War Letters of Two Kings

The letters between King Albert I and his son future King Leopold III during the Great War. Directed by The Cross of Laeken.

King Leopold III Passing Years

In the flooded trenches of Flanders he had to grow up very fast but perhaps good for him that he saw the worst at the tender age because later life would not be kind or easy for the good king.

New Photos Official

The best looking family of royals around I think!

Spanish Wedding Movie of King Baudouin & Queen Fabiola

De Wever Insults King and Belgium

Wil Bart De Wever nog wel dat de Belgische kabinetsformatie slaagt, of zet hij zijn kaarten op nieuwe verkiezingen? Die vraag rees maandag naar aanleiding van een interview met de leider van de Vlaams-nationalistische N-VA in het Duitse weekblad Der Spiegel.

Door GPD-correspondent Hans de Bruijn

Daarin noemt hij België 'de zieke man van Europa', zijn Walen 'junkies' die verslaafd zijn aan Vlaams geld, krijgen de Waalse socialisten er de schuld van dat er na 183 dagen formeren nog steeds geen regering is, en worden koning Albert II anti-Vlaamse gevoelens toegedicht.

'Onverstandig' is nog de vriendelijkste kwalificatie die de uitlatingen van De Wever ten deel vielen. De politieke instabiliteit ondergraaft de internationale positie van België en de financiële markten zijn na de Griekse en Ierse debacles gevoelig voor termen als 'zieke man'.

,,De Wever speelt met vuur'', zegt de Waalse christendemocratische leidster Joëlle Milquet.
Ook binnenlands maakt hij het er niet makkelijker op. De Waalse partijen reageerden voorspelbaar 'geschokt' op het interview, dat overigens al twee weken geleden afgenomen werd. De socialistische PS zegt niet te zwichten voor 'provocaties' en te willen blijven onderhandelen.

Volgens de Groenen lijkt het alsof De Wever de onderhandelingen wil opblazen. Een krant noemt het in voetbaltermen een aanval 'met beide benen vooruit op Elio Di Rupo', de PS-leider en beoogd premier. Niet dat hij iets nieuws zei, zijn afkeer van de PS is algemeen bekend. Het moment was echter niet slim gekozen. Dat gaf De Wever zelf toe. äMaar men moet wat ik heb gezegd in context zien en zeggen wat er niet aan klopt."

Volgens de N-VA-leider houdt de PS de hervormingen tegen die nodig zijn om België weer financieel gezond te maken. Er wordt al maanden zonder succes gepraat over het overhevelen van bevoegdheden en belastinggeld naar de deelstaten. Maar de Walen, die jaarlijks miljarden uit Vlaanderen krijgen, vrezen zonder die Vlaamse 'solidariteit' te zullen verarmen.

De Franstaligen vinden dat De Wever, de grote winnaar van de verkiezingen van juni, streeft naar splitsing van België. Nu lukt dat nog niet, maar uit een geforceerde nieuwe stembusgang zou de N-VA wel eens nóg sterker tevoorschijn kunnen komen. ,,Als wij in de regering stappen, is het risico groot dat we de volgendeáverkiezingenáverliezen', zegt De Wever.

,,Men heeft op ons gestemd omdat wij radicale veranderingen willen en omdat de kiezer erop vertrouwt dat wij na zes maanden onderhandelen geen concessies doen." Ook de kritiek op koning Albert, met wie vooral de Walen zich verbonden zouden voelen, valt slecht. ,,De koning is niet belangrijk", zegt De Wever.

