The Snow Princess: Queen Astrid Of Belgium, Part 1

[delineate]

Thanks for the info and photos of this very interesting Queen! I didn't notice it until now, but all of her children either became heads of state or married one.

[LaMinka]

1935, in Princess Ingeborg and Prince Carl's home. The last time all four of their children were together. From left: (Front) Princess Margaretha of Denmark, Crown Princess Märtha of Norway, Prince Carl, Princess Ingeborg. (Back) Prince Carl jr. and Queen Astrid of the Belgians:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...chmentid=96063
Princess Ingeborg of Sweden and her three daughters, Margaretha, Märtha and Astrid:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...chmentid=96013
Astrid skiing with her sister Crown Princess Märtha of Norway, 1931:
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...chmentid=96025

Astrid looked much like her bigsister Crown Princess Märtha of Norway(at least i think so):
http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums...chmentid=96018

Astrid was close to her sister Märtha (from Märthas biography by Norwegianne, http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5214)
Tragedy struck Crown Princess Märtha in 1935. Her younger sister, Queen Astrid of Belgium was killed in a car crash. The two sisters had been very close, and King Olav later said that it took his wife more than ten years to come to term with it. But he didn’t think that she ever really got over her sister’s death. It had been so unexpected for the entire family.
Two years later Märtha was in a car accident of her own. It could have ended badly, as she was nearly at the due date with her third child, and she was accompanied by her two daughters but everything ended well. On February 21, 1937, Märtha fulfilled one of her duties as Crown Princess, she gave birth to an heir. He was named Harald and, with his birth, the family at Skaugum was complete.

all the photos is from the Märtha biography thread, posted of Norwegianne

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

queen astrid

[Lisele]

Thank you for a tribute in words and in pictures to a wonderful woman that was cut down in the prime of her life, leaving a husband, 3 children under 10 and another on the way that died with her, at the beginning of her husband's reign. Truly a tragic tale. I wonder if her children even vividly remember her they were so young :(

I don't know if any of you noticed but 52 years later, another princess died in an automobile accident roughly the same time of the year? Chlling coincidence or history repeating itself.

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Joséphine-Charlotte had vivid memories of her mother and Baudouin missed her all his life. I remember seeing a documentary on tv where queen Fabiola shows a framed photo of queen Astrid, saying "We love mama Astrid very much, she's part of our life".

[Hannelore]

Originally Posted by Cathérine Bergeyck

Joséphine-Charlotte had vivid memories of her mother and Baudouin missed her all his life. I remember seeing a documentary on tv where queen Fabiola shows a framed photo of queen Astrid, saying "We love mama Astrid very much, she's part of our life".

Absolutely.

The last words he wrote in his diary the day he died were "I feel old and tired. Maman, soon we'll be together again. I'll find comfort close to you".

[martha-louise]

Originally Posted by Lisele

Thank you for a tribute in words and in pictures to a wonderful woman that was cut down in the prime of her life, leaving a husband, 3 children under 10 and another on the way that died with her, at the beginning of her husband's reign. Truly a tragic tale. I wonder if her children even vividly remember her they were so young :(

I don't know if any of you noticed but 52 years later, another princess died in an automobile accident roughly the same time of the year? Chlling coincidence or history repeating itself.

There are 3 tragic car accidents with princesses I can remember . Astrid, Grace and Diana. It seems like the more popular you are, the more chance you have to die in a car accident. Very horrifiyng...

[Hannelore]

actually lots of people die in car accidents every day :(

Princess Mathilde's younger sister and grandmother also died in a car accident.

[Hannelore]

In front of the Engelhornhütte Queen Astrid and King Leopold III frame Eveline Palmer, wife of Walter Amstutz who took the picture on 4 August 1935. Astrid died in a car accident 3 weeks later.

During the summer of 1935 the couple went mountain climbing, together with Astrid's best friend, countess Anna Sparre.

(credit photo:Jozefin)

[queenanne]

Does anyone else see a very strong resemblance to Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte in that last painting? It struck me as soon as I opened it.

[Hannelore]

Yes, JC resembled her mother very much.

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Astrid's wedding gowns (the red dress was worn by the bride's maids).

She had 2 dresses: one for the wedding in Sweden, and one in Belgium.

Isifa

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

One of Astrid's dresses. Isifa

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

Portrait. Isifa

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

VTM

[Cathérine Bergeyck]

on her wedding day (le soir)

[purple_platinum]

20060419, ANTWERP, BELGIUM :
The dress that Belgium Princess Astrid wore at her joy entry in Antwerp in Mey 1934, is takken from the Antwerp city hall to be restore at the MMu (mode museum) in Antwerp, Wednesday 19 April 2006.

from belgapic

[lucien]

Tonight belgian tv will air the documentary: Astrid,Queen of the people

Canvas at 20.50PM and RTBF 20.15PM (IIRC)

[Marengo]

Time to open a new thread on Queen Astrid, which can be found here