A Royal Gift

Here is a charming story (thank you, Viola!) of a beautiful ivory brisé fan, purchased in Paris by Queen Louise-Marie of Belgium for her niece, Queen Victoria, in 1839. Apparently, Louise-Marie and Victoria were close friends, with a shared love of fashion. Over the years, the Belgian queen sent many elegant Parisian dresses and accessories to her delighted niece in England...The fan, in particular, had reputedly belonged to Marie-Antoinette, although this is uncertain.

The King's Consolation

In his difficult public role, King Albert I found great comfort in his family life. After nine years of marriage, he wrote to his wife, Elisabeth:

Je t'écris, non pour te congratuler d'être tombée sur on ours comme moi, mais pour les mille efforts que tu as faits pour moi et pour les beaux enfants que tu m'as donnés! Voilà déjà neuf ans que nous avons unis nos destinées et je ne veux point passer ce jour sans te dire combien je suis heureux avec toi et combien j'apprécie le bonheur que tu m'as apporté au foyer et qui dans la vie est toujours le plus précieux de tout...

I write to you, not to congratulate you for having stumbled upon a bear like me, but for the countless efforts you have made for me, and for the beautiful children you have given me! It is now nine years since we united our destinies, and I am determined not to let this day pass without telling you how happy I am with you, and how much I appreciate the happiness you have brought to my home - the happiness that, in life, is always the most precious of all... 

Such a tender heart!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my dear friends. God bless!

Accession of Albert I

Today marks the centenary of the accession of King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth to the Belgian throne. On December 23, 1909, six days after the death of his uncle, Leopold II, Prince Albert swore his accession oath before Parliament, becoming the third King of the Belgians. Previous monarchs had taken the oath only in French; Albert innovated by doing so in Dutch as well. Belgians joyfully welcomed their retiring, studious, conscientious and progressive new sovereign and his lively, artistic, philanthropic, Bavarian-born consort. Their unassuming ways and happy family life, which stood in marked contrast to the haughty, aloof manners and irregular private life of Leopold II, had already won the young couple great popularity. In the years to come, this would only increase, thanks to the family's bravery during World War I.

Click HERE for excerpts from Albert's accession speech.

The Young Victoria

I've not seen it yet, but here is an interesting review by Theodore Harvey.  The portrayal of Leopold I really sounds too harsh. He is not my favorite Belgian king but, like Mr. Harvey, I do think he was probably more than a mere coldhearted, selfish intriguer. He was actually Victoria's favorite uncle!

Emily Blunt portrays Victoria (1819-1901) in her last years as a princess and first years as a queen, an important time in any sovereign's life but a particularly interesting one in this case given the dramatic contrast between the suffocating imprisonment she endured under her mother the Duchess of Kent (1786-1861) (Miranda Richardson) and the confident authority she quickly demonstrated as Queen upon her accession in 1837 at the age of 18. Miss Blunt is probably prettier than the real Victoria was, but admirably captures her dutiful yet stubborn, refined yet passionate nature. Mark Strong as the Duchess's unpopular adviser Sir John Conroy (1786-1854) is the perfect villain; the viewer is likely to resent him as much as Victoria did. Some might find Jim Broadbent's exuberant performance as King William IV (1765-1837) a bit over-the-top, but I had no trouble being convinced by the intensity of his dislike of his sister-in-law. Thomas Kretschmann's portrayal of Victoria's uncle King Leopold I of the Belgians (1790-1865) is the only one I thought unfair; all he is allowed to do is scheme and vent, and I think there was probably more to Leopold (and more genuine affection for his niece and nephew) than that. But Rupert Friend's performance as Prince Albert (1819-1861), devoted to Victoria but firmly intent on using his gifts to play the substantial political and cultural role she is at first reluctant to grant him, is exquisite, and moviegoers watching him and Blunt together are likely to have no trouble understanding why the real Victoria would be so devastated by Albert's death two decades later. As a classical musician I was particularly pleased that the movie found time to demonstrate Albert's enthusiasm for the great composers of his time.

Leopold, Philippe and Charlotte

The three surviving children of King Leopold I and Queen Louise-Marie of the Belgians: Leopold, future King Leopold II, Philippe, father of King Albert I, and Charlotte, later to become the tragic Empress of Mexico.

Accession of Leopold II

On December 17, 1865, a week after his father's death, Leopold II, King of the Belgians, ascended the throne. Leopold II is no favorite of mine. Nonetheless, here is his accession speech:

"Gentlemen: Belgium has, like myself, lost a father. The unanimous homage which the nation renders to his memory worthily responds to the sentiments which he cherished towards it during his life."