,,Maar bij een crisis wordt hij belangrijk. Hij voert de regie bij de regeringsvorming. Dat is een nadeel voor de Vlamingen, want hij denkt niet als wij. De Walen voelen zich meer met hem verbonden." Hieruit blijkt volgens de Waalse christendemocraten 'een gebrek aan respect' voor de vorst. © GPD

Vlaams Belang Danger

The Cross of Laeken has a post with a paper showing the true nature of Vlaams Belang. Every concerned citizen should read this! The truth has not been much told about this political party which has the desire to see the Kingdom of Belgium disappear from Europe. Everyone has also heard that the N-VA leader Bart de Wever, who is known for his insults against the country, recently called Belgium the "sick man of Europe". I read my history of the Great War and this was getting my attention. In those days the Turkish empire was known as the "sick man of Europe". It did not much survive the war but perhaps Bart de Wever should recall that the division of the Turkish empire into Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia has been followed by constant and cruel conflict in that part of the world. Is this what he is wanting for Belgium? There really is not any political party that I can totally support but I have not been able to vote really anyway, not long after being capable of voting I have been mostly out of the country and have not voted. The first time I did so I voted B.U.B. and that is considered wasted anyway. For myself, I have strong personal attachment to Flanders but I also have just the same personal attachment to Wallonie. How do you choose to favor one parent over the other? Some people see where I am from and think I am Flemish, some hear me to think I am Wallonne and I say I am Belgian. What else can I be? Which part would I choose to favor? There are some issues Vlaams Belang addresses no one else does that I agree with but how can I support them who would divide the country, dissolve the kingdom and show themselves to be treasonous against the King? Anyone who is putting themselves and their own community first, before the rest of the country, is doing a betrayal of the kingdom. To say I support one region over another is to betray half my family in either case. Everyone else should, I think, feel the same because we are all in one national family. Also if people read the truth of the motives and background of the Vlaams Belang I think they will see that they are being dishonest, not just to the country but to their own followers.

Belgian Royals Meet Russians

On 8 December the King Albert II and Queen Paola were happy to meet President Dmitry Medvedev and First Lady Svetlana Medvedev of the Russian Federation on a visit at the Royal Palace. There are reservations I have about the current regime in Russia but certainly it is a better creation than the Soviet Union was. In the past I have commented on Belgium and the Russian Empire which had a close relationship. SM King Leopold I served in the Russian Imperial Army against the France of Napoleon and of course King Albert I and Czar Nicholas II were put in the position of allies during the Great War.

Buying New Beds for Burning House

Everyone knows that the European countries are all having severe money problems. Greece and Ireland have required help to stay afloat, Portugal, Spain and Italy are suspected to be next in line and recently even France has had accusations of potential economic crisis to deal with. Of course, on top of everything else dealing with at the moment, Belgium has also had to quickly deny charges that financial crisis could be imposing over the country. The debt is huge, the financial obligations gigantic and EU President and former premier Herman Van Rompuy has recently had to try to put fears to rest about the Belgian economy. It also does not help that there is still no government to handle this and Yves Leterme is even walking out on reporters instead of answering question. If a major crisis is about to happen or no there is still no denying that the financial situation is in a critical state.

Because of that it seems not at all ordinary to me that the Belgian Foreign Ministry has just announced that Belgium will pay 14 million euros to our former colony of Congo to offset the cost of upcoming elections in the country. The foreign minister called this pay out, "preventative diplomacy". Next year the Congo will have a presidential elections and in the immediate years there will also be parliamentary, provincial and municipal elections that, like all elections everywhere, will naturally cost some money. In fact the total cost is estimated to be some 540 million euros. Given that total, 14 million euros may not seem like much, other countries and European Union will be paying about half the total cost of the Congolese elections, but is this a wise decision by the Belgian government? Considering the dangerous position of the Belgian economy is it affordable or wise to send 14 million euros to the Congo for political contests?

Only recently King Albert II and Queen Paola were in the Congo to participate in their celebrations of the anniversary of independence from Belgium. Does independence not mean anymore that they pay their own costs? This is like the teenager who moves from his parents home but still calls asking for money to pay the bills. In a way this is what King Baudouin warned the Congolese about when he handed over their independence to them. Independence means a country is to carry its own weight and not depend on others. This 14 million euros represents dependence and not independence. I cannot see the wisdom of spending any amount when Belgium is drowning in debt to help a country that for most of these last decades has had a hostile attitude toward Belgium, blaming all problems on their former colonial power but at the same time expecting always help in return.

