Victoria & Charlotte

Paintings of the young Queen Victoria, intermingled with portraits of her cousin, Princess Charlotte of Belgium (the future Empress Carlota of Mexico) as a little girl. I was really struck by the family resemblance!

King Baudouin in the Congo

We now come to the most controversial era in the history of royal visits to the Belgian Congo- the first decade of King Baudouin's reign. The young monarch visited Belgium's prized colony three times in this period, amidst mounting political tensions and demands for independence- a goal finally achieved in 1960. Above, we see a sombre Baudouin, arriving for the celebrations to mark this occasion in Kinshasa.

The last years of Belgian colonial rule were a deeply troubled, violent time. Nonetheless, the King's first visit- in the summer of 1955- left happy memories. The King was enthusiastically welcomed and nicknamed Bwana Kitoko ("Handsome Young Man") by the Congolese. Queen Fabiola, in her open letter on the 10th anniversary of her husband's death, recalled the warm atmosphere of this tour, while evoking the tragedies to come:

His first visit to the Congo left the memory of a young king, relaxed and cheerful among the Africans, amidst mutual sympathy and attachment. For this reason, he suffered greatly from the murderous clashes later endured in the Congo by Belgians and Congolese.

The moment was already fast approaching when Belgium and the Congo would part ways. From 1955 on, the movement for self-determination, led by nationalists such as Joseph Kasavubu and Patrice Lumumba, became increasingly vocal. In 1958, Lumumba founded the National Congolese Movement (MNC) and was soon leading strikes and demonstrations against the Belgian régime. The climate became increasingly bitter; many Belgians, not surprisingly, were reluctant to relinquish their lucrative empire. 1959 (the year of Baudouin's second colonial tour) began tragically with riots in Léopoldville. What was Baudouin's view of the developments? According to David Wilsford's Political Leaders of Contemporary Europe: a biographical dictionary:

In 1959, King Baudouin addressed the Belgian nation and for the first time recognized that independence of the Congo was imminent. Black leaders continued to organize and criticize the colonial power; they envisioned a presidential, autonomous system of government for the Congo. Baudouin, however, still viewed the colony as an "inheritance" and favored a "Belgian-Congolese" community where he would be maintained as king both of Belgium and the Congo. Nonetheless, in the midst of great political turmoil (and haste, making it impossible for the country to prepare adequately for self-government), the colony was granted independence on June 1, 1960 (p. 30)

Are we to understand that Congolese leaders wanted a complete break with the colonial past, and a republican constitution, whereas Baudouin hoped for an arrangement analogous to the British Commonwealth?

The independence celebrations, according to one fervent nationalist author, began in an exalted atmosphere combining "the pain of separation and the intoxication of liberty." The Guardian, by contrast, reported that the crowd in Kinshasa was "as small, and as unenthusiastic as an independence crowd could very well be. There were only about four thousand there, due, perhaps, to the confusion caused by hasty arrangements." In any case, it was the occasion for a royal visit which, unfortunately, rapidly degenerated into a diplomatic disaster.

Ceremonial gunfire marked the solemn occasion. The King, after praising the Belgians' contributions to the Congo over the past 80 years (even declaring that independence was the "crowning of the work" initiated by the "genius" of his forebear, Leopold II, the founder of the colony, and continued by the Belgian pioneers who helped to build the country) and insisting that the Congolese owed Belgium a debt of gratitude, warned his audience of the heavy responsibilities of their newfound sovereignty:

...Your rulers will know the difficult task of governing. They will have to make the general interests of the country their first priority. They will have to teach the Congolese people that independence is not realized by the immediate satisfaction of facile enjoyment, but by work, respect of the freedom of others and the rights of minorities, by tolerance and the order without which no democratic regime can subsist...

Baudouin's speech has aroused sharp criticism to this day. His tribute to the colonial régime is portrayed as shameless whitewashing of decades of brutal exploitation; his words of warning, as arrogant paternalism. The praise of the Belgians' work in the Congo certainly contrasts with the critical portrayals of colonialism by Albert I and Leopold III. 