I am equally moved and grateful. Europe herself has not remained indifferent to this affliction. Foreign sovereigns and princes have wished to take part in the last honors which we render to him whom they placed so high in their confidence and friendship. I thank them for myself and for Belgium.

" On this day, succeeding to a father so honored during his life and so regretted after his death, my first engagement before the representatives of the nation is to religiously follow the precepts and examples which his wisdom has left me, and never to forget the duties imposed on me by this precious inheritance.  If I do not promise to Belgium either a great reign like that which founded her independence, or a great king like him whom we mourn, I at least promise her a king Belgian in heart and soul, whose whole life belongs to her.

"The first King of the Belgians to which Belgium has given birth, I have from my childhood shared all the patriotic emotions of my country. Like her, I have watched with happiness the national development which has fecundated in her bosom all the sources of strength and prosperity. Like her, I love those grand institutions which guarantee at the same time order and liberty, and are the most solid foundation of the throne.

"In my thoughts the future of Belgium has always been blended with my own, and I have always regarded it with the confidence inspired by the right of a free, honest, and brave nation, which wills its independence, which has won it, proved Itself worthy of it, and will know how to preserve it.

" I have not forgotten, gentlemen, the marks of kind feeling which I received on attaining my majority, when I came to take part in your legislative labors, and, some months later, on the occasion of my marriage with a princess who shares all my sentiments for the country aud instils them into our children.

"I have been gratified to recognize in these spontaneous manifestations the unanimous accord of the populations. On my part, I have never made any distinctions between Belgians ; all are devoted to their country, and I comprise them in one common affection.

" My constitutional mission places me apart from the struggle of opinions. Leaving the country itself to decide them, I ardently desire that their differences may always be tempered by that spirit of national fraternity which unites, at this moment, round the same flag all the children of the Belgian family.

"Gentlemen, within the last thirty-five years Belgium has witnessed the accomplishment of things which, in a country of the size of ours, have rarely been realized in a single generation ; but the edifice of which the congress laid the foundations may rise, and will rise, higher still. My sympathetic co-operation is assured to all who shall devote to this work their intellect and efforts.

"By persisting in this course of activity and wise progress, Belgium will more and more consolidate her institutions at home, and will preserve abroad that esteem which the powers guaranteeing her independence, and other foreign states, have always accorded her, and have again this day so kindly testified. On ascending the throne, my father said to the Belgians: ' My heart knows of no other ambition than that of seeing you happy.' These words, which his whole reign has justified, I do not fear to repeat in my own name.

"Providence has vouchsafed to hear the wish they expressed. May He hear it again this day, render me the worthy successor of my father, and, I pray from my inmost soul, continue to protect our dear Belgium."

Curiously, Leopold would die on the 44th anniversary of his accession, on December 17, 1909. Strange coincidence! May God have mercy on his soul.

Louise-Marie's Deathbed

The first Queen of the Belgians, surrounded by her grieving family, passed into eternity here...it strikes me the bed is so small and simple.

Despite the fact that she had suffered from family tragedies and a long, exhausting battle with consumption, Louise-Marie's last words were of gratitude to God: Que Dieu est bon de me laisser mourir au milieu de tout ce que j'aime! ("How good God is to let me die amidst all I love!")

(Photo credit: Georges Jansoone)

A Remarkable Testimony

In 1993, to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of Leopold III, one of his intimates, the internationally acclaimed scientist Christian de Duve (winner of the 1974 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine), published a remarkable tribute ("Un grand seigneur droit et généreux") to the late King in La Libre Belgique. It caused gnashing of teeth in certain quarters.

Un souvenir domine et résume tous ceux que je conserve précieusement de mes rencontres avec le roi Léopold. Celui d'un grand seigneur. Déjà sa prestance physique en imposait. Quand il entra dans une pièce, tout se rapetissait autour de lui. Il parlait peu et n'élevait jamais la voix. Mais personne n'aurait osé l'interrompre quand il prenait la parole. Il fixait son interlocuteur d'un regard bienveillant où perçait l'ombre d'un sourire teinté d'ironie. Mais il fallait pas s'y méprendre. Si d'aventure quelqu'un ou quelque chose suscitait son indignation, sa nuque se raidissait, ses yeux prenaient une lueur d'acier. Sa voix, toujours aussi douce, créait une distance invisible et, sans perdre de sa parfaite courtoisie, il mettait fin à l'entretien.

