Another Albert and Elisabeth of Belgium

The Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia

Here are some articles on the life of Isabel Clara Eugenia, the daughter of Philip II of Spain who became the ruler of the Spanish Netherlands.  With her husband, Archduke Albert of Austria, she consolidated the victory of the Counter-Reformation in the future Kingdom of Belgium.  Hundreds of years later, Isabel became an inspiration to her namesake, Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of the Belgians, the consort of King Albert I. 

In March of 1588, the ministers of Henry III of France, his contemporary, announced that King Philip was "mad": "The grand chancellor assured his awed dinner guests in Paris that while Philip's councillors debated state affairs, his eldest daughter, Isabel, was signing documents and in control of government." 

This "scandalous" announcement derived from reports made by Philip's ambassador in Paris, who had told the French king's mother, Catherine de' Medici, about the significance of Isabel's role in her father's government. Rumors were also spreading in Spain that, if Philip were "incapacitated," it would be Isabel who would "take control of the government" of her father's kingdom, and not her half-brother Philip III.

Her potential to function for her father as a "regent" had been noted as early as 1574, when an eight-year-old Isabel was suggested as regent of the Netherlands. She obviously would have been a figurehead then, but from an early age she had been extremely close to her father, who had played a "direct role" in raising her and her sister Catherine Michelle. 

Isabel, in particular, had emulated her father, and he had allowed her "to take part in his office work." By 1586, she was able to be a significant help and adviser to her father; she "read him the letters and despatches he had to deal with, adding her suggestions on how they should be answered." He "even gave her access to the most important papers of state."(Read more)

Here is an article on Isabel, the Counter-Reformation, and Rubens' series of tapestries on the Triumph of the Eucharist.

The portrait, which is today known only through copies and prints, has neither accompanying drapery, nor architecture, nor even any accessory, except for the rosary that hangs from her simple rope belt, thereby emphasizing her piety and spiritual authority. Rubens enhanced this concept by lightening the area around Isabel’s head as if she were radiating a divine glow. Barbara Welzel has noted that this halolike aura conveys Isabel’s majesty and plays with her second name, Clara, which in Spanish can mean light, thus visualizing a connection between the infanta and her moniker. An engraving after the painting with an inscription by Jan Gaspar Gevartius provides deeper specificity of meaning: (fig. 13)

of the imperial dynasty and daughter of Philip II, is praised as the jewel of Spain and the salvation of Belgium. She is the prudence of just war, the honor of chaste peace, and the love of religion. She was crowned with the oak wreath after capturing Breda, bringing the longed-for peace to Belgium, the peace it had sought in the rays of the shining Isabella.

The text unmistakably credits the infanta for the victory at Breda by calling her the “jewel of Spain and the salvation of Belgium” and the one responsible for capturing the town. That the peace was also sought in her shining rays of light further links the victory to her spirituality and heavenly empowerment. The centrality of this sentiment surfaces in the divine eye of Providence that Rubens illustrated at the top of the portrait print, above the inscription “providentia augusta ut serves vincis” (You conquer because you serve sublime Providence). The symbol of God’s guidance and intervention, the eye presides over two supple putti who crown the infanta with “the oak wreath after capturing Breda,” a wreath, which, in Roman tradition, was awarded to those who had liberated their fellow man from a subjection imposed by the enemy. The wreath, thus, came to symbolically identify the person thus crowned as a savior. This image reinforces the notion that God watches over Isabel, and, through the spiritual authority he invested in her, helped her combat his enemies at Breda to secure the victory and bring “the longed-for peace to Belgium.” (Read more)

Isabel with her husband, Albert

 

Engagement of the future King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians

Anna Maria de Visscher, mother of Princess Lilian

I think she has a lovely face. Anna Maria de Visscher was the scion of respectable bourgeoisie, the daughter of a mayor and the granddaughter of a minister. Her ancestors included illustrious figures, such as the Comte Félix de Muelenaere, a member of the National Congress that founded the Kingdom of Belgium, and three times Foreign Minister between 1831 and 1841. In 1905, Anna Maria married Henri Baels, a rising young Ostende shipowner, lawyer and politician, to whom she bore eight children, six daughters and two sons. 

