Prince Laurent in Hospital; March 2014


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Good news: Laurent has left intensive care. He is out of his medical coma and breathes on his own. He has to stay in hospital for some time though.
 
Marengo said:
And the saga continues...
Newspapers speak about a 'bizarre letter' of Paola.
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Bizarre is the right word to describe Paola’s stupid action. Now the backlash and the negative comments are getting even louder and stronger. PPL are not stupid, there is a huge discrepancy between her actions and her words. And the wording of her open letter was most unfortunate indeed. Seems she is bathing in self-pity after she realized what the public thinks of her skills as mother and now she tries to portray herself as loving and attentive mother of her “most vulnerable child”. Go figure. And btw what does Albert think of his wife’s action?



There has been little or no support for Laurent from his parents for a long time now. Last November for ex they ignored him in front of all cameras. And now Paola’s support seems to consist of an open letter, which wasn’t even appreciated by Laurent or Claire because it paints Laurent as poor little lamb with mental problems who isn’t able to find his place. It’s too little, too late and instead of expressing her concerns in public she had better offered her excuses in private.
And then there is Philippe, head-of-state and new head of the family who tried to find a useful position for his brother and now gets a public slap in the face by his own mother, who didn’t even bother to inform the press department of the RF it seems. Since Philippe took over the throne he was given a hard time by his parents (as usual): the whole Delphine situation with Sybille Selys doing an tell-all interview, Albert and Paola asking for more money behind his back, Albert and Paola boycotting official events and so on. Albert had witnessed how Leopold III treated Baudouin after he took over the throne, is he determined to make the same mistakes? Are they not able to realize how damaging their behaviour is?



For those who understand Dutch, here´s a link to an interview with Mark Van den Wijngaert, historian and author, which gives a good summary of the situation.

Koningin Paola schrijft een open brief. Moedig of merkwaardig? | Radio1
 
leidi said:
For what I've been able to see, Belgian media (and the people commenting on it) are pretty unforgiving towards Albert and Paola in this issue, call them cold and unfeeling and say that the letter is just something to save face.

BTW: why wasn't it done in both her and Albert's name? That's another PR blunder tbh.

I agree with you here and this shows that if siblings could put aside their differences to come for their brother in his hour of need, why couldn't their parents do the same?

Frankly, Philippe has been trying to involve Laurent in activities since he became King and was one of the few who publicly supported him (or at least didn't shun him outright) during his Navy trial days, I think everyone knows that and this whole issue kind of show that he's a better man than his father ever was, at least more family oriented and forgiving.
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An Ard Ri said:
To be honest I found the attitude of Albert & Paola has been very cold towards their younger son's hospitalisation and not what you'd expect from his parents.
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With clear 20/20 hindsight over this family crisis I think the dynamics of the (I'm sorry, I don't know what the correct title of the Dowager Queen and Ex King are) glaring abyss that lies between the parents and if not all their children, definitely their youngest.
Frankly, it's not what you would expect from any ordinary disfunctional family. As to why the letter did not include Albert, perhaps she threw him uner a bus.
Lenora said:
Who knows what really happened in family.
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rominet09 said:
Usually when a member of a family is seriously ill, everybody rush to him and forget the past....
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Well here's the thing, for most ordinary people the only things that cause that sort of fracture is crime related. Even then most often parents love their children whilst being broken-hearted at their shortcomings.

This long silence and absence from a family member in a health crisis of this length has shown the ex King and Queen to be cold, distant and self-serving when it comes to their family. Poala's letter to the the paper without the courtesy of consulting her son the King pretty well nails it to the door. Well actually it just made sure the family's dirty washing was well and truely hung out to dry!
 
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It is quite interesting that when Albert was king regnant, there was very little criticism on him, and a lot focussed on Filip. Now Filip is king, the newspapers seem to have swapped father and son in their search for an easy target within the RF (Laurent often obliged for this role too). Since 21 July Filip can do no wrong in the press while all of a sudden his father is critisized a lot. It is an interesting mechanism.

