Albert's daughter Marie-José. Josephine, who eventually became a nun, would outlive her parents and all her siblings, dying in 1958. In her old age, she fascinated Princess Lilian, the second wife of her nephew, King Leopold III, with her memories of the distant past. 

A postcard of Philippe and Marie, their daughters Henriette (top right) and Josephine (bottom left) and their son Albert, with their respective spouses, Prince Emmanuel d'Orléans, Duc de Vendôme,  Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern and Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria. Afflicted by deafness, and, perhaps, harmed by his lack of an active public life, the Count of Flanders became quite a difficult character. It's said that Albert actually had a better relationship with his uncle Leopold than with his own father. Philippe also didn't like Elisabeth, apparently. During the courtship of Albert and Elisabeth, the Count made disparaging remarks about the romance, and about his son's bride, complaining, for instance, that she was too short! This may sound unkind, but, on the whole, I think Philippe and Marie were a good couple; they were not perfect people but they had a solid marriage and home life and raised four very admirable children. 

Belgium's Lost Prince

Above, we see Prince Baudouin of Belgium (1869-1891), older brother of King Albert I. Baudouin was the first of the four children of the Count and Countess of Flanders. As the only legitimate son of his uncle, Leopold II, died as a child, Baudouin was raised as the heir to the Belgian throne. A young man of great promise, he died tragically, at age 22, of pneumonia (according to some accounts, complicated by renal hemorrhage). He was deeply mourned by his family and people.

Baudouin was particularly close to his eldest sister, Henriette (pictured below). As their niece, Marie-José, describes in her memoirs, the two siblings shared a sense of family, and a love of religion, duty, country, and tradition. According to Henriette:

At 21, Baudouin declared he would always be a traditionalist, that strength lay in tradition alone. He declared himself neither revolutionary, nor liberal, nor modern...It took courage to say this, in our democratic Belgium!

In contrast to his shy younger brother, Albert, Baudouin moved with ease in high society and enjoyed the companionship of his peers. Whereas Albert hated hunting and felt no interest in riding and dancing, Baudouin excelled in the traditional aristocratic pursuits.

In her diary, Henriette described Baudouin in the highest terms:

Baudouin was a born leader. From childhood, he held all three of us by the hand. How well he would have been complemented by his brother, Albert, if the two had been able to serve their country together! Albert, the younger one, has always preferred to take second place, and to serve a leader rather than to be one himself...Albert has a heart of gold, but, from his earliest childhood, he was irascible, and extremely sensitive, whereas in Baudouin, we were never able to find a single fault, apart from his excessive modesty.

Henriette also discussed the similarities between the two brothers:

Albert, like Baudouin, has this instinct for finding things out: to see them for himself so as not to be duped and so as to be equipped to govern...Both brothers spoke Flemish and Walloon, which neither the Count of Flanders nor King Leopold II knew, and enjoyed expressing themselves in Marollian and other dialects.

Albert great admired his older brother, and deeply regretted his loss. During World War I, he told Henriette:

"Ah! If Baudouin had survived, how different our life would have been, how much happier! What strength to be two instead of one! He would have done everything better than I."

After Baudouin's death, the press launched lurid campaign to slander his reputation. Malicious rumors circulated, to the effect that he had committed suicide or been murdered over a love affair. In her grief and indignation, Henriette wrote:

How could they launch, after his death, these tragic and painful lies! It is incomprehensible. It is true that people cannot recognize the virtue of princes, and that they so easily believe evil! He was the strongest of us all, yet he succumbed in two days! The mistake was not to announce that he had been taken to bed with a high fever. People invented stories of brawls, even of murder...over a woman. They made comparisons with the drama of Mayerling, although Baudouin became aggressive and violent whenever he spoke of Rudolf. He had experienced an impression of disgust at what he saw in Vienna during the Archduke's funeral...

Baudouin's fate prefigured that of his family. For years to come, tragedy and calumny would continue to haunt the Belgian royal house.

Below, we see one of the artistic works of the Countess of Flanders, dated shortly after Baudouin's death. The sombre tones, perhaps, reflect his mother's grief.

(The quotes in the original French may be found here)

Belgium's Lost Prince

Above, we see a photograph of King Albert's older brother, Prince Baudouin of Belgium (1869-1891). Baudouin was the first child of the Count and Countess of Flanders. As the only legitimate son of his uncle, Leopold II, died as a child, Baudouin was raised as the heir to the Belgian throne. A young man of great promise, he died tragically of pneumonia (according to some accounts, complicated by renal hemorrhage) at age 22. He was deeply mourned by his family and people.