During the Nazi invasion of Belgium, while her husband, the Governor of West Flanders, circulated constantly to alleviate the plight of his province, Madame Baels worked for the Red Cross. The young Lilian assisted her mother in her task, transporting wounded French and Belgian soldiers by car to the St. John Hospital in Bruges, simultaneously flooded by refugees. She also helped to evacuate the elderly from the hospice of Alost, which was within the combat zone, exposed to enemy fire. 

As the military situation headed towards disaster, however, Madame Baels decided to leave for France to bring two of her daughters, then ailing, to safety. Lilian drove the family car. At a restaurant in Bernay, near Lisieux, the news of the Belgian capitulation reached the four women. At Paul Reynaud's infamous broadcast, branding the Belgian king a traitor and felon, French and Belgian officers began vilifying Léopold III, tearing apart his photograph on the front cover of a magazine. Horrified, Lilian indignantly rebuked the officers. One spitefully retaliated by seizing the Baels' car key and throwing it into a ditch. After obtaining a replacement, the ladies proceeded to the south of France, renting a villa in Anglet, near Biarritz. 

Madame Baels would have many sorrows in the years to come. Her husband and her son were unfairly accused of cowardice and treason, while her daughter Lilian was battered by gossip and slander. According to Lilian's account, as recorded in Un couple dans la tempête (2004), the news of her secret marriage with King Léopold upset and worried her mother, who foresaw that it would provoke a political storm. "My little one, you don't know what's in store for you. It will be appalling, they will all attack you, you will have a terribly hard life," she is quoted as saying (pp. 36-37). Anna Maria Baels, née de Visscher, died of heart failure in 1950, while the question of the King's return from exile was still being decided. On the grounds that her arrival, at such an emotional moment, might sway the people in Léopold's favor, Lilian was prevented from returning to Belgium to bid farewell to her dying mother. 

The Poetry of Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte

I did not know that the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette wrote poetry during her captivity. Here are some simple but poignant excerpts.

Portrait of Empress Elisabeth

A floral portrait of Sisi. (Via History's Untold Treasures).

Wedding of Prince Amedeo

I am happy to announce the news of the wedding of Prince Amedeo of Belgium and Elisabetta Maria Rosboch von Wolkenstein.  The bride is the daughter of Italian nobility.  The couple were married in Rome on July 5.  Here is a video of the couple, announcing their engagement.  Here are photographs of the marriage ceremony. 

Néné

A portrait of Duchess Helene in Bavaria, one of the aunts of Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians.  Helene, affectionately known as Néné, was the older, steadier sister of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the legendary Sisi, and the first to be considered as a possible bride for Sisi's future husband, the Emperor Franz Joseph.

The Grandchild of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette

I had never heard until a few days ago on Elena Maria Vidal's blog that Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, Duchesse d'Angoulême, the daughter of the tragic King and Queen of France, did indeed become pregnant at one point during her exile in England.  Sadly, she suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth, and was never able to have another child.

Still, it is touching to think that Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette did have a grandchild.  I wonder if the baby was a son or a daughter.  Becoming a mother would have meant so much to Marie-Thérèse, in either case,  I am sure, but especially so if the child had been an heir to the throne.

Meanwhile, in an ironic twist of fate, Marie-Thérèse's cousin, Marie-Amélie of Naples, Duchesse d'Orléans, married into the rival branch of the royal family, was blessed with baby after baby, including the first Queen of the Belgians, Louise.  Marie-Thérèse became  Louise's godmother.

On the Tea at Trianon Forum, there is a discussion of the tragic pregnancy of the Duchesse d'Angoulême.  There is a horrible suggestion that she may have been raped in prison during the Terror and suffered damage, impairing her ability to bear children.  While I hope and pray that this was not the case, I would not put much past the depravity of her captors.

Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg and the Belgian Royal Family

Yesterday was a sorrowful centennial, marking a hundred years since the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by Serbian nationalists in Sarajevo.  As is known all too well, the killing triggered the First World War.  Above is a lovely pastel painting of the assassin's less well-known victim, the Archduke's beloved, morganatic wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg.  Below is a photograph of the couple with their three surviving children.  Sophie died along with her husband, just a few days before their fourteenth wedding anniversary.   Here is an article on their tender courtship, loving marriage, and tragic deaths.   Here is an interview with a great-granddaughter of the couple.

