Why a wedding at the Vatican for Albert and Paola?

[Marengo]

I was wondering if anybody knows why Albert & Paola/ the court came up with the idea of them getting married at the Vatican instead of in Belgium. And why it became such a big issue in Belgium and esp. why Princess Lilian was blamed for all this.
In the end they married in Brussels btw.

[RubyPrincess168]

Is the Belgium Queen one of the ones who has "white privelages" or what ever it is called (the permission to wear all-white at Vatican functions instead of the customery black)?

[Maxie]

Originally Posted by RubyPrincess168

Is the Belgium Queen one of the ones who has "white privelages" or what ever it is called (the permission to wear all-white at Vatican functions instead of the customery black)?

Yes, she is. But I don' think that's the reason. Maybe it's just simple: because Paola is Italian?

[alterego]

Originally Posted by RubyPrincess168

Is the Belgium Queen one of the ones who has "white privelages" or what ever it is called (the permission to wear all-white at Vatican functions instead of the customery black)?

White privilege (royalty) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The White Privilege, or Privilège du blanc, is a privilege held by female Catholic Monarchs, also by female Catholic Consorts of Monarchs, wherein they are allowed to wear white when in an audience with the Pope.

Currently, should they choose to wear the traditional style of clothing, the White Privilege is held only by the Queens of Spain and Belgium, and the Grand Ducal Consort of Luxembourg, all of whose monarchies were awarded the Catholic Monarch designation in the past. As of June 2007, those to whom the White Privilege extends are Queen Sofia of Spain, Queen Paola of Belgium, Queen Fabiola of Belgium, and Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by Marengo

I was wondering if anybody knows why Albert & Paola/ the court came up with the idea of them getting married at the Vatican instead of in Belgium. And why it became such a big issue in Belgium and esp. why Princess Lilian was blamed for all this.
In the end they married in Brussels btw.

The meet at the Inauguaration of Pope Johannes XXIII. Perhaps this was a reason. And add to this that Paola was from an italian noble Family.

[lucien]

Originally Posted by Marengo

I was wondering if anybody knows why Albert & Paola/ the court came up with the idea of them getting married at the Vatican instead of in Belgium. And why it became such a big issue in Belgium and esp. why Princess Lilian was blamed for all this.
In the end they married in Brussels btw.

The then former King Leopold III cooked this up behind the backs of the government,he wanted the wedding at the Vatican,
but as officials got wind of it,there was a riot as to the mingling of Leopold wasn't appreciated in Belgium,at all as Leopold wasn't
popular and as Albert was an Heir (-Presumptive),the government had decided he should marry in Brussels.The Pope then kindly/
diplomatically denied a wedding at the Vatican.

Think Lilian was held responsible for scheming/mingling in,as she probably did as she always did to "pump up her volume".

[Marengo]

Thanks Lucien! Any idea if Lilian realy was behind all this or was she just the scapegoat as usual?

[Helena]

She and Leopold did intervene, they didn´t want to have the wedding in Belgium so shortly after Leopold III had to abdicate, so this was their way of revenge or something.

[Empress]

I have to say that it would have been terribly odd had they not married in Belgium. It seems to me that Royals should marry in their country, or the country of their spouse (if both are royal). They are a symbol of the people, so the people should be able to take full advantage of the weddings, and indeed in this age of media and tourism, the economic advantages that come along with a royal wedding.