I do not know for what reasons Albert and Paola stayed abroad. But like almost any parent in the world I am quite sure that they hope for the best for all their children, dispite what mistakes they may have. They won't be the first people who have difficulties in seeing their child(ren) taking over their job. In many family businesses the same thing happens. In my own country prince Bernhard always found it very difficult to listen to his daughters commands from The Hague and at times he went his own way, making telephone calls to journalists etc. to give his side of a certain story.

And although I sympathize with Laurent's situation, not all can be blamed on his parents. He is 50 y/o man by now and is responsible for his own life. There are many people who had a difficult upbringing but who were able to find a way to deal with it and move on.
 
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Again critics in newspapers about the bad communications between the Members of our Royal Family. Queen Paola should never have done this through Belga Agency !
Albert Ii and Paola lost their great popularity .Sad !
 
Marengo,
Thanks for the links and updates!
Queen Paola should have avoided publishing any explanations. The situation with King Albert and Queen Paola is perplexing. Given the circumstances, it was not shrewd to do so. The public reaction and TRF members' reactions are understandable.
 
There's clearly more going on here than we know about. Quite apart from his obviously fractured relationship with his parents, it was pretty clear, to me at least, that he and Claire were going through something difficult. I know she's appeared with him a few times lately and has been visiting him faithfully, but I just get the feeling that all is not well in their marriage. I hope I'm wrong.

I'm not sure where King Philippe would even start in trying to heal the rifts that are so obvious within his family. I don't envy him that task.
 
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Marengo said:
It is quite interesting that when Albert was king regnant, there was very little criticism on him, and a lot focussed on Filip. Now Filip is king, the newspapers seem to have swapped father and son in their search for an easy target within the RF (Laurent often obliged for this role too). Since 21 July Filip can do no wrong in the press while all of a sudden his father is critisized a lot. It is an interesting mechanism.

I do not know for what reasons Albert and Paola stayed abroad. But like almost any parent in the world I am quite sure that they hope for the best for all their children, dispite what mistakes they may have. They won't be the first people who have difficulties in seeing their child(ren) taking over their job. In many family businesses the same thing happens. In my own country prince Bernhard always found it very difficult to listen to his daughters commands from The Hague and at times he went his own way, making telephone calls to journalists etc. to give his side of a certain story.

And although I sympathize with Laurent's situation, not all can be blamed on his parents. He is 50 y/o man by now and is responsible for his own life. There are many people who had a difficult upbringing but who were able to find a way to deal with it and move on.
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To some extent, it is inevitable that the younger brother of a monarch (Prince Charles, when Leopold III was King, Prince Albert when Baudouin was King, and now Laurent, when Philippe is King) is always going to have an introverted question: What exactly is my rôle going to be?

Sometimes the extent of the questioning can be deepened by traumatic events, such as the exile of Leopold III, when Charles became Regent, and then Leopold III's return from exile, when Charles suddenly found his Regency rôle removed. In the case of Laurent, in combination with his health problems, the removal of a part of his government funding and the disappointment associated with the closure of one of his foundations which had given a role for his talents, would for anyone in his position be the occasion of further self-searching. Basically the politicians are telling him: "There are many things that you cannot do, because you are Royal. But we will not even give you the funding that we previously gave you, so that your charitable and educational activities are even more restricted." What 50 year old would not be unimpressed by such logic, when s/he reflects on the career (e.g., in North America) s/he could have had, but has had to give up for the sake of serving - or not serving - his country?

On the other hand, it can be said that part of being Royal involves not giving vent to stream-of-consciousness group therapy discourse about one's inner thoughts. It's almost as if Prince Laurent and his fellow Royals owe it to Belgians not to tell them what they really think on a huge number - especially personal - matters.
 