How about this idea: Belgium can keep the 14 million euros and instead we send the Congo Yves Leterme, even throw in Herman Van Rompuy as a free extra to solve their problems. There are even more I would be generous to give to the Congo instead of the millions of euros.

European Development Days

See the Video here.

VRT
6/12/10 - Crown Prince Filip and Princess Mathilde attended the opening of the European Development Days in Brussels. For two days over 5,000 experts from a 100 different countries will discuss the challenges and the problems facing international development across the globe.

The Belgian-Arab War

From 1892 until 1894 was fought the Belgian-Arab War in what was at the time it occurred the Congo Free State of SM King Leopold II. This was a conflict Belgium undertook to eradicate an ancient evil from central Africa. This was the heart of the human trafficking that had been enduring since hundreds of years in spite of being struggled against by the entire civilized world. In history the British had done away with the Arab slave trade on the African west coast (once known as the slave coast) and later by the French. This had been a major artery for slave trading by the Arab caravans across the Sahara. Over time the Portuguese abolished slave trading on the lower west coast but the Arab slave trade survived in central and eastern Africa. Africans from the Congo region were taken captive by the Arabs for shipment up the east coast or over land and rivers to Ethiopia, Sudan and on to the Middle East. Zanzibar had long been a major base for slave trading.

In 1892 the Arab slave trade based in Zanzibar was controlled by Sefu, son of Tippu Tip who had long worked for the sultans of Zanzibar providing slaves and ivory out of Central Africa. In 1886 there had been a confrontation between the agents of Tip and officials at a Belgian post on the Congo border when they claimed that a local woman was a slave who had been stolen from an Arab officer. They besieged the post and eventually captured it when the defenders ran out of ammunition and had to abandon their fort. His son Sefu then led attacks into Congo, fearing the growing presence in the area, mostly British and Belgian, who were opposed to their cartel. His force grew to some 10,000 Congolese warriors led by 500 Arab-Swahili captains of Zanzibar. It fell to the Force Publique, the military of the Congo Free State, to stop them but up to that time they were a newly formed force geared toward police and internal security duties.

Outnumbered and unprepared the Force Publique was made to retreat across the unhealthy and inhospitable terrain of the Congo which did more than they were able to in slowing the slaver army of Sefu. To save this situation came the new Belgian commander of the Force Publique, Commandant Francis Dhanis. He won the loyalty of his Congolese soldiers by not breaking up their families, allowing them many privileges and also won over the local populace by restraining his men from harming or harassing the peaceful people of the area. The slaver army, on the contrary, behaved with great savagery toward all they encountered. The turning point came at the epic six-week siege of Nyangwe on the river which was nearly destroyed as the slaver army tried to wipe out the Force Publique garrison. However, the Belgian-led Congolese heroically held off the attackers and prevailed in the end.

Forced to fall back, Dhanis pursued Sefu and his army and taking control of Kasongo which had long been a central hub of the Arab slave-trade network. Finally on 20 October 1893, west of Lake Tanganyika, the Force Publique fought the final battle in which Sefu was killed and his slave army was left without a leader and in small following engagements were totally defeated one at a time. The slave trade network was broken up and by January of 1894 the war was over with the Congo Free State Force Publique victorious and the slavers driven from the region. It was a great achievement for the Congolese soldiers and their Belgian officers (though many were not Belgians but professional hired soldiers from Scandinavian countries). Against a greater number of enemies in wild country with an unhealthy climate they had prevailed with courage to wipe out an ancient evil from central Africa.

The Children of King Albert II

Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant, is the eldest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola. He was born on 15 April 1960 at Laeken and was educated at the Belgian Royal Military School, Oxford and Stanford University in California. He graduated there in 1985 with a master’s degree in political science. He trained with the armed forces becoming a certified pilot, paratrooper and commando. In 2001 he was appointed Major General in the land and air forces and Rear Admiral of the naval forces. In 1999 he married Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz and together they have had four children born from 2001 to 2008. His daughter Princess Elisabeth will one day be the first reigning Queen of the Belgians. When he was young some spoke of him as a possible successor to his uncle King Baudouin but others have objected to him even succeeding his father because of his religiously and socially conservative nature. Which is, naturally, ridiculous to say in a kingdom. Prince Philippe helps many social causes, travels extensively to promote trade and business with Belgium, is very much involved with defense issues and has spoken as a strong supporter of maintaining national unity, which he will one day be responsible for.