Baudouin was particularly close to his eldest sister, Henriette (pictured below). As their niece, Marie-José, describes in her memoirs, the two siblings shared a sense of family, and a love of religion, duty, country, and tradition. According to Henriette:

À vingt-et-un ans, Baudouin avait déclaré qu'il serait toujours un traditionnaliste, que seule dans la tradition subsiste la force. Il se déclarait: ni révolutionnaire, ni libéral, ni moderne... Il fallait du courage pour avouer cela dans notre démocratique Belgique!

At 21, Baudouin had declared that he would always be a traditionalist, that strength lay in tradition alone. He declared himself neither revolutionary, nor liberal, nor modern... It took courage to say this, in our democratic Belgium!

In contrast to his shy younger brother, Albert, Baudouin moved with ease in high society and enjoyed the companionship of his peers. Whereas Albert hated hunting and lacked interest in riding and dancing, Baudouin excelled in the traditional aristocratic pursuits.

In her diary, Henriette described Baudouin in the highest terms:

Baudouin était né chef. Depuis son enfance, il nous tenait tous trois en main. Comme il serait complété avec son frère Albert s'ils avaient été deux à servir leur patrie. Le cadet, Albert, a toujours préféré être le second et servir un chef plutôt de l'être lui-même... Albert a un coeur d'or, mais dès sa plus tendre enfance, il était coléreux et d'une extrême susceptibilité, tandis qu'en Baudouin nous n'avons jamais pu découvrir un seul défaut, à part sa trop grande modestie.

Baudouin was a born leader. From his childhood, he held all three of us by the hand. How well he would been complemented by his brother, Albert, if the two had been able to serve their country together! Albert, the younger one, has always preferred to take second place, and to serve a leader rather than to be one himself... Albert has a heart of gold, but, from his earliest childhood, he was irascible, and extremely sensitive, whereas, in Baudouin, we were never able to find a single fault, apart from his excessive modesty.

Henriette also discussed the similarities between the two brothers:

Albert a, comme Baudouin, cet instinct de la recherche: voir pour lui-même afin de ne pas être dupe et d'être armé pour gouverner... Tous deux parlaient le flamand et le wallon que ni le conte de Flandre ni le roi Léopold II ne connaissaient, et ils s'amusaient à s'exprimer en marollien et d'autres patois.

Albert, like Baudouin, has this instinct for finding things out: to see them for himself so as not be duped and so as to be equipped to govern... Both brothers spoke Flemish and Walloon, which neither the Count of Flanders nor King Leopold II knew, and enjoyed expressing themselves in Marollian and other dialects.

Albert greatly admired, and regretted, his older brother. During World War I, he told Henriette:

"Ah! Si Baudouin avait vécu, comme notre vie eût été differente et plus heureuse! Quelle force d'être deux au lieu d'un! Il aurait tout mieux fait que moi."

"Ah! If Baudouin had survived, how different our life would have been, how much happier! What strength to be two instead of one! He would have done everything better than I."

After Baudouin's death, the press launched a lurid campaign to slander his reputation. Malicious rumors circulated, to the effect that he had been killed over a love affair. In her grief and indignation, Henriette wrote:

Comment a-t-on lancé, après sa mort, ces tragiques et douloureux mensonges? C'est incompréhensible. Il est vrai qu'on ne peut admettre la vertu des princes et qu'on croit si facilement le mal! Il était le plus fort de nous tous, mais il a été terrassé en deux jours! Le tort a été de n'avoir pas annoncé qu'il s'était alité avec une forte fièvre. On inventa des histoires de rixes, d'assassinat même... pour une femme. On fit des rapprochements avec le drame de Mayerling, alors que Baudouin devenait agressif et violent lorsqu'il parlait de Rodolphe. Il avait ressenti une impression de dégoût dans ce qu'il avait vu à Vienne lors de l'enterrement de l'archiduc...

How could they launch, after his death, these tragic and painful lies! It is incomprehensible. It is true that people cannot recognize the virtue of princes, and that they so easily believe evil! He was the strongest of us all, but he succumbed in two days! The mistake was not to announce that he had been taken to bed with a high fever. People invented stories of brawls, even of murder... over a woman. They made comparisons with the drama of Mayerling, although Baudouin became agressive and violent whenever he spoke of Rudolf. He had experienced an impression of disgust at what he saw in Vienna during the Archduke's funeral...

Baudouin's fate prefigured that of his family; for years to come, tragedy and calumny would continue to stalk the Belgian royal house.

(above: one of the artistic works of the Countess of Flanders, dated not long after Baudouin's death; the sombre tones, perhaps, express his mother's grief)