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RTL.be info

this is a quite interesting article about the "news" Prince Laurent has found when he woke up.
Apperently King Philippe is "not pleased" by the way his own mother delivered her own statement about Laurent. Since the enthronement he had wished for his family to have a coordinated communication under the supervision of his own press office. And personally I find it a good idea since the family has always had problems with the press due to a mismanagement of the communication.
But they say the councellor of Albert and Paola thought to skip the royal guidelines and give the Belga Agency this bulletin himself. I recall a couple of years ago someone in Belgium complaining about these courtiers who used to be around Albert and Paola (old noblemen and officers) who had no idea how to manage a modern royal family and always put a spoke into Philippe's wheel

another interesting thing is that apparently the Palace (Philippe) is negotiating with the FAO to obtain an ambassador position for Laurent. This shows how great Philippe is and how supportive for his brother he is.
 
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Marchesina said:
RTL.be info

this is a quite interesting article about the "news" Prince Laurent has found when he woke up.
Apperently King Philippe is "not pleased" by the way his own mother delivered her own statement about Laurent. Since the enthronement he had wished for his family to have a coordinated communication under the supervision of his own press office. And personally I find it a good idea since the family has always had problems with the press due to a mismanagement of the communication.
But they say the councellor of Albert and Paola thought to skip the royal guidelines and give the Belga Agency this bulletin himself. I recall a couple of years ago someone in Belgium complaining about these courtiers who used to be around Albert and Paola (old noblemen and officers) who had no idea how to manage a modern royal family and always put a spoke into Philippe's wheel

another interesting thing is that apparently the Palace (Philippe) is negotiating with the FAO to obtain an ambassador position for Laurent. This shows how great Philippe is and how supportive for his brother he is.
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To put it tactfully, and if I recall 'Le Soir de Bruxelles' correctly from about 10 years ago, the presence of 'conseillers en communication peu adeptes' is an issue which has dogged the Royal Family of neighbouring Luxembourg also. I'm thinking of the footwork and general music around press statements by the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess on the subject of the late, former Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte.

The minimalist maxim: 'more with less' - does work. A Royal press officer can say a great deal - and avoid saying what is unnecessary - with a few, well chosen words, appropriately timed.

It does, however, imply great trust behind closed doors, among the personalities involved.
 
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Marchesina said:
RTL.be info

this is a quite interesting article about the "news" Prince Laurent has found when he woke up.
Apperently King Philippe is "not pleased" by the way his own mother delivered her own statement about Laurent. Since the enthronement he had wished for his family to have a coordinated communication under the supervision of his own press office. And personally I find it a good idea since the family has always had problems with the press due to a mismanagement of the communication.
But they say the councellor of Albert and Paola thought to skip the royal guidelines and give the Belga Agency this bulletin himself. I recall a couple of years ago someone in Belgium complaining about these courtiers who used to be around Albert and Paola (old noblemen and officers) who had no idea how to manage a modern royal family and always put a spoke into Philippe's wheel

another interesting thing is that apparently the Palace (Philippe) is negotiating with the FAO to obtain an ambassador position for Laurent. This shows how great Philippe is and how supportive for his brother he is.
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I agree with everything you have said, because I think it is very important that any institution such as a royal family or indeed a government have good co-ordination when issuing statements in public. Quite often, a government minister will make a declaration at odds with, say, the prime minister's views and so the result is confusion and annoyance with the general public.

In the case of the Belgian Royal Family, I think it is vital that King Philippe continues to take charge of communications and to stamp his own seal, so to speak, on how the family is perceived. He is the King and he should be in charge of everything now!

As for Prince Laurent, I am glad he seems to be recovering and it is heartening that he appears to have the support of his sister and brother and, of-course, his wife and children. He is quite a character and at times a maverick almost, but I am quite sure there is a valid and important role he can have in an official capacity.
 
