Medal of Albert and Elisabeth

A beautiful one commemorating U.S. relief to Belgium in World War I. The profiles of the King and Queen are especially fine.

The King and his Ministers

Some interesting insights from Charles d'Ydewalle's Albert and the Belgians: Portrait of a King.

It almost seems as if, during those last years, no other mind had the power to influence his. It was often asked: "Who is influencing the King?" We should like to know whether the King of the Belgians had any favourites among his Ministers. There were a few whom he trusted, although he rarely praised them. It is said that he showed marked preference for M. Vandervelde. This is obviously untrue, since in spite of his obvious admiration for the mentality and wide knowledge of the Socialist Minister, he ignored him whenever he felt it expedient, just as he would ignore a Catholic or a Liberal. I have been shown numbers of letters signed with a firm and decided "A"; one and all are written in an even hand without erasures, and every downstroke has been traced with the same care and precision. They invariably begin: "My dear Minister," or "My dear Prime Minister," and are signed: "Your affectionate Albert." The style is classic in its perfection, the sentences are exquisitely balanced, show an extraordinary feeling for the mot juste, and convey in full the dignity of the writer. He hardly ever writes "I wish," but very often "I believe," and never "I am certain." Yet, when the day came for a Minister to receive his congé, he was given an audience...and all was over. 

Did his coldness contain an element of bitterness against Parliamentary mechanisms? I am tempted to believe so. The Belgian Constitution defines the power of the Monarch in a singular way. Each Party designates those of their members from whom he may select his Ministers. When Albert's Ministers had given up office, he took no further interest in them. He often esteemed, sometimes admired the colleagues who were temporarily imposed on him. He had great faith in a few. To one of the most distinguished of them he remarked: "You, at any rate, have always told me the truth." This, one might think, was a supreme compliment which should have raised the Minister to a pinnacle and made him the recipient of a host of small favours. It did not do so; the Minister in question was treated with the same official courtesy and tact as the rest. 

The Premier alone, the closest to his Royal master, was admitted with more intimacy into the daily round. If he were ill, he might telephone his business to the King. If the matter were urgent, he might hasten to Laeken, or, in case of need, to Ciergnon, where he would find the King in the woods, dressed as a day-labourer, planting or measuring oak-trees. Or he might find him buried in books and papers, making maps and sketches, in the interval between two excursions on his motorcycle. If the Premier stayed at Ciergnon, the Princes moved on to another floor and gave up their rooms to the distinguished visitor. It was a large, bare apartment. 

If any Minister, whether he were in office or not, suffered a bereavement, fell ill or was the victim of an accident, the King instantly showed that solicitude of which he was so chary in other circumstances. A former President of the Chamber, who had broken his arm, received a charming letter. I asked him if he were often honoured in this way. "No," he said. "We never see each other." The King treated the elderly statesmen with the special courtesy due to their years, and the younger men with a lighter touch more suited to their age. Each one might believe that he was more favoured than the rest, but not one of them could flatter himself that he had been admitted for all time into the circle of the King's intimate friends. On the other hand, if a political crisis arose, he would send for the leaders of all three parties-- even for those from whom he knew he would learn nothing. Thus no jealousy was occasioned; and the King treated them all alike, with ironic indifference or guarded admiration. One feels that his attitude to his Ministers was that of a master to his class. The types remain the same, although the individuals change; and it is incumbent upon him to devote himself entirely to this class, about which he has no illusions (pp. 232-234)

Allies

An interesting portrayal of King Albert I (bottom left) among the Allied heads of state during World War I.

Olive Muir

My apologies for my long absence here; it has been a difficult month. Nevertheless, I wanted to share some information about Olive Muir, kindly brought to my attention by Daniel Wybo of the Royal League of Veterans of King Leopold III. One of the more passionate, but less well known defenders of the King during World War II and the Royal Question, Mrs. Muir was arrested at one point for heckling Paul-Henri Spaak, the former Socialist prime minister of Belgium, at a political debate in Strasbourg. The Glasglow Herald of November 22, 1950 described the scene:

A British supporter of King Leopold of the Belgians, Mrs. Olive Muir, was taken into police custody after interrupting the debate by heckling the chairman, M. Paul-Henri Spaak (Belgium). She was released when the debate ended.

Mrs. Muir, a wealthy authoress painter, and owner of a Devonshire estate, interrupted the debate as Mr. Macmillan rose to speak.

From the visitors' gallery, Mrs. Muir called out: "M. Spaak, why do you allow a majority here...?" M. Spaak ordered the ushers to remove her.

