New Portraits of Princess Astrid

Princess Astrid Honors 10 Days Campaign

On April 21 (Birthday of the British Queen -happy birthday!) SAR Princesse Astrid attended a special memorial ceremony for the 10 Days Campaign of 1831 in Houthalen-Helchteren where a special cross stands to mark the graves of the Dutch and Belgian soldiers who died in that short outbreak of hostilities. Princesse Astrid attended the ceremony alongside civil and military officials, remembering the Ten Days Campaign. This happened in 1831, not long after the Belgian Revolution when the Dutch were making an effort to re-conquer Belgium from the pro-independence Belgian leaders. As I made mention last time the Dutch King Willem I was very reluctant to accept the independence of Belgium and had to be pressured by the other powers into giving up his claim to the country and hope of eventually retaking it. The 10 Days Campaign was an early effort led by the Prince of Orange (who was very well liked by most Belgians) and other royal princes which actually led to some defeats for the Belgian volunteers were not well organized or prepared at all. Most were not professional soldiers at all. However, and Belgium must be grateful for this, the Kingdom of the French intervened on behalf of Belgium and the arrival of the French troops convinced the Dutch to abandon the effort and return home. It is pleasing to see Princesse Astrid honoring this link with Belgian history and to honor the brave volunteers who gave their lives defending independence. Since we are now thankfully good and close friends with the Netherlands we also should appreciate the duty and sacrifice of the Dutch soldiers for their King and also should remember with gratitude the French royal soldiers who provided such vital assistance.

Belgian Royals Run in New York

Princess Astrid of the Belgians, Prince Lorenz and Prince Amedeo have completed the New York Marathon on Sunday. Princess Astrid did pretty good, finishing the 42.195 km course through the streets of the Big Apple in 5 hours 52 minutes and 38 seconds. Not bad for a woman 49-years young! She was listed on the roll of runners as “Astrid, princess de Belgique” (which of course some language - snobs have to point out like is a problem, so tiresome). She trained for the recent months to prepare for this and her time is in the 'normal' range for completion of the marathon by most runners. There is, though, no time limit for the New York Marathon so even if you are slow, you can still run it with enough determination. Of course, being the most fit and young, Prince Amedeo crossed the finish line first (before his parents, not first over every one of course) which we should expect for him being 25 and having endured military training. He finished with a time of 3:39. Prince Lorenz was not so fast as his son but came in a considerable time ahead of his wife when he completed the course in 4 hours and 23 minutes. Congratulations to all of them for their achievement!

Princess Astrid to Run Marathon

Princess Astrid, Prince Lorenz and Prince Amedeo will be running in the New York marathon on 6 November. Archduke Lorenz and Prince Amedeo ran before, years ago, this year I think will be the first time for Princess Astrid. Article from De Standaard:

Op 6 november staan maar liefst drie leden van de Belgische koninklijke familie aan de start van de marathon van New York. Dat meldt het Laatste Nieuws dinsdag. Naast prins Lorenz en prins Amadeo zal ook prinses Astrid deelnemen aan de beroemde marathon.

Prins Lorenz en zijn zoon prins Amadeo liepen in 2007 al de 42,195 kilometer door Manhattan. Zij kunnen prinses Astrid dus gidsen tijdens de marathon, die door zo'n 45.000 mensen gelopen wordt. De familie laat niets aan het toeval over, ze zouden zich zelfs laten begeleiden door een atletiekcoach die zich specialiseert in marathons.

'De prinses is een fervente jogster', verklaart Pierre-Emmanuel De Bauw, woordvoerder van het paleis. 'Momenteel is ze in volle voorbereiding voor de marathon, ze traint hard en veel.'

De Belgische overheid bekijkt nu met de Amerikaanse veiligheidsdiensten of voor de uitgebreide delegatie van het Belgisch koningshuis op de marathon extra veiligheidsmaatregelen nodig zijn.

Princess Astrid in New York City

Our Princess Astrid, along with children Princess Maria-Laura and Prince Amadeo are in New York City and are seen in this picture at the Intercontinental Barclay Hotel for a reception to celebrate the UN decade to the "Roll Back Malaria" partnership. Princess Astrid later spoke at the reception and it was nice seeing her there with Princess Maria-Laura and Prince Amadeo (though I always like best to see Princess Marie-Laura ;-)). This event was yesterday.

Astrid spreekt over strijd tegen malaria

De Belgische prinses Astrid neemt deze week als speciaal vertegenwoordiger van het Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnerschap deel aan een aantal activiteiten in New York. Aanleiding is het tienjarig bestaan van het Partnerschap.

Prinses Astrid houdt op uitnodiging van Asho-Rose Migiro, adjunct secretaris-generaal van de Verenigde Naties en van Awa Coll-Seck, uitvoerend directeur van het RBM Partnerschap, een toespraak tijdens een receptie.

Astrid verhaalt daar over de resultaten voor van tien jaar malariabestrijding. En ook spreekt zij over de vooruitzichten op de uiteindelijke uitroeiing van de ziekte, voornamelijk in Afrika, tegen de streefdatum van 2015.