Princess Astrid of Belgium, second child of King Albert II and Queen Paola, was born on 5 June 1962 at Laeken and was named after her grandmother the beloved Queen Astrid, consort of King Leopold III. Princess Astrid was educated in Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and at the Institute of European Studies in Michigan, Unites States. On 22 September 1984 she was married to Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este at which time she became also Archduchess of Austria-Este. The couple have five children born from 1986 to 2003. She has also stood as godmother to Prince Sebastian of Luxembourg and Prince Gaston of France. From 1994 to 2007 she served as Chairwoman of the Belgian Red Cross, stepping down when the language communities began squabbling because she would not take sides between the French and Dutch speakers. She also serves as a colonel with the medical corps of the Belgian armed forces. Princess Astrid does a great amount of social and charitable work dealing with cancer, epidemics and pandemics and has shown great concern for the disabled and victims of social and political violence and the struggles of women in less fortunate countries.

Prince Laurent of Belgium, youngest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola, was born on 19 October 1963. Educated in Antwerp and Brussels, after finishing school he trained with the armed forces and entered the navy, training on frigates and mine-sweepers. He became an officer in 1985 and specialized as a diver and helicopter pilot. In 1994 he was promoted to commander before going to the United States to study in a number of civilian industries as well as world politics and business. He is greatly interested in the environment and is involved in a number of organizations to promote conservation, clean energy and the protection of wildlife. In 2003 he married Claire Coombs with whom he has three children; a daughter and twin boys. Prince Laurent is loved by some and ridiculed by some for his open and informal style, saying what he thinks and being very opinionated. In 2004 he was promoted to captain in the naval service though he has also had to deal with scandals relating to the use of naval funds. However, unfair attacks on the Family Royal have become so commonplace it is difficult to believe anything that is reported in the media. Since 2000 Prince Laurent has also served as a Senator.

Belgians in Early America

Il est très répandu que c’est l’Hollandais Peter Stuyvesant qui est à l’origine de la fondation de la ville de New-York, mais il n’en est rien...

Au préalable, un petit rappel historique s’impose. En 1555, l’empereur Charles-Quint abdique, laissant sa place à son fils Philippe II. Ce dernier nomme Ferdinand Alvare de Tolède, plus connu sous le nom du duc d’Albe, gouverneur des Pays-Bas. Il fait son entrée, en tant que vice-roi, à Bruxelles en 1567 avec le devoir de mener une politique sévère contre les velléités indépendantes et le protestantisme. Il mènera cette répression envers les protestants jusqu’en 1572, appelée aussi Contre-Réforme, celle-ci trouve son origine dans la réaction de l’Eglise catholique romaine face à la Réforme catholique et qui connaîtra des épisodes sanglants comme la décapitation des comtes d'Egmont et de Hornes (même si ils n'étaient pas protestants) sur la Grande-Place de Bruxelles en 1568 ou le célèbre massacre de la Saint-Barthélémy, en France, en 1572. [plus]

II
Mais c’est en mai 1624 que débarquent plusieurs familles wallonnes ainsi que quelques familles flamandes via le « Nieu Nederland », navire affrété par la CIO au Nouveau Monde, avant de remonter l’Hudson River. L’émigration se poursuit et le 4 mai 1626 le « Sea-Men » jette l’ancre à Manhattan. D’autres vagues d’émigrations auront lieu, comme en 1634, qui verront la venue de Rachel, Isaac et Henri, enfants de Jessé de Forest, venus poursuivre le désir de leur défunt père. [plus]

