Belgian Royalty: Albert II (1993- )


Figure 1.--Prince Albert is pictured here woth his older brother and sister, Princess Josephine Charlotte and Prince Baodouin. Pronce Albert looks to be about 2 or 3 years old so the photograph was probably taken about 1936 or 37.

King Albert II, who assumed the title "Prince of Liège" at birth, was the second the son of King Leopold III and Queen Astrid, born Princess of Sweden, and the grandson of King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth. King Baudouin had no heirs so his younger brother Albert took the constitutional oath on August 9, 1993, and ascended to the throne of Belgium. He thus became the sixth King of the Belgians. King Albert has been married to Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria since 1959.

Parents

King Albert II, who assumed the title "Prince of Liège" at birth, is the son of King Leopold III and Queen Astrid, born Princess of Sweden, and the grandson of King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth.

King Leopold III

Albert's father was Leopold III who like his father, who died tragically, became king only a few years before a great nation a tragedy--invasion and occupation by the Germans. Unfortunately Leopold proved much less succesful in delaying the German Army than his father Albert I. Both Belgium and France were defeated in 1940. The occupation was even more brutal than in 1914-18 and many Belgians compared Leopold unfavorably to his father.

Queen Astrid

Albert's mother was Queen Astrid, a Swedish Princess born in 1905. She was the youngest daughter of Prince Charles of Sweden, Duke of Vastergotland, and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Astrid's grandparents were King Oscar II of Sweden and King Frederick VIII of Denmark. Astrid's sister, Princess Martha, married the future King Olaf V of Norway. Her eldest sister, Princess Margaretha married Prince Axel of Denmark, while her only brother Prince Carl, Duke of Ostergotland, married morganatically. Astrid was a beautiful woman and deeply in love with Leopold. She was immediately adopted by the Belgians and enormously popular. She was tender, understanding and profoundly human. Her public and official engagements irradiated enthusiasm. Leopold was her most fervent admirer. The love shared by the young couple was evident to all. She was tragically killed in a Swiss automobile accident in 1935 when Albert was still very young.

Siblings

Albert was King Leopold III's second child. King Leopold had six children all together, three with his first wife and three with his second wife. Leopold married Princess Astrid of Sweden in 1926. Princess Astrid of Sweden was born on November 17, 1905. She was the youngest daughter of Prince Charles of Sweden, Duke of Vastergotland, and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Astrid was immediately adopted by the Belgian people as their own. The couple had three children. Albert was Leopold and Astrid's second son, but also became king when his older brother Baudouin did not have any children. Queen Astrid was killed in a tragic car accident in 1935. Leopold married again several years later in 1941. He had three more children with his second wife Marie Lilianne Baels, Princess de Rethy, who was never really accepted by the Belgian people. We have little information on the realtionships among the children, but the available photographs suggest that they were close.

Childhood

Prince Albert was born in Brussels at the Château du Stuyvenberg on June 6, 1934. We have very limited information about hos childhood at this time.

Albert's Clothing

We have relatively little information on how the boys were dressed. The few photograph I have acquired so far show Albert and his brothet as younger boys wearing blouses with large collars, including Peter Pan collrs. They also wore sailor suits, with both long and short pants. Presumably the boys were dressed alike. One photograph shows one of the princes at about 7 years of age on a trip to Sweeden wearing a short pants sailor suit with an unsailorly beret. A French reader tells us that these fashions were almost identical to those popular in France. Another photograph shows Baudouin at about 8 or 9 years of age wearing a long pants sailor suit and strap shoes. As an older boy, Albert like his brother Leopold wore short pants suits. At first he wore short white socks while his older brother wore knee socks.


Figure 2.-- We notice Albert as a younger boy with several different hair styles. As a young boy perhaps 4 or 5 years of age, however, we note Albert with his hair done in the French-style choupette style. We also notice a heavily curled style as seen here. These do not look like natural curls to us, but rather styled curls. I'm not sure when this portrait was taken, but he looks about 4 years ols which would have meant about 1938.

Hair Styles

We notice Albert as a younger boy with several different hair styles. Some were quite elaborate, although not as elaboate as the hor styles of his father and brother as boys. As a young boy perhaps 4 or 5 years of age, we note Albert with his hair done in the French-style choupette style. We also notice a heavily curled style as seen here (figure 2). These do not look like natural curls to us, but rather styled curls. I'm not sure when this portrait was taken, but he looks about 4 years old which would have meant about 1938. At about the same time we see Albert with curly hair and his older brother Baudouin wearing a simplier bangs style. We are not sure if Albert also wore bangs. We notice Albert and his brother Baudouin wearing their hair short.

World War II

Prince Albert was only 6 years old when the Germans invaded on May 10, 1940. Prince Albert, accompanied by his elder sister, Princess Josephine-Charlotte, and his elder brother, Prince Baudouin, went first to France, then to Spain. The Princes returned to Belgium on August 2, 1940. They pursued their studies until 1944 at Laeken and at the Château royal de Ciergnon in the Ardennes. In June 1944, when the allied invasion took place, Leopold III, Princess Lilian--whom he had married in 1941--and the royal children were deported to Hirschstein, in Germany, and then to Strobl in Austria where American forces liberated them on May 7, 1945.

Exile

Due to the political situation in Belgium King Leopold and his family left Austria in October of the same year to live in Switzerland at the villa "Le Reposoir" in Pregny. They remained there until July 1950. Prince Albert meanwhile continued his studies in a college in Geneva.