Prinses Astrid ontmoet ook tijdens haar verblijf in New York vertegenwoordigers van organisaties en landen die deel uitmaken van het RBM Partnerschap, aldus een mededeling van het Paleis te Brussel. © RB

Remembering Queen Astrid

The Cross of Laeken remembers The Death of Queen Astrid, a great queen, and a queen who seemed somehow unreal or too good to be true, like she stepped from the pages of a storybook.

Joyeux anniversaire!

Today is the birthday of Princesse Astrid, Archduchess of Austria-Este. Best wishes!

Queen Astrid Desktop

This one I did not make but found it, though it looked nice

Le Prince Lorenz de Belgique

Le prince Lorenz de Belgique - Blog sur famille royale belge

The Belgian Queens

Louise de Orléans was the first Belgian queen consort, the second wife of King Leopold I. The two married in 1832 in a double ceremony because Leopold was a Protestant. Louise was from the French Royal Family and had been born in Sicily, her mother being of the Sicilian Royal Family (also Bourbon). She gave Leopold four children though the first did not survive long. Queen Louise was very popular and for her time was the image of the ideal royal wife. She was beautiful, very religious and did not interfere in politics. She preferred privacy and home life to being the center of attention. Queen Louise was also very generous and supported charities and the works of the Church. Even when she could have made complaints she did not and her family connections were important in the early days of the Kingdom of Belgium. Unfortunately, she died in October of 1850 from tuberculosis in Ostend. At her death King Leopold addressed the nation, “She was attached heart and soul to her new country; in you she found to love those qualities which she herself possessed in the highest degree—steadiness and constancy in your affections.”

Marie Henriette of Austria was the consort of King Leopold II and likely had the most unhappy time of any Belgian queen. She was from the Austrian Imperial House of Hapsburg and married Leopold in 1853. The marriage was arranged and never a good match from the start. For duty and obligation they endured and had four children but only one son and after his death the two lived apart from each other, husband and wife in name only. Being born and raised in Hungary her one joy in life was horses. As usual she carried on charity work, supported the arts and music but because of her unhappy marriage was never really seen in the same way as a queen ordinarily would be. She was mostly separated from the monarchy with her daughter Princess Clementine being the most visible female figure at royal events with the king. She was a strict parent, a determined woman but always unhappy. Today there would probably have been a divorce but that was unthinkable then and she and the King remained officially married until her death in 1902.

Élisabeth of Bavaria was the third Queen of the Belgians and consort to King Albert I. Her father was an eye doctor and her mother a Portuguese princess. For most of her life Queen Elisabeth had a love for art and music and because of her background a very sympathetic nature. She and Albert married in 1900 shortly before he became king. A new city in the Belgian Congo was named in her honor. When World War I came it was very painful to her as a German and daughter of the Bavarian Royal Family. However, no one doubted where her heart was and she supported her husband in his harshest trial and also won great respect for her brave and tireless efforts as a nurse, visiting the front and helping wounded soldiers. She later cultivated a great scientific curiosity and in World War II showed her humanitarian side again by using her old connections in Germany to save the lives of many Jews who would have been massacred by the Nazis. She later caused some controversy by visiting communist bloc countries like Poland, China, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union but this was simply an effort to promote peace and not a political statement. She died in 1965 survived by her three children.

Astrid of Sweden, consort of King Leopold III, might have been the best queen Belgium ever had, but we will never know because of how sadly her life was cut short. Queen Astrid was from the Bernadotte Royal Family of Sweden and she married Leopold III in 1926. It was a true romance from the start. Since Astrid was a Lutheran she later became a Catholic but her new family did not insist on it but she decided of her own conviction to come to the Church. She gave the King three children and the two were very devoted to each other and the family was very close. Everyone loved Queen Astrid who was beautiful, kind and naturally charming. She became queen suddenly after the untimely death of King Albert I and she and Leopold named their next child in his honor. Queen Astrid gave much back to her people and could be counted on to take the initiative to do whatever she could to help in any situation. She traveled with her husband around the country and to Africa to meet with everyone and she cared about all of them and sympathized with their situations. The country and all Belgians everywhere were shocked at her death in a car accident in 1935.

Fabiola de Moran y Aragón was the consort of King Baudouin. She was from a noble family but not royalty and had no thought of ever becoming a queen before she married King Baudouin in 1960. Before that time she had written books for children and worked as a nurse. The marriage was the occasion of much celebrating in Spain and Belgium and she was very well received into her new country. Queen Fabiola and King Baudouin were very devoted to each other, both very religious and family oriented. So it was a great sadness for both that they could never have children. Five miscarriages were endured by the couple but in the end Queen Fabiola never lost her optimistic nature. The death of King Baudouin was a terrible blow to her but she continued her service of good works supporting the Church and numerous charities with particular attention to those suffering from mental illnesses. She has also contributed much to helping women in the countryside of poor countries for which she has been widely recognized. In recent years Queen Fabiola has been the target of a number of absurd death threats which she has endured with bravery and even humor. She remains a greatly beloved national figure.