III
Le 7 janvier 1924, Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944), gouverneur de New-York émet le souhait de commémorer le tricentenaire de l’arrivée des colons wallons. Dans cette optique, le sénateur William L. Love obtient un budget de 50.000 $, le 5 mai de cette année, quant à la création d’une commission chargée d’organiser un « événement d’une grande signification pour le peuple entier des Etats-Unis ». Ecoles, églises et municipalités se joignent aux réjouissances, une monnaie en argent de 50 cents est mise en circulation et 3 timbres commémoratifs sont émis. [plus]

The Belgian Tiara

Having recently read about the Belgian Papal Minister of War, I was thinking more about the part of the Kingdom of Belgium in the war against the State of the Church by the Italian unification movement. By tradition Belgium has always been a Catholic country but in those days (1860-1870) religious faith in Belgium was especially strong and the Belgians were, overall, not happy with the Italian liberal-nationalists invading the States of the Church, effectively to depose Pop Pius IX from his position as the local king in Rome. Hundreds of Belgians bravely volunteered for service with the Papal Zouaves, the army of the Pope named after the flamboyant style of their uniforms, grey and red, the style taken from Algerian fashion that was introduced by the French army during their North African service. The first papal military commander and the Belgian Minister of War for the Pope were veterans of service in North Africa and this probably explains why the general dressed his soldiers in Algerian style uniforms. However, as you read in the previous post, the assignment the Pope gave to Bishop Xavier de Merode was really an impossible one (everyone must have known that) and ultimately unsuccessful.

When it was over and the Pope lost his political authority he secluded himself inside the walls of the Vatican in protest. Many Catholic powers tried to show the Pope that they still respected his authority even while political circumstances forced them to come to terms with the new Kingdom of Italy. One of these was the court of King Leopold II of the Belgians. The Ladies of the Royal Court raised funds for the design of a very unique and magnificent papal tiara for Pius IX. This was a way many countries showed support for the authority of the pope, by sending him a new crown. The “Ladies of the Royal Court of the King of the Belgians” (then Leopold II) presented the crown to the Pope on June 18, 1871. The crown, often known as the “Belgian Tiara” was not like any other. It was designed by Jean-Baptiste Bethune of Ghent with a unique shape for the three jewel-encrusted crowns and the tiers decorated with the words, “CHRISTI VICARIO - IN TERRA - REGUM”.

Doing a little research I could not find agreement on what the three crowns are to symbolize since some said it was for the church on earth, in heaven and in purgatory and others that it stands for the three missions of Christians or the rule of God and others that one crown stood for papal rule of Rome, the second for rule over civil authorities and a third for rule over all monarchs. So it seems really no one knows. It is also not known if Pope Pius IX ever wore his Belgian tiara but it seems likely that he did not since he was old by that time and preferred to wear crowns that were as light as possible and the very elaborate and highly decorated Belgian tiara was quite heavy. That does not really matter though since it was a gift that did not need to be worn but was only to express the loyalty of the King, court and kingdom of Belgium for the sovereignty of the Pope, that they all remained loyal Catholics to him. From photographs it does not appear that any other popes wore the Belgian tiara either but kept it as a prized work of art and sentimental symbol. I am a little disappointed that the Popes decided to stop having a crown, the last one to wear his crown was Pope Paul VI in June of 1963.

The Pope's Belgian War Minister

Although often misrepresented by history, Monsignor de Merode is an example of the style of devoutly religious and monarchist Catholicism that would make any traditionalist devotee of the Sacred Heart proud. Frederic-Francois-Xavier Ghislain de Merode was born in Brussels in 1820, the son of an official of King Leopold. He attended religious colleges before entering the Military Academy of Brussels in 1839. He served at Liege and in Algeria where his heroism earned him the famous Legion d'honneur. However, in 1847 he suddenly decided to change armies and exchange his sword for a rosary. He studied in Rome and was ordained priest in 1849. In 1850 he joined the Curia when Pope Pius IX made him cameriere segreto, sort of like the chief prison warden of Rome. [plus]