Return to Belgium

King Leopold III, accompanied by Prince Baudouin and Prince Albert, returned to Belgium on July 22, 1950. Upon his return to Belgium, King Leopold III decided to abdicate in favour of Prince Baudouin who took the oath on July 17, 1951 and became the fifth King of the Belgians.

Military Service

As Prince of Liège, Albert became a Captain in the Belgian Navy.

Career

Prince Albert served as Chairman of the Belgian Red Cross from 1958, and became Honorary President of the Belgian Office of Foreign Trade in 1962. He proved to be a particularly prodigious director of trade promotion, travelling constantly over 31 years, while presiding over almost a hundred economic missions. In appreciation of his extensive efforts, the Prince Albert Fund for the Training of External Trade Specialists was created in 1984.

Marriage

Prince Albert on July 2, 1959, married Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria in Brussels.

Princess Paola

Princess Paola was born in Forte dei Marmi, Italy during 1937. She is the youngest daughter of Prince Fulco Ruffo di Calabria. Raised in Rome where she did her studies in Latin and Greek, the Queen met her husband, then Prince Albert, in 1958 while he was representing his brother, King Baudouin at the funeral of Pope Pius XII and the coronation of Pope John XXIII.

Children

King Albert II and Queen Paola have three children. Their eldest son and heir apparent was born on April 15, 1960. He is the first child of King Albert II and Queen Paola and is thus first in line to succeed to the Throne. As such, he also bears the title of Duke of Brabant. The princess was born on June 5, 1962. She was nammed after her Swedish grandmother who was much beloved by the Belgian people and who aroused great public emotion on her tragic death in a car accident in 1935. Their youngest son was born on October 19, 1963.

Duties as Prince

Prince Albert in 1962 was called upon to fill the post of President of Honour of the Council of Administration of the Belgian Office of External Trade. He has carried out this duty for 31 years and, in this capacity, has presided over almost a hundred economic missions in the world and has carried out a large number of visits to Belgian companies active in the field of export. To pay homage to the Prince who has invested his energy in external trade for all these years, the Prince Albert Fund for the Training of External Trade Specialists was created in 1984. Moreover, Prince Albert took up the presidency of the General Board of the General Bank for Savings and Pensions (from 1954 onwards) and the presidency of the Belgian Red Cross (from 1958). Besides these diverse functions, Prince Albert has led projects in the field of urban planning, housing, protection of the countryside, places of interest and monuments and, in a more general context, in environmental management. In this last area he has also presided over or participated in numerous international conferences. In 1969 he was invited by the Council of Europe to assume the role of President of the Conference of European Ministers on the Protection of Cultural and Architectural Heritage.

Albert Crowned

Following the death of his brother, King Baudouin, Prince Albert took the oath before the United Chambers on August 9, 1993 and became the sixth King of the Belgians. Since becoming Head of State the King, accompanied by the Queen, has taken pleasure in going out to meet the Belgian population and the Sovereigns have made what are traditionally called "Joyful Entrances" into the Belgian provinces. The King immediately became absorbed in the multitude of activities which are traditionally incumbent upon the Head of State. Having signed the new Constitution on February 17, 1994 the King paid a visit to the Councils of the Communities and the Regions. In addition to this, he has taken part in various events organised on the occasion of the Celebrations of the Communities and Regions.

Royal Duties

In the course of his daily audiences in the Palace, the King meets representatives of the political, economic, social, cultural and sporting life of the country. Each year, the King receives more than twenty Heads of State or representatives of international organisations. A diverse range of activities, more than a hundred per year in every sector and every part of the country, allow the King to stay abreast of everything which affects his fellow citizens. Certain subjects are of special interest to the King such as, for example, the problems of unemployment and social exclusion, or education or social security in general. Also, the King closely follows all of the private or public projects which aim to find solutions to these problems. Initiatives in the areas of youth training, the fight against social exclusion, the social services, and investments in companies, in employment and in training are some examples of this. He is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, the King holds the rank of Lieutenant General and Vice Admiral. He takes a close interest in the development and restructuring of the armed forces as well as military activities at national and international levels.

Queen Paola

While there is no specific role for the Queen under the Constitution, she assists the King in the exercise of his duties as Head of State. These include working visits of a mainly social nature, official ceremonies in Belgium and abroad, receptions with country representatives and various cultural activities, such as concerts and exhibitions. She remains as dedicated to her activities concerning the young, in particular to the Queen Paola Foundation for children in less fortunate circumstances. She is also Chairperson of the Belgian branch of AMADE, a world wide foundation, started by Princess Grace of Monaco in 1964, to befriend all children regardless of race or creed. As a painter, Queen Paola has developed a strong interest in art history and the preservation of Belgium's artistic heritage. She is also deeply concerned with the country's craftsmen. Visiting these artisans and their workshops, she encourages the practice and training of the traditional professions. Further, as a very enthusiastic gardener, she personally maintains close supervision of the royal parks and gardens. When she can take the time out, the Queen thoroughly enjoys the opportunity to be with her four grandchildren by Princess Astrid.

Scandals

The stature of the Belgian monarchy has been tarnished by a several press reports of infidelity involving both the King and Queen. One has been confirmed. Albert apparently fathered a fourth child as a result of an adulterous liason in the 1960s. His daughter is a London sculptor named Delphine Boel. Since the relationship became public, she and her mother Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamp have been featured in tabloids throughout Europe. Other published reports, including a charge that their youngest son Laurent was not fathered by Albert, have not been confirmed.






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Created: February 26, 1999
Last updated: 4:21 AM 5/17/2011