Lumumba (by then, the Congo's first Prime Minister) responded with an impromptu, violent denunciation of the evils of colonial rule.

Our wounds are too fresh and too smarting (for us to ever forget the colonial régime of the past 80 years)...(We) have known ironies, insults, and blows which we had to undergo morning, noon and night because we were Negroes. We have seen our lands spoiled in the name of laws which only recognised the right of the strongest. We have known laws which differed according to whether it dealt with a black man or a white.

We have known the atrocious sufferings of those who were imprisoned for their political opinions or religious beliefs and of those exiled in their own country. Their fate was worse than death itself. Who will forget the rifle-fire from which so many of our brothers perished, or the gaols in to which were brutally thrown those who did not want to submit to a regime of injustice, oppression and exploitation which were the means the colonialists employed to dominate us?

Tempers ran high (which was especially unfortunate, as the mood of the festivities had, hitherto, been fairly amicable), and the King, mortally offended, decided to cut short his visit and return to Belgium immediately. He was persuaded to stay, but reportedly long retained bitter memories of the episode...

So, our series on royal visits to the Congo sadly ends on a troubled note.

"Lil chérie..."

In Léopold III, photographe (2006), Princess Esmeralda of Belgium includes a touching letter from the King to his wife, Princess Lilian, dated April 22, 1952 (the year after his abdication). The royal couple had embarked together on an expedition to Central America, but Lilian had to leave early to return to the children in Belgium.

A ma petite Lil chérie, en traversant l'isthme, d'un océan à l'autre.

Dans quelques heures, tu vogueras sur l'Atlantique vers nos chers enfants, tandis que les flots du Pacifique me transporteront vers les Iles des Perles et le mystérieux Darién.

Nous serons physiquement séparés par d'innombrables kilomètres, mais pas un instant tu ne seras, ma petite Lil adorée, loin de mes pensées; rien ne peut couper les liens d'amour qui nous unissent.

Ne sois pas triste ma petite; pense à la joie que tu éprouveras en débarquant à Anvers. Tu seras entourée de l'amour de 5 êtres qui t'adorent. Ne sois pas inquiète sur mon sort; je serai très prudent et te rejoindrai en juin en bonne santé. Je suis, comme toi, affreusement malheureux de te quitter. Je le suis d'autant plus que je n'aurai plus à mes côtés, pour parcourir la jungle du Darién et la jungle du Haut-Orénoque, ma compagne intrépide de chasse et de pêche!

Lil chérie, je t'embrasse passionément, je te serre contre mon coeur.

Embrasse les enfants. A bientôt.

Ton Léo

***

To my dearest little Lil, while crossing the isthmus, from one ocean to another.

In a few hours, you will be sailing over the Atlantic, towards our dear children, while the waves of the Pacific will transport me to the Pearl Islands and mysterious Darién.

We will be physically separated by innumerable kilometers, but not for an instant, my adored little Lil, will you be far from my thoughts; nothing can break the bonds of love that unite us.

Don't be sad, my little one; think of the joy you will feel upon landing in Antwerp. You will be surrounded by the love of 5 people who adore you.

Don't be anxious about my fate; I will be very careful and I will rejoin you in June in good health. Like you, I am dreadfully unhappy to leave you. I am all the more so as I will no longer have, at my side, to cross the jungles of Darién and Higher Orinoco, my intrepid hunting and fishing companion!

Dearest Lil, I kiss you passionately, I press you to my heart.

Kiss the children. See you soon.

Your Léo

It is really sad that this romance is often portrayed in negative (and even vulgar) terms. The royal couple's own letters (see HERE for another example) evoke a genuinely noble love. It ought to be respected rather than mocked...