I cannot help noting that there are a number of connections and similarities between the lives of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie and those of the Kings and Queens of the Belgians.  The Archduke and his wife were married on July 1, 1900, only three months before the wedding of Prince Albert and Princess Elisabeth of Belgium on October 1, 1900.  The terrorist actions that claimed the lives of Franz Ferdinand and his wife led to horrific suffering for the people of Belgium, dragged as innocent bystanders into the world war.  The King and Queen of the Belgians and their children suffered bitterly through the war with their people. The double tragedy of the loss of husband and wife reminds me of the shock of the traumatic deaths of King Albert I and Queen Astrid in rapid succession.  Like many of the Belgian royal family, the Archduke and his wife seem to have been decent, devout people, with a loving marriage and family life.  Like Princess Lilian of Belgium, Sophie bore the humiliations of her status as a morganatic bride with dignity.  Like Queen Astrid, she was rumored to have been pregnant at the time of her death. 

The Return of Old Friends

I am delighted that the wonderful website of the Cercle Léopold III is once more online.  For a long time, it seemed to have disappeared from cyberspace.  Founded on Belgian National Day, July 21, 2002, this Franco-Belgian association is dedicated to illuminating the controversial reign of Leopold III, and to preserving and defending his memory from false accusations.  "A fidelity to the honor of a man," is the motto of the organization.  Established in Prigonrieux, in Dordogne, and headquartered at the Château du Haut Pezaud, in Monbazillac, France, the Cercle Léopold III enjoys the patronage of Princess Marie-Esmeralda, the King's youngest daughter.  The late French writer Marcel Jullian, a friend of Leopold and his second wife, Princess Lilian, served as honorary president before his death.  Jacques Borgers, of the World Organization of the Periodical Press,  was given the presidency.  The association is open to membership by individuals of all nationalities.  The website is replete with many fascinating historical articles, book summaries, news updates, and beautiful photographs. Unfortunately, the texts tend to be only in French.

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. 

The Princesses' Cookbook

Here is an article by Maia Brindley Nilsson of Semiswede on a beloved Swedish recipe known as the Green Cake or Princess Cake. Apparently the recipe was developed by Jenny Åkerström, home economics teacher of the future Queen Astrid of the Belgians and her sisters.

Jenny Åkerström is credited as the originator of the recipe. Åkerström was a Swedish home economics guru at the beginning of the 20th century and was even an instructor to the three Swedish princesses, Margaretha, Märtha, and Astrid, daughters of Prince Carl (brother of King Gustaf V). She published a four volume series of cookbooks called Prinsessornas Kokbok: Husmanskost och Helgdagsmat (Princesses Cookbook: Home Cooking and Holiday Food). The first edition came out in 1929 with the princess’ portraits gracing the cover. With it’s great success came eighteen reprints with revisions up through 1952. 

I wasn’t able to find any definitive information about why the books were called the princess cookbooks or why the princesses agreed to have their images on the cover other than the fact that Jenny Åkerström was their teacher and the princesses were seen as role models. Their education included child care and cooking which was innovative at the time. In a feminist sense, formal domestic training highlighted the professionalism required to manage a home and children. 

Korena Vine of Korena in the Kitchen gives more details on the origin of the name of the cake as well as beautiful pictures of it:

One story is that this later became known as “princess cake” (prinsesstårta) because the three princesses are said to have loved it so much. Another story is that Ms. Åkerström actually created three very elaborate “princess cake” recipes – a different one for each princess – and that the current version is a simplified combination of all three. That explains the princess connection, but the reason for the cake being green still seems to be a mystery. Today, prinsesstårta is popular in Finland as well as Sweden – so much so that the third week in September is officially Prinsesstårta Week!