Seeing the recent happenings, maybe Paola&Albert's children didn't really mind that they remained abroad the past days... :)
 
Jacknch said:
... [snipped] In the case of the Belgian Royal Family, I think it is vital that King Philippe continues to take charge of communications and to stamp his own seal, so to speak, on how the family is perceived. He is the King and he should be in charge of everything now!
... [snipped]
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You are right. Given the state of the relationships within the Belgian royal family, it would be deemed expedient for King Philippe to centralise communications, thereby managing the PR in a more coordinated way.
 
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I really honestly think IMO that the relationship between the royal children and King Albert and Queen Paola has broken down. It certainly seems the official working relationship between the current Royal Court & the staff of the former royal couple is non-existent.
As someone else said maybe Laurent and his siblings were quite happy their parents weren't there!
 
Marengo said:
It is quite interesting that when Albert was king regnant, there was very little criticism on him, and a lot focussed on Filip. Now Filip is king, the newspapers seem to have swapped father and son in their search for an easy target within the RF (Laurent often obliged for this role too). Since 21 July Filip can do no wrong in the press while all of a sudden his father is critisized a lot. It is an interesting mechanism.

I do not know for what reasons Albert and Paola stayed abroad. But like almost any parent in the world I am quite sure that they hope for the best for all their children, dispite what mistakes they may have. They won't be the first people who have difficulties in seeing their child(ren) taking over their job. In many family businesses the same thing happens. In my own country prince Bernhard always found it very difficult to listen to his daughters commands from The Hague and at times he went his own way, making telephone calls to journalists etc. to give his side of a certain story.

And although I sympathize with Laurent's situation, not all can be blamed on his parents. He is 50 y/o man by now and is responsible for his own life. There are many people who had a difficult upbringing but who were able to find a way to deal with it and move on.
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Albert was only respected by the press when he was the monarch tbh, everyone pointed his flaws and issues when he was prince and now, so it was more due to respect to the office than to respect to the man itself (and so far, he's earned all the backslash he's ever gotten tbh).

Talking to some belgian friends, people are surprised about Philippe, consider him a very good King, sensible, hardworking and committed (so the media goes with that, even the flemish one has been quite kind to him) and think that his family is just throwing him under the bus, most of them think badly of Albert and even Laurent's image is improving because he's seen as the product of bad upbringing (even if I do agree with your opinion of him being a grown man now).

This is a massive mess but tbh, Philippe's position is strenghtening, because he's seen as a person who has a bigger moral ground to stand on than his parents and it reflects in public opinion.
 
Coordination is necessary. However, I'm more curious as to why 1.) why would Paola even feel the need to make a public statement I (sounds rather defensive, if you ask me); and 2.) why was it just from Paola and not from Paola and Albert (perhaps, it's true that Laurent is the product of another relationship??). All in all ... not good PR.
 
Basically Paola seems to think being Queen means she can do what she wants. She doesn't seem to see a problem with issuing a statement to try and save her reputation even though it tries to shift blame away from her onto her other children and family.
 
I feel sorry for Queen Paola. She is an Italian mamma and I am sure she wrote her heartfelt letter with the best intentions. The Flemish media are always eager to interpret everything in a doublehearted meaning.

The main problem seems to be that the Palais Royal (Philippe & Mathilde) kept the information very minimal: "Private matters of the Prince". In my opinion the information was too minimal, it led to wild speculations about the state of the Prince.

The Belvédère (Albert & Paola) suddenly issued a heartfelt and quite personal communiqué. This was a total breach with the policy from the Palais Royal. I understand the irritation but suggesting a new "rift" within the Belgian royal family goes too far.

I feel the Belgian media are blowing it up, out of all proportions. It is the old framework of the once nearly collapsed marriage of Albert & Paola, the alleged bad relationship with the three children and the almost traditional trenches between parts of the family (think of the family wars with Leopold III or Leopold II). It is kind of sad that a well-meant letter by Queen Paola has such an unintended effect.
 