(Photo courtesy of Vaikunda Raja)

Prince Charles in the Congo

I never realized before that Prince Charles (younger brother of King Leopold III) made a visit to the Congo, in 1947, while serving as Regent of Belgium. Here are some interesting videos (courtesy of British Pathe) of this trip:

The Prince in Léopoldville

The Prince in Stanleyville

An enthusiastic welcome with tribal dancing

A meeting with a local chieftain

Birthday of Princess Elisabeth

(Photos)

Today is the eighth birthday of Princess Elisabeth of Belgium. After her father, Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, she is second in line to the Belgian throne. May God bless this little Queen to be and grant her many long years!

Engagement of Umberto & Marie-José

On October 24, 1929 (ominously enough, the infamous "Black Thursday," the first day of the Wall Street Crash) the engagement of Princess Marie-José of Belgium and Prince Umberto of Savoy was officially announced. During the celebrations in Brussels, as Umberto was laying a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Ferdinando de Rosa, a young Italian, attempted to assassinate the Prince (it was supposed to be a symbolic act to protest the Italian monarchy's compliance with Mussolini). Fortunately, he failed and was arrested. It was all over so quickly that Umberto and Marie-José did not even notice what had happened. Later, when people praised the Prince for his calm and courage, the Princess misunderstood and was deeply hurt: "Do you really need calm and courage to marry me?"

The King's Appeal

On September 30, 1945, at St. Wolfgang, Austria, shortly after his liberation from German captivity, King Leopold III prepared a moving address to the Belgian nation. He expressed his gratitude and admiration for the Belgians' heroism during World War II, and protested his innocence of the charges of treason delaying his return to Belgium. On October 16, 1945, Baron Nothomb read the speech to the Belgian Senate. Here is a translation:

Belgians,

At the moment of leaving the soil where, after 11 months of captivity, I was liberated by the victorious American armies, and before reaching Switzerland, where I will await in silence the nation's pronouncement, I want to address myself to you in all sincerity, and from the depths of my heart.

Since my youth, I have lived among you. When I was 15 years old, I came to know the deep qualities of those magnificent soldiers whose simple, tenacious heroism saved our country and covered it with glory.

Later, when life put me in contact with the miners, workers and peasants of our provinces, I found again those same qualities of conscience, of heart, of will, of love of work and freedom which make the strength of our people, which have permitted it to overcome all the crises history has imposed on it, and which, I am convinced, will, this time, too, restore to it the place it has been able to earn among the most civilized nations of the world.

In 1940, when, for the second time, the German army invaded the sacred soil of our country, I took- as did my father- command of our troops. The fortune of arms was unfavorable to us. But our honor was saved.

The Belgian army and its commander have been covered with disgrace. But I know what was the conduct of our 600,000 soldiers, I who saw them under fire, without protection against the incessant attacks of the German air-force, I who saw them break themselves, for two whole days, against the front-lines of the Lys, the most fearsome armored units, I know what was their heroism.

Soldiers, when you return to your homes- some of you after five years of captivity- you will have the right to the gratitude of the country, for you have served it well. History will render you justice. Know that your commander does not forget you. Those of you who have fallen have not died in vain. For it is not only victory that makes a people great and forms a nation, it is the will to defend itself, to remain itself, to stay firm in the ordeal.

You have deserved well of your country. I am honored to have commanded you and you can be all the more proud of yourselves, as your courage and your sacrifice contributed to the final victory of the United Nations over the most ruthless of enemies. If you had not held the line so fiercely on the Lys, without any other hope than that of delaying the German onslaught, the English divisions who would form the core of the great and victorious British army, would probably not have been able to embark at Dunkirk. It is a glorious voice- that of Admiral Keyes, the hero of Zeebrugge- which, at the moment when, all over the world, you were unjustly held responsible for the defeat, made itself heard, with an admirable honesty, to render you this homage.

When, on May 28th, I understood that all further resistance was futile, I decided to lay down our arms. I considered that my conscience and my responsibility as the head of the army did not permit me to sacrifice in vain thousands of soldiers and refugees. Only those who are insensible to human misery and do not know how many sorrows the death of a loved one provokes will condemn me.