Praying to St. Anne

This is not a picture of any of the Belgian royals, but rather of two of the greatest princesses whom they count among their relatives.   This large stained glass window was given to the Basilica of Sainte-Anne d’Auray by Henri, Comte de Chambord, the last heir to the elder line of the Bourbons. The window depicts Henri's mother, Caroline of Naples, Duchesse de Berry, and his aunt, Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte, Duchesse d'Angoulême, the daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. The two women are shown praying to St. Anne, the patron saint of Brittany.  Marie-Thérèse and Caroline were the cousin and niece, respectively, of Marie-Amélie of Naples, Duchesse d'Orléans, later known as Queen of the French, as the wife of Louis-Philippe. Marie-Amélie was the mother of Louise-Marie, the first Queen of the Belgians, and the foremother of all the Belgian kings after Leopold I. 

(Image)

Preparing for a Queen's Funeral

The first days of September, 1935 were a sad time for the peoples and royal families of Belgium and Sweden. The little heir to the Belgian throne, Prince Baudouin, had lost his loving mother, Queen Astrid, in a car accident, barely more than a week before his fifth birthday.  Together with his father, King Leopold III, his older sister, Princess Josephine-Charlotte, his younger brother, Prince Albert, his Swedish grandparents, Prince Carl and Princess Ingeborg, and his other maternal relatives, Baudouin had suffered a devastating bereavement which would cast a pall over his whole family for decades.

Meanwhile, the Belgian people were reeling from the cruel, senseless loss of their idolized young Queen, who had been so full of life, charm, beauty, goodness and promise.  In her memoirs, Astrid's intimate friend, Countess Anna Sparre, describes the scenes of intense, reverent mourning in Belgium. Spontaneously, the people filed past pictures of the late Queen, carrying flowers and candles, kneeling to pray for her soul, for her stricken husband and children.

Anna also mentions the grief in Sweden at the loss of this beloved daughter and princess, as illustrated by the women's magazine pictured above. Anna herself had learned abruptly of her friend's death during a chance conversation. After innocently mentioning Astrid, with whom she had recently spent a pleasant alpine vacation, she was stunned to hear of the tragedy. Initially, Anna could not believe the news, insisting that there must be some mistake, but the signs of mourning outside soon showed that the painful tidings were all too true. Like the people of Brussels, the men and women of Stockholm wept openly in the streets. Astrid's mother was prostrated with grief.

Anna's memoirs also give us an insight into the way those touched by Astrid's death tried to cope with her loss by comforting one another. Anna attended the funeral of Queen Astrid as the personal guest of King Leopold. Although she dreaded meeting him after the tragedy, Anna did her best to console the heartbroken widower, himself physically injured from the accident. Anna gives many touching details of their first meeting and conversation after her arrival in Brussels.  Concerned that he build up his strength for the fatiguing day ahead, she helped to serve his breakfast on the morning of the funeral, while her own hands trembled...For her part, Anna received kindness from Leopold's aunt, the Duchess of Vendôme, who asked to hear her memories of Astrid as a child.

The prayer card at the top of this post perhaps best sums up Astrid's legacy, with the following quote from the Apocalypse: Blessed are those who die in the Lord, for their works follow them!

The New Queen

Here is an article about Princess Mathilde, who will become Belgium's seventh queen consort on July 21, and her eldest daughter, Princess Elisabeth. Mathilde will be the first Queen of the Belgians to have been born in Belgium. Elisabeth, in turn, is set to become the country's first queen regnant.

Villa Parkudden

Here are some old pictures of the childhood summer residence of Queen Astrid's family, in Stockholm. The little princess' parents, Carl and Ingeborg of Sweden, lived here from 1899-1908.  The last picture shown is an invitation to a garden party on the grounds of the villa.

Princess of Sweden

This appears to be an issue of a Swedish magazine dedicated to Queen Astrid from 1936. It seems to feature a testimony from Astrid's father, Prince Carl of Sweden, regarding his deceased daughter and her mother and siblings. I do not know, but it might be the same testimony quoted by Count Robert Capelle in his memoirs of his service to Astrid's husband, King Leopold III. In any case, we can see that Astrid remained a popular figure in her homeland, and that she was far from forgotten after her marriage to the heir to the Belgian throne.

The Belgian Abdication

The Mad Monarchist has some reflections on the similarities and differences between the abdications of Albert II and his father, Leopold III, as well as good wishes for the new King of the Belgians to be, Prince Philippe Leopold Louis Marie, Duke of Brabant.