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Apart from being a good brother in providing Laurent with something to do, the king also makes a good manager. Having Laurent around feeling depressed and behaving like a loose cannon is not good for the monarchy. He was never supposed to get his own job like f.. the Lux. and Dutch princes. So they should find somthing to keep him occupied and out of trouble.

The communication department in Brussels is getting more streamlined indeed. But it seems that some members still have difficulties in getting used to it. Princess Claire also has her own twitter account.

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According to the VRT (Flemish public television - very reliable), the palace is not happy with Paola's action. They wanted to protect the privacy of Laurent but with this statement Paola actually fueled the rumours about Laurents health.
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/binnenland/1.1929393

The tv station also notes that there hasn't been much understanding about Paola's statement. People are puzzled why they didn't return earlier. Albert and Paola misjudged the public sentiment.
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/binnenland/1.1929087

They note that the press release has n use at all: it helps nobody, not Laurent, not Paola and not Filip.
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/binnenland/1.1929135

VTM reports about 'storm in the palace', Paola's disclosure of private matters leads to upheavel within the family:
http://nieuws.vtm.be/binnenland/86397-filip-wijst-paola-met-de-vinger
The king and queen Mathilde visited Laurent again today.
 
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An Italian mamma who is quite happy to stay on her holidays while her such loved son is in hospital.
IMO this statement was damage control to try to minimize the damage done by not visiting sooner. To be its cold and calculated to gain sympathy from the media for her and Albert.
If Albert and Paola felt they had done the right thing and their family where content with them staying away then why the need to issue a statement? Any why go behind the back of Philippe and his staff? clearly there are strained relations all around.
 
In first instance it did not look too serious at all. The Prince was admitted into hospital because of fatigue. Then it became a pneumonia. The Prince was brought into a coma but the expectation was only for a limited time. A sudden return of King Albert and Queen Paola could also have led to wild speculations about a detoriation or an acute emergency. All this while the Prince was (and is) in good hands and looked after by many. It is difficult to judge from the outside but I have no reason to disqualify King Albert and Queen Paola. They probably agreed with Claire to stay away, they probably were in daily contact with the medical team. Who knows.
 
I really love Albert and Paola. BUT I think Paola shouldn"t have sent this letter/note to Belga. Qui s'excuse s'accuse !
 
This ghastly situation highlights the problem of having 2 Kings and 3 Queens and each with their own communications people. Paola's latest salvo blaming King Phillipe is just incomprehensible. Trying to throw the new king under a bus to make yourself look good is nasty and futile. Their absence said it all.

I believe it is inappropriate for Albert, having Abdicated, to act like he is still the King and his wife Paola, the Queen. It's almost like nothing happened except that Phillipe and Mathilde picked up the extra work but his parents think they are still in charge.

This situation would almost be funny if it weren't so serious. The old adage of "too many chiefs and not enough indians" comes to mind. One Dowager Queen is OK but following abdication perhaps it would have been better if they had reverted to Prince and Princess like the Dutch model then everybody would know who was in charge.

As things stand poor Phillipe seems to spend as much time doing family fire fighting as carrying out the duties expected of him as King. His saving grace is that he has publicly supported his younger brother in this health crisis and appears to be taking a personal interest in his life in general.
 
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Duc_et_Pair said:
In first instance it did not look too serious at all. The Prince was admitted into hospital because of fatigue. Then it became a pneumonia. The Prince was brought into a coma but the expectation was only for a limited time. A sudden return of King Albert and Queen Paola could also have led to wild speculations about a detoriation or an acute emergency. All this while the Prince was (and is) in good hands and looked after by many. It is difficult to judge from the outside but I have no reason to disqualify King Albert and Queen Paola. They probably agreed with Claire to stay away, they probably were in daily contact with the medical team. Who knows.
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I think putting out this statement and referring to Laurent as her most "vulnerable" child is going to lead to even more speculation about his condition than if they simply returned to Belgium to visit a son in hospital.
 