Grandeur morale aussi. Le mot "compromis", si nécessaire cependant dans la pratique politique quotidienne, ne faisait pas partie de son vocabulaire. Une chose était juste et s'imposait, ou elle était injuste et donc inacceptable. Je soupçonne qu'une de ses grandes consolations après les épreuves qu'il dut subir fut qu'une fois privé des devoirs de sa charge, il put se permettre le luxe d'être entièrement lui-même. Ce qui ne l'empêchait pas de suivre avec inquiétude et pessimisme les compromissions, les lâchetés, les malhonnêtetés ou, tout simplement, les faiblesses de certains dirigeants. Il tenait profondément à la Belgique, à laquelle il restait lié par son serment constitutionnel, et il souffrait de la voir de plus en plus divisée.

Curiosité, enfin, pour toutes les choses de la nature.

Heureux ceux qui ont eu le privilège de participer à un de ces rares moments où le Roi se laissait aller à parler de ses expéditions, des ses recherches, de ses lectures.

Heureux ceux aussi qui ont eu l'honneur de lui exposer leurs travaux et à répondre à ses interrogations, toujours pertinentes et bien informées. Heureux ceux qui ont pu voir les innombrables cahiers dans lesquels il a noté durant toute sa vie, d'une écriture admirable de finesse et de régularité, tout ce qui l'avait intéressé- et aussi, hélas! tout ce qui l'avait déçu ou tourmenté.

Oui, le Souverain disparu il y a voici dix ans était un grand seigneur. Il était aussi un personnage profondément humain et généreux, ne connaissant ni la haine, ni la méchanceté, ni la soif de vengeance, tout en restant scrupuleusement droit, honnête et intransigeant sur les principes.

*** 

One memory dominates and resumes all those I conserve preciously of my meetings with King Leopold. That of a grand seigneur. His sheer physical presence was imposing. When he entered a room, everything around him seemed to shrink. He said little and never raised his voice. But no one would have dared to interrupt him when he began to speak. He fixed his interlocutor with a kind look, pierced by the shadow of a smile tinted with irony. But make no mistake. If something or someone happened to arouse his indignation, his neck stiffened, his eyes took on a steely glint. His voice, still as gentle as before, created an invisible distance and, without losing his perfect courtesy, he put an end to the meeting. 

Moral grandeur, too. The word "compromise," although so necessary in daily practical politics, was not part of his vocabulary. Something was just and had to be done, or it was unjust and therefore unacceptable. I suspect that one of his great consolations, after the ordeals he had to endure, was that, once he was deprived of the duties of his charge, he could permit himself the luxury of being entirely himself. But this did not prevent him from following, with anxiety and pessimism, the compromises, the  acts of cowardice and dishonesty, or simply the weaknesses of certain politicians. He deeply loved Belgium, remaining bound to it by his constitutional oath, and he suffered to see it more and more divided. 

Curiosity, finally, for all the things of nature.

Happy those who had the privilege of participating in one of those rare moments when the King let himself go, talking about his expeditions, his research, his reading.

Happy those who had the honor to explain their work to him and answer his questions, always pertinent and well-informed. Happy those who were able to see the innumerable journals where he noted, throughout his life, in a handwriting admirable for its refinement and regularity, everything that had interested him, and also, sadly! -  everything that had disappointed or tormented him. 

Yes, the Sovereign who died ten years ago now was a grand seigneur. He was also a deeply human, generous person, knowing neither hatred, nor cruelty, nor the thirst for vengeance, while remaining scrupulously upright, honest and intransigent on principles. 

(cited by Michel Verwilghen in Le mythe d'Argenteuil)  

The Man Who Would Not Be King

I always find it interesting to consider alternate historical scenarios...Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was by no means the only candidate for the newly established Belgian throne in 1831. Prior to Leopold's election, for example, the Belgian National Congress offered the crown to Louis, Duc de Nemours, second son of King Louis-Philippe of France. During the Belgian Revolution, the Duc de Nemours had accompanied the French army that aided in the overthrow of Dutch rule. His eldest sister, Louise-Marie, would become Belgium's first queen consort in 1832. But imagine if the Orléans prince had become the country's first king? Belgium would likely have become a mere vassal of France. This is exactly the outcome the British feared. By threatening war if the Duc de Nemours became King of the Belgians, they compelled Louis-Philippe to decline the throne for his son.