Belgian Royalty: Baudouine and Scouting


Figure1.--I am not sure, but I believe that this is Prince Baudouin in his Cub Scout uniform. The photograph is undated, but we would guess that it was taken in 1939 or possibly early 1940 just before the NAZI invasion.

King Leopold III was a strong proponent of Scouting. I do not know if he was a Scout himself. (We have little information on the early Belgian Scout movement.) Prince Baudouin in 1937 became old enough to join the Cubs and was very enthusiastic about it. European royal children had once been kept separate from commoners, but in the 20th century this had begun to change. King Leopold decided to create a special Cub Scout pack for his son. It was a very interesting group of boys selected to represent all sectors of Belgian society. The 20 Cubs selected were from different cities (Brussels, Antwerp and Gent). They included both Walloons (French speaking) others were Flamands (Dutch speaking). Some of the bots were from noble families, but others wee commoners--from both middle and working classes families. The Pack met in the park surrounding the Laken Palace, located in the northern part of Brussels. A Cub hut was available for the boys there. Experienced, bilingual Cub leaders were selected from the "open" and the Roman Catholic Scout movements. The King explained, "For Baudouin/Boudewijn I wish a normal scout training as all the others have to undergo". When the Cubs first met they did not know each other and they just noticed that there were two or three boys who were newcomers that did not yet have their uniforms yet. After two meetings they asked Akela when the Prince would start coming to the Pack meetings. Actually Baudouin had been there all the time, he just didn't mention that he was Prince Baudouin and no special attention had been given him. [Kroonenberg] Prince Baudouin's Scout career was cut short by the NAZI invasion (May 1940). The NAZIs during the occupation did not have a consistent policy toward Scouting, banning it (1940, lifting the ban (1941) and rebanning it (1943). I'm not sure to what extent Prince Baudouin and his younger brother Albert engaged in Scouting during the War.

Sources

Kroonenberg, Piet J. "Royalty and Scouting," November 2002.








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Created: May 1, 2004
Last updated: 2:38 AM 1/11/2008