MARG said:
This situation would almost be funny if it weren't so serious. The old adage of "too many chiefs and not enough indians" comes to mind. One Dowager Queen is OK but following abdication perhaps it would have been better if they had reverted to Prince and Princess like the Dutch model then everybody would know who was in charge.
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I agree with your post, MARG, but for me this situation is evidence that abdications do not really fit with the concept of monarchy. As much as we all like the spectacle of the big parties for the new monarchs and seeing the tiaras being worn by different heads, abdication is not as straightforwardly positive as some seem to think. Some countries can make it work reasonably well, but it clearly brings with it enormous difficulties, both personally and publicly.

Within any royal family, each member more less has their place; an understanding of their position and what their duties to The Firm are. With an abdication that all changes, which can't be easy for anyone.
 
I think there are two components to any royal family, the official/business part and the private family part. As with any family business situations arrive where the two components will bleed over into each other; the real problem arises, IMO, when the organization doesn't have well established methods of dealing with trouble OR when trouble arises during times of major change.

It seems the Belgian royal family doesn't lack for difficult personalities. I feel bad for all of Albert's children, (including, if true, the child he had out of marriage). If even a small part of the information that has seeped out regarding the past is true then they must have all had very difficult and tumultuous upbringings. As others have said, though, Laurent is a grown man and has to accept responsibility for himself and his own life. I also hesitate to completely condemn Albert and Paola because I know that what can seem like heartlessness to outsiders can sometimes be family members being wary of a child or sibling who, because of personality or mental illness, has hurt them repeatedly in the past.

I know many are proponents of modern royal families and their open communication, (and I like hearing news as much as anyone), but I still think "when in doubt, say nothing" can be a good guideline in difficult times.
 
PetticoatLane said:
I agree with your post, MARG, but for me this situation is evidence that abdications do not really fit with the concept of monarchy. As much as we all like the spectacle of the big parties for the new monarchs and seeing the tiaras being worn by different heads, abdication is not as straightforwardly positive as some seem to think. Some countries can make it work reasonably well, but it clearly brings with it enormous difficulties, both personally and publicly.

Within any royal family, each member more less has their place; an understanding of their position and what their duties to The Firm are. With an abdication that all changes, which can't be easy for anyone.
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If Philip Ziegler, biographer of Edward VIII is to be believed (which is probably most of the time), after Edward abdicated, his successor George VI subsequently spent much of his energy on housekeeping matters relating to his predecessor, the newly created Duke of Windsor. Indeed, those issues did not seem to go away for years. (On the other hand, if Edward VIII had not abdicated, then those issues, in a slightly different guise, would presumably have been felt even more acutely.)

So I think that abdication in the cornucopia of Royal events is a fact of life, although when contemplated its consequences need to be anticipated clearly.

It's evident, though, that the abdication of King Albert in 2013 and that of Leopold III 1950/51, were for rather different reasons, with the dynamics of their respective compulsion being felt at rather different levels by the sovereigns involved and their people.

In neighbouring Luxembourg, when the French and local socialists forced Grand-Duchess Marie-Adelaïde to abdicate in 1919, they seem to have created a pattern for the mode of succession ever since.

The duties of Monaco's Rainier III were not often thought of in religious terms, but Rainier himself did confess that he thought of his rôle as reigning Prince as being akin to something between a duty and a priesthood. In other words, not something that can be turned on and off like a tap, at convenience.

I was not surprised when Prince Albert of Monaco, instead of taking over after an abdication, was called on to head a short Regency when Rainier III was in his final illness.

The rôles of minor Royals inevitably change - even if slightly - following the accession of a monarch. It is fair to say that Laurent, as a younger sibling, has never been at the forefront of attention, although he is undoubtedly in a very good position to fulfill useful and worthwhile missions and tasks.

Let's hope he will be well soon.
 
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