Paola Ruffo di Calabria, our current Queen and consort of King Albert II was an Italian princess prior to her marriage. Her family is one of the oldest noble houses in Italy, originally from the south though Queen Paola was born in Tuscany. She married King Albert II in 1959 and, as we know, presented him with three children over the years. Although she can speak Italian, French, English and German some have been critical of the difficulty she has had in learning Dutch but Queen Paola has never stopped trying to master the language and throughout her time as queen has shown a readiness to always learn, expand her interests and remain current. It is unfortunate that she and King Albert have had their marital difficulties in the past but they have shown their commitment by working through these problems, never giving up and seem more devoted to each other now than ever before. She assists the King in all of his duties and does a lot of good work on her own, setting up her own charitable foundation and providing a helping hand to those people who seem like they have no one else to turn to. Supporting education, children and helping the poor have been top priorities for her, always done with a smile. Supporting local heritage, crafts, art and music are important to her and she loves reading, especially travel books about Europe and Africa.

Belgian Unity and Fighting Malaria

The Radical Royalist from Australia posts on a poll showing only 12% favor a division of the Kingdom of Belgium while a large 40% of Belgians desire a return to the unitary state and an end to the constant arguments over the federal division.

Also, the Belgian Royal Family blog posts on the efforts of Princesse Astrid fighting the disease of malaria.

Political Deadlock Continues

So, on Wednesday Elio Di Rupo met with S.M. King Albert II to ask for more time to continue the negotiations to form a coalition government which have been going nowhere fast. The King agreed despite the seeming unending deadlock between the majority Flemish nationalists and the Walloon socialists. The main points of discussion have been greater regional autonomy (how far can autonomy go before it is independence?) and what money should go to which regions. Nothing much new. But, this extra time did not help to resolve things and by Sunday Di Rupo went to the King to offer up his resignation. However, the King refused, obviously not wanting to start all over again in a worse position, and so the talks go on. This is really starting to rattle the nerves. Meanwhile, the King has tried to go on with his business and avoid Di Rupo trying to give him his papers and on Sunday he went to the chapel by the lake in Switzerland where his mother the beautiful Belgian Queen Astrid, wife of King Leopold III, died in a tragic car accident. Many Belgians were there to honor the late iconic queen and King Albert addressed them after going to mass. This place in Switzerland is the subject of a detailed post at the Cross of Laeken remembering Queen Astrid.

King Leopold and Queen Astrid (engagement)

A much happier occasion

How does 'Emperor Lorenzo' sound?

I alluded earlier to this subject, a thought that first came to me commenting on another blog about the late Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. I know, or know some people 'in the know' about the imperialists of Mexico and the heir to their monarchy, one Hungarian-Australian named Count Maximilian von Goetzen-Iturbide, never seems to have even visited Mexico and shows no interest in restoring the Mexican Empire or taking any leadership of the legacy of the empire for the Mexican imperialists. So, what about the Mexicans starting over and trying again? I would suggest a good candidate for their throne would be our own Prince Lorenz of Belgium. Think about the similarities. Like Maximilian he is an Austrian archduke, House of Hapsburg like the first Christian monarchs to rule over Mexico, and he and Maximilien share an Italian connection. Maxil was Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia and Prince Lorenz is of the Italian branch of the Hapsburg dynasty and titular Duke of Modena. Both are also married to beautiful Belgian princesses, which of course is a big plus!

Prince Lorenz also has some benefits poor Emperor Maximilian did not have. First place he has a nice family so there is no worry over the succession to the throne. He is also very well educated in business and economics (from what I know Maximilian was terrible with money issues) and so he could maybe do what is needed to take Mexico out of poverty and put her on a good financial platform. Of course the family are good Catholics like most Mexicans and since there is no French empire involved anymore the United States should have no legitimate grounds for complaint if Prince Lorenz were to become "Emperor Lorenzo of Mexico" (I say legitimate only because I know they would anyway just because the US does not like monarchies at all and does not want any in America especially).

Obviously this is a daydream like I am told, but it is a fun one and an idea that has stuck in my mind since I thought of it. How could such a thing be worked out today? I have been thinking of fictional scenarios for this and maybe, just for fun, I will post them here as a sort of alternate-current events serial. It might be fun, if for me and no one else. Also, if I can "scoop" a friend, I am told that a deeper look at the real historical Belgian army that served in Mexico back in the time of Maximilian and Charlotte will be coming on another blog and I will certainly be linking to that. I wish someone would make a movie or even a good historical novel about that. I think it would make a great adventure story. I also will mention, in connection to my last blog entry, in the Indiana Jones movies, where did the hero meet his Belgian friend and decide to join the Belgian army in World War I? It was in Mexico, fighting in the revolution with Pancho Villa. You see, I am finding lots of fateful reasons to carry on these fancies.