Conquered, I did not wish to leave you- I could not have done so- at the moment when a long agony was beginning for you. A number of Belgians then, who did not know the real situation, reproached me for it. Some even believed I was betraying them, and the echo of their voices, which has begun to resound anew, obliges me to relive the painful hours I knew after our defeat in 1940.

But I know that the great majority among you have conserved your faith in me. I thank you from the depths of my heart and I want to tell you- with all that this implies for me in terms of responsibility before history- that I am conscious of having served you as a man and a King.

Only those who did not live through the ordeals of enemy occupation can maintain that the sacrifice I made by becoming a prisoner to remain among you was not useful to the country.

I have the right to affirm- and the proof, one day, will be furnished to you- that the passive resistance I firmly maintained prevented Belgium from negotiating with Germany, momentarily victorious, and supported her in her refusal to let herself be seduced or enslaved by the enemy, aided by a handful of traitors and bad citizens whom we will refuse to consider Belgians any longer.

By remaining among you as your imprisoned sovereign, by not accepting to reign under the occupation, by refusing, despite the pressing offers of which I was the object, to treat with the enemy, I not only saved the country's honor, I maintained its right to independence and will to remain, despite the odious violence done to it, a sovereign nation.

Throughout the whole occupation, as I saw, with proud admiration, the Belgian nation rallying, organizing resistance and forming, in Belgium and in England, the new army to liberate the country, I held myself to the line of conduct I had fixed since the capitulation: to refuse all negotiation with the enemy, to do nothing...which could harm the military, political or economic interests of the noble nations whose armies had responded to our appeal...

People have told you, provoking German testimonies, that I was at Berchtesgaden to save the dynasty by selling my country. Those who have told you this have slandered me. They know- or they could have known, since I offered to show them my dossiers- that, if I agreed to visit Hitler who, a perjurer to his word, had invaded Belgium, it was only to try to stop that odious attempt to divide the nation, consisting in sending home only the Flemish prisoners, and also so that your children could have more bread.

People have told you that I arranged my own deportation, and that of my family, to avoid being among you at the moment of liberation. And they have not hesitated to accuse me of trying to deceive you by publicly protesting against the violence that was done to me.

The conscience of the nation will be able to judge the attitude of those who have taken upon themselves the responsibility for such defamation.

I did not have the happiness, which you knew, to be present at the liberation. And, alone today among the Belgians who endured the suffering of captivity and exile, I have been refused the joy of returning to my homeland.

I accept, for Belgium, this new sacrifice, with the ardent hope that I will see, from afar, concord and union re-established among the Belgians.

Respectful of the institutions and liberties of our parliamentary regime, upon which are based the independence and the prosperity of our country, I have recourse to the sovereignty of the people.

The Belgian monarchy is founded on the common will of the citizens. Whatever this will may be. Whatever the legal means by which it may be expressed, I accept, in advance, its verdict.

Since the start of my reign, serving my country was my only ambition. Tomorrow, like yesterday and today, despite everything, to this I will remain faithful.

(s) Leopold.

(Translated from the French version on the website of Le Vétéran. The document is also included in the annexes of the King's memoirs).

Engagement of Leopold & Astrid

King Albert & Queen Elisabeth in the Congo

The last decade of King Albert's reign was filled with a rapid succession of royal trips to the Congo...We have seen how Prince Leopold journeyed through Belgium's African possessions in 1925 and 1933. His parents did likewise in 1928 and 1932. Colonial issues were always close to the King's heart. In 1920, amidst the aftermath of World War I, while Belgian politicians were still focusing on the nation's recovery, Albert took the initiative of launching a Colonial Congress, the first in Belgian history. He emphasized the role the Congo could play in Belgium's economic development, while also inveighing against abuse of the native population. Plans for a royal visit were soon underway, and the first opportune moment came in 1928.

