Toespraak Koning Albert 2012 Nationale Feestdag Belgie

King Leopold I in "Young Victoria"

In the 2009 film "The Young Victoria" the part of King Leopold I of the Belgians was played by the talented German actor Thomas Kretschmann who I have been a fan of ever since he came out in "Stalingrad" which was a powerful film. He has played parts ranging from Pope John Paul II to Adolf Eichmann. Americans may also remember him from "U-571" and he has had, I think, smaller parts in other American films. He gave, I think, a good performance in "The Young Victoria" but I think the wrote King Leopold I as being too  blunt and cold. He gave the impression of being slightly heartless when, he really just knew that there was romance and there was duty and not always do they coincide. He also maybe tried to push people in the direction he wanted but was not so harsh and blunt about it as in the movie. At least though they showed that he was a major figure in the royal circle of that time and influential in bringing Albert and Victoria together.

Princess Louise of Belgium/Princess Louise of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry

Princess Clémentine of Belgium

10 ans de la princesse Elisabeth de Belgique

Great Video! "Let's Stay Together" by Belgian Deejays United

Ceci n'est pas une brabanconne

If Belgium split, we would have to reinvent it. This is a musical response to the nonsense.

volontaires belges thuin st Roch 2010

I wish I could have been home to join in that.

Princess Lilian

The consort of SM King Leopold III, who has been treated so unfairly by public perception. A video via The Cross of Laeken:

110721 National Day Belgium II

Crown Prince Rudolf and Crown Princess Stéphanie of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia

The Beast of Berlin

In 1918 Hollywood made a propaganda movie called "The Kaiser: The Beast of Berlin" to show the American people just how evil and wicked was Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II. Almost every detail in it was wrong but nobody cared, it was about the enemy! It is an interesting film to show how Allied propaganda worked in the First World War and it was made before the war ended so they could indulge their imagination as to how they thought things would work out for the Kaiser. What caused me to give my attention was the treatment of our King Albert I who is something of an avenger in the movie, so very interesting for that. I am obviously not happy that the Germans invaded Belgium and caused such atrocities and misery but this movie is really incorrect and King Albert was actually someone who wanted to just end the war without any more countries being ruined. I don't think he cared that much about having revenge on anyone.

In this movie the Kaiser is really a beast! He is vicious and cruel to everyone, his own people too, and he wants to cause as much pain and suffering as possible. The hero of the movie is Macas, a blacksmith in Louvain who has to save his daughter from being ravaged by a German soldier when the Kaiser orders Belgium to be invaded. The country is brutalized and it makes the Kaiser very happy. But, since this is a movie for American audience, the action quickly moves on from "plucky little Belgium" to scenes that involve the United States. A British ocean liner, Lusitania, is sunk by a German submarine drowning lots of American women and children. The Kaiser is so happy he gives a medal to the U-boot captain for killing so many civilians but the captain feels bad and later kills himself. The United States goes to war and the Kaiser boasts that when Germany wins the war he will see America broken up and destroyed. There are many scenes of German atrocities but the American army soon comes to France to save the day.

The ending is most interesting to me. No one making this movie thought there would be such a thing as the armistice. They have Germany being totally crushed and invaded by the Allied armies who march in to occupy Berlin and take the Kaiser prisoner. The Allied leaders and generals all meet in the Kaiser's palace to decide how to punish the war criminal who is such a monster. You think they will kill him? I thought this movie would do that but, maybe they thought that would make them too much like the Kaiser so they all decide that it is only justice for King Albert I of the Belgians to be given the Kaiser to deal with since Belgium was the innocent country Germany first invaded. King Albert decided it will be fitting punishment to keep the Kaiser in prison and he appoints the blacksmith Macas from Louvain to be his guard, a representative of the people who most suffered and now the shoe is on the other foot for the cruel Kaiser. Almost everything there is not true of course. The Kaiser did not order atrocities and though the ocean liner was sunk the captain did not get a medal for sinking it and he did not kill himself, he died in action later in the war I think. We also know the war did not end with the Allies in Berlin but this is an unashamed openly propaganda film and it caused a great deal of anti-German hatred as you can imagine. The involvement of King Albert, of course, I found interesting.

Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón/Queen Fabiola of Belgium

Beroemde gasten op de uitvaart van Koning Boudewijn

The idea for showing this movie came from The Cross of Laeken who showed the funeral of King Umberto II of Italy, husband of Princess Marie-Jose of Belgium. They  show the royal figures of around the world who came to the funeral of King Baudouin. I saw the Crown Prince of Italy though I don't think they point him out and I think they made a mistake confusing the Crown Princess of Sweden with the Queen of Sweden.

Belgians in the Trenches

This scene is from the movie "Indiana Jones and the Trenches of Hell". I should give background: Indiana Jones lied about his age and joined the Belgian army as "Henri Defense" to fight in World War I. Before this scene it is explained that his company had been through heavy fighting and all their officers and sergeants are killed. That is why the lieutenant and sergeant are French, they are temporary until Belgian replacements can arrive. The French nor Belgians are happy about this "our countries have had their differences" the lieutenant says but, I like the French general saying the Belgians "are hell on the enemy" (yes!) and they get into this heavy fighting seen here. It seems very realistic to me though I don't know about the Germans horses wearing gas-masks, I never saw that before, seems unreal. Good showing though of how hard the fighting was for the Belgian troops in World War I.

Prince Charles of Belgium, Count of Flanders

Léopold III, mon père

King Leopold II of the Belgians

KIng Leopold III of the Belgians

Belgic Chief Ambiorix Defeats Romans