Some media outlets have erroneously reported that this is the first abdication in Belgian history which, I am sure, most monarchists at least know is not true. King Leopold III abdicated in 1950 but he was, until now, the only Belgian monarch to abdicate and that was under some rather unique (and unfair) circumstances. King Leopold I did offer to abdicate once but his people did not wish it. He, as well as King Leopold II, King Albert I and King Baudouin all reigned until their deaths. Traditionally, the situation in Belgium is rather like that in the United Kingdom; abdications have happened but only rarely and under difficult circumstances. So, in that regard, the abdication of King Albert II is something surprising and out of the ordinary... 

In any event, Prince Philippe will soon be the new King of the Belgians and I would be hard pressed to name a modern royal figure for whom I have greater respect for than the Duke of Brabant. I do hope he takes the name ‘King Leopold IV’ rather than ‘King Philippe I’ but, alas, I doubt it. I am sure he will be told that the name “Leopold” has negative connotations these days but that is unfair and unfortunate. Particularly the last one, King Leopold III, has been the victim of some of the most gross injustices and slander of any royal figure in recent history. He was a fine, upstanding, God-fearing man who does not deserve to be spoken of with anything less than pride and admiration. Similarly, whatever he shall be called, it remains to be seen if Prince Philippe will be given a fair chance. As we have talked about before, the Duke of Brabant has also been subject to many unfair efforts to lower his standing in the eyes of the public with all sorts of slander and cruel jokes being made about him despite the fact that he has done nothing at all to deserve it. In fact, he has often been ridiculed specifically for being such an upstanding man. I pray he will be given a fair chance and that the public will rally to support him. If he is given that support I have no doubt he will be one of the great monarchs of Belgian history. He certainly has the character for it. (Read entire post)

A Filial Tribute

Here is a brief clip of Prince Philippe paying tribute to his father, King Albert II, on the day after the monarch's announcement of his upcoming abdication. Pictures of the soon-to-be King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and their children HERE. 

The Kindness of Princess Lilian

Royalement has a touching testimony from Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, who was close to her Belgian uncle and aunt, King Leopold III and his second wife, Lilian Baels. Princess Lilian is so often described as cold, calculating and selfish, yet many personal accounts suggest the opposite. Here is an English translation of Maria Gabriella's account, published by Christophe Vachaudez in L'Eventail in September, 2002, two months after Lilian's death.

It is hard for me to speak of my aunt Lilian, so soon after her passing, without feeling the tears springing to my eyes. I very much miss her presence, as well as our frequent telephone conversations. I met her for the first time in Portugal, at the beginning of the 1950s. My uncle and my aunt Lilian were passing through Estoril, and were traveling to America. I saw them again in Brussels, for the eightieth birthday of my grandmother, Queen Elisabeth. It was a very joyous birthday. Aunt Lilian was resplendent, she was expecting Esmeralda.  

In 1958, I was again in Belgium, invited to a court ball. It was my first ball, I was delighted, and at the same time, very intimidated. I was staying at Laeken, and the evening of my arrival, Aunt Lilian came into my room. She wanted to see my evening dress. Very quickly understanding that I suffered from painful shyness, an inheritance from the Coburgs, she reassured me by admiring my gown and saying a thousand kind things to me.  

From that time on, my affectionate friendship for my "Belgian uncle and aunt" never weakened. I went to see them at Argenteuil, Ciergnon, Hinteriss, or in Biot, in the south of France. With my aunt, we talked about everything. The conversation was always interesting, and often amusing. Aunt Lilian was one of the most beautiful women I have known. She was also very intelligent and enthusiastic about life, with a strong, decided character. She was sometimes misunderstood. However, she had a big heart and always showed herself ready to help her neighbor. My affection and admiration for my aunt continued unclouded, without interruption, for 42 years, and I will miss her forever.

The Abdication of Albert II

Well, it's official this time. Today, King Albert II of the Belgians announced his abdication, effective July 21, 2013, in favor of his son, Prince Philippe. I hope and pray for the best for Albert and Paola, for the new King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, for the rest of the Belgian royal family, and for their people and country.