While ushers tried unsuccessfully to remove Mrs. Muir, who stood passively in the gallery repeating the first half of her sentence, M. Spaak declared the session suspended. On her way down to the police room for questioning, Mrs. Muir told reporters she had wanted to say:-

"Why do you allow a majority here, when you do not accept it in your own country?"

Presumably, Mrs. Muir was referring to Spaak's refusal to abide by the results of the popular consultation that had recently decided the Royal Question in Leopold's favor.

Olive Muir was also the author of a book, Why I Defended a King's Honour (1955), containing excerpts from her diary and earlier articles and pamphlets on Leopold's behalf, such as the following:

It is a lamentable fact that at this moment some people believe that King Leopold had audience with Hitler in 1940. This information is entirely untrue. King Leopold only consented to see his enemy at Berchtesgaden in order to arrange more food for starving Belgium and the exchange of prisoners of war who had fought bravely for their country, and the Princess of Piedmont's (The King's sister) visits to Hitler were only undertaken for the same cause.

"King George," of Britain, writes Olive Muir, "and the Royal Family wish King Leopold's return to Belgium."

Olive Muir also states that M. Spaak must be labouring under some false illusions or misguided information and should be enlightened of the truth upon such an important matter as his King.

Britain should be magnanimous enough to face the truth, and if Churchill did his duty, he should come forward and announce to the whole world the greatness, ability, courage and heroic sacrifice of Belgium's Royal Sovereign.

Olive Muir adds:

"No one has any right to question the marriage of such a loyal King. Mademoiselle Lilian Baels was a great friend of the Royal Family. He could not have chosen a more suitable wife. The King of Britain married what we call 'a commoner', and she has proved a great success and a blessing to her country. Surely, King Leopold's wife will do the same.

Olive Muir ends:

"My sympathy with the present predicament of a brave nation who cannot make up its mind to receive back their great King and hero, who kept his Royal word to his troops and who is worthy of undying loyalty by his subjects, induces me to write this book." (pp. 25-26)

Vierge des Pauvres

Another royal prayer card, showing King Leopold III with his tragically deceased father and wife and referencing the Marian apparitions at Banneux: "Virgin of the Poor, save Belgium!" 

Birth of a Princess

It is the 75th birthday of Queen Paola. The Radical Royalist gives a lovely summary of her life and work. I find it an interesting coincidence that Leopold III and Lilian Baels were married religiously on the fourth birthday of the future Belgian queen.

Here are samples of the handwriting of King Albert II and Queen Paola.

A New Archduchess

On September 8, 2012, the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Imre of Habsburg-Lorraine, a grandson of Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, married Miss Kathleen Walker at St. Mary's Church in Washington, D.C.  We wish the Archduke and his beautiful bride every blessing.

(Images)

Birth of a Prince

A tender image of Astrid, Duchess of Brabant, future Queen of the Belgians,with her infant son, Prince Baudouin, future King of the Belgians. Today is Baudouin's birthday. It was said that at the arrival of the little prince, her eldest son, his Swedish mother exclaimed: "Now I feel truly Belgian!"

Celebrating Belgium

A postcard commemorating the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence in 1905, incidentally also the year the future Queen Astrid was born. The coats of arms of Belgium and her then nine provinces are displayed, along with a picture of the monument to Leopold I at Laeken, the Belgian flag and the national motto, "union makes for strength."

A Lost Princess

Gio reviews a new biography of the tragic first wife of Leopold I.

Charlotte was the daughter of the dissolute Prince Regent, who eventually became George IV, and his coarse wife Caroline of Brunswick. Their marriage was a disaster from the start. They separated almost immediately and did everything they could to make each other and, as a result their daughter, miserable. Despite this, Charlotte turned out well, and was very much loved by the people who hoped she would restore the image of the monarchy and the royal family.

Sadly, their hopes were too soon destroyed. Everyone rejoiced when Charlotte married her Prince. The couple cared deeply for each other and did everything together. But after a year and a half of marriage, Charlotte died after giving birth to a stillborn son. Leopold was distraught and even though he would go on to become King of the Belgians, and remarry, he never forgot his first wife. Had she lived, his niece Queen Victoria, would probably never have been born. Although George IV had several siblings, none of them had legitimate children, and, until this tragedy occurred, hadn't really shown any inclination to get married.

Chambers' biography reads more like a novel than a biography. It flows easily, is entertaining and is light without being shallow. However, it isn't in-depth. While we get to know Charlotte quite well, especially thanks to her correspondence which is amply cited in the book, we're not told much about Leopold. His life after Charlotte's death is summed up in just a few short pages, which is something that really disappointed me as I have a bit of a crush on Leopold and would have loved to know more about him. (Read entire post)

Here is an article discussing amniotic fluid embolism, the rare obstetric emergency that may well have caused Charlotte's death.