Accompanied by his wife, Queen Elisabeth, Albert arrived in Africa for the second time in his life. He had last seen the Congo as a young prince in 1909, and he would now retrace his steps. He wore a handsome white and gold uniform specially designed for the trip. Ordinarily, Albert was known for his royal indifference to externals ("Look for the worst dressed fellow of the bunch," he once told an official who asked how to recognize him when he was traveling incognito). Yet, the Congolese attached great importance to the outward trappings of rank and authority, so the King had to dress more grandly on his African visits.

According to a contemporary account of the trip:

The itinerary the King and Queen followed enabled them to visit the most interesting regions of our African colony. From Boma to Banana, the Sovereigns made the complete circuit of the Congo. Thanks to (modern transport), they were able, from Léopoldville, to reach Katanga directly, without having to make the long journey by river. From Elisabethville, where they arrived after a rapid journey by air and rail, the King and his entourage were able to retrace the route taken 20 years earlier by Prince Albert. It was a long...journey along the river, from Bukama to Banana, with many varied stops, with short trips by rail whenever the river ceased to be navigable, and a quick flight by air from Colquilhatville to Léopoldville and Boma (Boula Matari ou le Congo Belge, Jacques Crokaert, 1929).

Warmly welcomed throughout the trip, the King and Queen made detours to visit the agricultural enterprises of Mayumba, the diamond mines of Kasai, the rich lands of Rwanda, Urundi, Kivu and Uele. They met with colonial dignitaries, Christian missionaries and native chieftains alike. Crokaert describes the journey in rather complacent and triumphalist terms, eulogizing the genius of Leopold II in acquiring the colony, citing the vast technological progresses in the Congo since Albert's last visit, and stressing the natives' debt of gratitude for the benefits of European civilization. The King, however, told a different story. In a letter, he noted, with his customary caustic irony:

We have already seen many things, and, above all, many people. Very busy program, pathological insistence of public servants, private individuals, and even servants of God on being endlessly complimented on what they do or even do not do...

Boma has not changed in 19 years. The governor-general's house is a dirty box. Matadi: frightful. An insult to the majestic river. Léo-Kin cuts a good figure, could become a magnificent city....

To say the voyage is a pleasure would be a lie...The mentality of the big officials for the most part bad. The little ones are often worth more. Great greed everywhere, malice without bounds, few agreeable people. Some great potential in private enterprises (Léopold III, by Vincent Dujardin, Mark van den Wingaert, et. al. 2001.)

Quite critical, like his son! Yet, happier memories of Albert's Congo trips have also come down to us. Le Roi Albert et les Missions (1935) by Joseph Masson, S. J., for instance, provides a wealth of information on the royal couple's close and touching relationship with the Catholic missionaries in Africa. Despite the King's critical comments in his letter, he clearly admired their heroism, as many stories testify (see HERE). Once, for instance, he visited a convent school for young girls, future mothers of Christian homes. He was deeply moved by the experience and quietly told one of the nuns: "Continue, Sister, to devote yourself to this work, for the greater glory of God and for our country." To other missionaries, he confided: "I desire that, at my death, not a single pagan be left in the Congo." His concern for the spiritual welfare of his African subjects was matched by concern for their material prosperity too. He insisted on personally visiting the homes of ordinary people to see, with his own eyes, their living conditions. According to Masson, the indigenous people were very impressed by the kindness and piety of Albert and Elisabeth. Apparently, in religious controversies between Protestant and Catholic Congolese, the latter would even use the King's devout Catholic faith as a clinching argument: "You see the King belongs to our Church, so it must be the true one."

To the end of his life, King Albert was keenly preoccupied with Belgium's distant colony. In 1932, he would return for his third visit, traveling by air through the cotton farms of Uele and the national park bearing his name. As a final touching detail, his last day of work (according to Masson) was devoted to the Congo.

Adélaïde de Bourbon-Penthièvre, Duchesse d'Orléans

Queen Louise-Marie's grandmother. A fascinating and dramatic story!